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The Immortal King Rao
In a future in which the world is run by the Board of Corporations, King’s daughter, Athena, reckons with his legacy—literally, for he has given her access to his memories, among other questionable gifts.
With climate change raging, Athena has come to believe that saving the planet and its Shareholders will require a radical act of communion—and so she sets out to tell the truth to the world’s Shareholders, in entrancing sensory detail, about King’s childhood on a South Indian coconut plantation; his migration to the U.S. to study engineering in a world transformed by globalization; his marriage to the ambitious artist with whom he changed the world; and, ultimately, his invention, under self-exile, of the most ambitious creation of his life—Athena herself.
The Immortal King Rao, written by a former Wall Street Journal technology reporter, is a resonant debut novel obliterating the boundaries between literary and speculative fiction, the historic and the dystopian, confronting how we arrived at the age of technological capitalism and where our actions might take us next.
With climate change raging, Athena has come to believe that saving the planet and its Shareholders will require a radical act of communion—and so she sets out to tell the truth to the world’s Shareholders, in entrancing sensory detail, about King’s childhood on a South Indian coconut plantation; his migration to the U.S. to study engineering in a world transformed by globalization; his marriage to the ambitious artist with whom he changed the world; and, ultimately, his invention, under self-exile, of the most ambitious creation of his life—Athena herself.
The Immortal King Rao, written by a former Wall Street Journal technology reporter, is a resonant debut novel obliterating the boundaries between literary and speculative fiction, the historic and the dystopian, confronting how we arrived at the age of technological capitalism and where our actions might take us next.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 3, 2022
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February 20, 2023
An impressive and well thought out work, on human nature and how this remains (unchanged) throughout time and different communities in upheaval
There is a kind of action that resembles inaction, and it’s the kind of action society is based on
Very impressive and one of my most favorite fiction books of 2022! I highly enjoyed this debut that with a steady hand guides the reader from rural post-World War II India to start-up Silicon Valley’s earlier times and then the near future, threatened by climate change. Also see me talking about this book with Shawn here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALBodu_HgI
In my view Vauhini Vara her writing can go toe to toe with the best of Emily St. John Mandel, while being far superior to The Every of Dave Eggers or Booker shortlisted The New Wilderness from Diane Cook.
The Immortal King Rao follows the life of one man, the titular King Rao, from family ties in 1960’s to loneliness and isolation in 2040’s. The chapters intersperse and shed light on his childhood, adolescence and his old age.
Along the way institutional overreach, mind/internet integration, the story of a start-up resembling Apple and the immigrant experience plus sexism against his wife play prominent roles.
Societal upheaval is a theme in all the three timelines, with one character in the near future remarking: I was retrained as a influencer, like everyone in our trait
Also AI has taken on a large role:
It’s the algo that decides
Don’t you think it is strange that we talk about the algo like our grandmothers did about god?
Not sure if the mixed telling of the story works better than the three sections separate, but the whole dynamic of family turning into business, from interactions based on community to transactions, and the wider social order transformation, manages to convey clearly a view from the author nonetheless. Struggle for survival also consistently plays a role, more pronounced in the further away past and near future than in the 1980's, but even there it is present in the getting first to market of the computer companies.
There is a Frank Gehry campus and a co-CEO who is best friends with Gwen Paltrow. Parts of the government being auctioned off to pay for debts, partly caused by Covid-19.
All was once again well in the world after a Board is established of the largest companies, that have amalgamated into a global shareholder government, like an extrapolation into the future of Sally Rooney her vision on economics.
Still there is resistance: For the dead are not powerless one character notes on the Indian expropriation that Seattle is based upon. Another character observes that Existence is change and even one of the main characters, one of the victors, turns out to be not so sure in victory as expected: That he was capable of all of this scared him
Who in the final analysis should be held responsible? is the uneasy question at the end of this impressive book. In a way it does what the MaddAddam trilogy of Margaret Atwood tried as well: what is human nature, and is there cause for hope or despair?
There is no clear cut answer to the question, but it is clear that Vauhini Vara is an author to look out for and I hope her debut is noted and celebrated!
There is a kind of action that resembles inaction, and it’s the kind of action society is based on
Very impressive and one of my most favorite fiction books of 2022! I highly enjoyed this debut that with a steady hand guides the reader from rural post-World War II India to start-up Silicon Valley’s earlier times and then the near future, threatened by climate change. Also see me talking about this book with Shawn here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALBodu_HgI
In my view Vauhini Vara her writing can go toe to toe with the best of Emily St. John Mandel, while being far superior to The Every of Dave Eggers or Booker shortlisted The New Wilderness from Diane Cook.
The Immortal King Rao follows the life of one man, the titular King Rao, from family ties in 1960’s to loneliness and isolation in 2040’s. The chapters intersperse and shed light on his childhood, adolescence and his old age.
Along the way institutional overreach, mind/internet integration, the story of a start-up resembling Apple and the immigrant experience plus sexism against his wife play prominent roles.
Societal upheaval is a theme in all the three timelines, with one character in the near future remarking: I was retrained as a influencer, like everyone in our trait
Also AI has taken on a large role:
It’s the algo that decides
Don’t you think it is strange that we talk about the algo like our grandmothers did about god?
Not sure if the mixed telling of the story works better than the three sections separate, but the whole dynamic of family turning into business, from interactions based on community to transactions, and the wider social order transformation, manages to convey clearly a view from the author nonetheless. Struggle for survival also consistently plays a role, more pronounced in the further away past and near future than in the 1980's, but even there it is present in the getting first to market of the computer companies.
There is a Frank Gehry campus and a co-CEO who is best friends with Gwen Paltrow. Parts of the government being auctioned off to pay for debts, partly caused by Covid-19.
All was once again well in the world after a Board is established of the largest companies, that have amalgamated into a global shareholder government, like an extrapolation into the future of Sally Rooney her vision on economics.
Still there is resistance: For the dead are not powerless one character notes on the Indian expropriation that Seattle is based upon. Another character observes that Existence is change and even one of the main characters, one of the victors, turns out to be not so sure in victory as expected: That he was capable of all of this scared him
Who in the final analysis should be held responsible? is the uneasy question at the end of this impressive book. In a way it does what the MaddAddam trilogy of Margaret Atwood tried as well: what is human nature, and is there cause for hope or despair?
There is no clear cut answer to the question, but it is clear that Vauhini Vara is an author to look out for and I hope her debut is noted and celebrated!
July 20, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded down. This is an immensely ambitious first novel, which collides three narrative strands and timeframes (discrete novels, really): a slightly magic-realist family saga set in southern India in the 1970s, a semi-journalistic account of the rise and rise of a world-beating computer company in Seattle between the early 1980s and the near future, and an under-imagined science-fiction novel set in a Hothouse Earth living under a Black Mirror-ish corporate digital surveillance state.
These stories are unfolding in an alternative timeline where an Indian immigrant from a poor Dalit family has built Coconut (rather than Apple) into the world's most pervasive tech company, and becomes the world's most powerful man as a Shareholder oligarchy of trillionaires takes over the world after the withering-away of the nation-state.
In alternating chapters, Vara weaves between three narrative strands: King Rao's childhood on a coconut plantation (unsubtly referred to as the Garden) with a huge extended family, his stellar ascent from impoverished grad student into a tech tycoon whose career fuses elements of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and his estranged daughter Athena's escape from her elderly father's island into a anarchist collective that has liberated itself from capitalist consumerism and a soft techno-dictatorship ruled by omnipotent algorithms.
While the other two timelines are well-paced, the Indian family saga drags, with an overly numerous cast of characters whose kinship relationships are too muddled to properly follow. Vara is a talented prose stylist, with a real gift for vivid descriptions of places and faces, but has created flat characters with very little interiority. We very rarely have access into King's own emotional life, and his wife and business partner Margie is a virtual cipher. The plotting is clumsy and contrived, the third-act reveals aren't as revelatory as they should be, and the final chapter just peters out.
Vara is wrestling with complex ideas from recent history, and using all three narratives as a critique of neoliberalism and digital alienation. In all three settings, the forces of capitalist exploitation are naturalized as the way the world works, and gross inequalities, caste systems, and ecological violence are rationalized as the cost of doing business. But she clumsily handles the info-dumps about coconut botany, the British East India Company, 1970s computer hobbyists, and Shareholder Government, with characters spouting warmed-over summaries of Proudhon and Vaclav Havel.
It's a relief, though, that she's handled the novel's allegorical elements more deftly, as the King-Athena relationship parallels Zeus and (obvs.) Athena, Prospero and Miranda. Athena's narration of King's biography is cleverly presented as the result of a memory-download, which has made her father truly immortal, but then it's difficult to accept how psychologically shallow all of these flashbacks were.
Still, there's much to enjoy here in this over-egged pudding, even if its explosive elements fly off in too many directions at once. And I'd much rather see a first-time novelist try to knock one out of the park than play it safe.
These stories are unfolding in an alternative timeline where an Indian immigrant from a poor Dalit family has built Coconut (rather than Apple) into the world's most pervasive tech company, and becomes the world's most powerful man as a Shareholder oligarchy of trillionaires takes over the world after the withering-away of the nation-state.
In alternating chapters, Vara weaves between three narrative strands: King Rao's childhood on a coconut plantation (unsubtly referred to as the Garden) with a huge extended family, his stellar ascent from impoverished grad student into a tech tycoon whose career fuses elements of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and his estranged daughter Athena's escape from her elderly father's island into a anarchist collective that has liberated itself from capitalist consumerism and a soft techno-dictatorship ruled by omnipotent algorithms.
While the other two timelines are well-paced, the Indian family saga drags, with an overly numerous cast of characters whose kinship relationships are too muddled to properly follow. Vara is a talented prose stylist, with a real gift for vivid descriptions of places and faces, but has created flat characters with very little interiority. We very rarely have access into King's own emotional life, and his wife and business partner Margie is a virtual cipher. The plotting is clumsy and contrived, the third-act reveals aren't as revelatory as they should be, and the final chapter just peters out.
Vara is wrestling with complex ideas from recent history, and using all three narratives as a critique of neoliberalism and digital alienation. In all three settings, the forces of capitalist exploitation are naturalized as the way the world works, and gross inequalities, caste systems, and ecological violence are rationalized as the cost of doing business. But she clumsily handles the info-dumps about coconut botany, the British East India Company, 1970s computer hobbyists, and Shareholder Government, with characters spouting warmed-over summaries of Proudhon and Vaclav Havel.
It's a relief, though, that she's handled the novel's allegorical elements more deftly, as the King-Athena relationship parallels Zeus and (obvs.) Athena, Prospero and Miranda. Athena's narration of King's biography is cleverly presented as the result of a memory-download, which has made her father truly immortal, but then it's difficult to accept how psychologically shallow all of these flashbacks were.
Still, there's much to enjoy here in this over-egged pudding, even if its explosive elements fly off in too many directions at once. And I'd much rather see a first-time novelist try to knock one out of the park than play it safe.
May 8, 2023
Now a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
This intelligently written book is effectively an intriguing mix of two different genres:
Indian family saga - think say Arundhati Roy’s earlier work) with a US immigrant angle (think Salman Rushdie in particular)
Dystopian tech story – think somewhere on a spectrum between the rather clumsy execution of Dave Eggers and the literary obliqueness of Emily St John Mandel (but borrowing the naming conventions of Margaret Atwood).
One of the more obvious comparisons in the latter is Jennifer Egan, and particularly her latest “Candy House” which contains a remarkable amount of overlap in terms of the underlying tech device which drives the plot: Egan had the Collective Consciousness and “Own Your Unconsciousness” App and Vara the “Harmonica” and “Clarinet”; the tech visionary behind it – Egan had Bix and Vara her eponymous character; the groups actively opposing and opting out – Egan’s Eluders, Vara’s Exes; and even the ambiguous relationship of the tech visionary’s children – Bix’s son Gregory and King’s daughter Athena – to both their father and his technological legacy.
Another comparison that sprang to my mind overall was to Preti Taneja’s Desmond Elliot Prize winning “We That Are Young” which is a recasting of King Lear to the family (and particularly the daughters) of an Indian oligarch (in this case though “Tempest” serves as potential but less explicit template): albeit that novel is almost entirely set in India.
I also was reminded a little – for very different reasons – of the Booker and Women’s Prize shortlisted “Great Circle”, of which I remarked there were at least 5 good novels in the book – which added together lead to a book that was simultaneously too long and unsatisfying in every aspect. Here I think its clear there are two potential novels interwoven (plus a whole Piketty style meditation on capital, even a digression into indigenous American beliefs), but Vara makes a choice to keep the overall book to a managable length so leading to a novel I thought was actually pretty well executed with some really clever links (one example below); albeit at the expense of including storylines which seemed extraneous (but were at least brief).
The eponymous subject of the book is from a family of relatively well-off but Dalit coconut farmers – as oldest son of the oldest son (albeit his father, married to the sister of King’s mother who died giving birth slumps into languor after King’s grandfather’s death – leaving King’s Uncle to take charge) he is the heir apparent to the business – one becoming increasingly lucrative under his Uncle’s Patronage, although always struggling with anti-Dalit prejudice. He is also, as result partly of his heir status and partly due to a family disaster (of which we learn much more later) sent off for an English language education and thriving in his computing studies at University is recruited as a graduate student in the US.
There, together with his graduate sponsor and his sponsor’s daughter (who in turn becomes his lover and wife) the three of them set up a nascent personal computing business, which starts with more of a home kit Sinclair/ZX feel but overtime combining say the PC selling skills of a Microsoft, the design genius of Apple and the data monoploy of a Facebook – their firm named Coconut – becomes the world’s most valuable firm.
The final step to world domination starts when a financial crisis/COVID hit US government agree a plan to effectively outsource most of their work as government to a small group of large firms (Walmart, JP Morgan and of course Coconut). These firms , who form a Board of which King Rao becomes chair, then over around 10 years sign similar agreements for around a third of the world before (and this is where the backstory takes its extreme/dystopian turn) effectively setting up as a supranational organisation and effectively abolishing national states, with King now CEO of a kind of supercharged version of the British East India company (as an aside this linkage, and the way that the latter was largely responsible for the perpetuation of a Caste system which would otherwise have died out which also permits one of the many discussions in the novel of societal structures and hierarchies - is a perfect example of the control and intelligence that the author brings to her writing and the way she dies up the seemingly disparate storylines).
Overtime the book then heads firmly into the kind of binary/extreme changes which characterise the dystopian genre. Society evolves into a combination of capitalist tech utopia and Chinese style state surveillance and control – with individuals deemed as Shareholders and with money/taxes replaced by a form of Social Capital, all moderated by an all purpose Algo(rithm) which also runs the legal system – an Algo I would describe as all powerful although it seems unable or unwilling to really deal with the threat of climate change, which at some point in the history of the novel has passed a tipping point.
King Rao’s fall comes when he pushes too hard and too early a product – the Harmonica – which contains an injection of genetic code to allow individuals to access the internet from their thoughts. Some resulting deaths invigorate the long running resistance to the Board/Algo and leads to a deal whereby Rao has to stand down and the Exes are allowed to go off grid on a group of globally distributed Islands – the Blanklands, portrayed to those still under the Algo world as badlands but in practice a kind of principled anarchic/pure communist society.
The story is actually told/written down by Rao’s daughter Athena who (we learn almost from the first chapter) is under arrest charged with the murder of her father and is drawing her case together for judgment by the Algo no behalf of the collective global Shareholders.
Athena was born after King’s wife died from a frozen embryo - her name is based on the Zeus/Athena legend although Miranda would be a better name as King Rao (whose legend only grows in his exile – including the belief he has found the key to prolonging his life, hence his nickname) raises her in exile and complete isolation on an island. There she realises as she grows up that he has used her as a prototype for his next development of the Harmonica – the Clarinet, which allows people access to each other’s memories and which also forms Rao’s real answer to how to achieve immortality for himself and ultimately for a humanity he feels is doomed (by the storage of stories and memories – something which becomes a closing coda to the novel).
Athena then rebels against her father and joins the Exes where she encounters more of her past than she expects, while having to navigate (my phrase) the Brave New World they are creating.
Athena’s access to Rao’s memories facilitates the multi-strand nature of the novel with chapters moving between a number of different timelines: Rao’s upbringing in India in his sprawling Dalit family – which includes a number of strands which I felt were left rather hanging and which I was really unsure added to the novel; Rao’s early time in the US which was one of the strongest sections I felt; Athena’s own early life – this part can at times be exposition heavy as she sets out what she has learnt from her father of his own back story albeit it is interesting over time how this links to what she currently discovers both from other but more so from her father’s own memories; Athena’s time with the Exes – this part was interesting albeit not always convincing (perhaps like Miranda she adapts a little too soon to meeting people for the first time) and at times a little didactic as we get a theory of capital relationships, and its interaction with technological change, through the ages.
Overall I felt this was a novel which could easily have not worked but instead held my interest throughout to the extent that many of the criticisms I had of individual elements were secondary to my overall enjoyment of this thoughtfully written and thought provoking book.
My thanks to Atlantic Books, Grove Press for an ARC via NetGalley.
This intelligently written book is effectively an intriguing mix of two different genres:
Indian family saga - think say Arundhati Roy’s earlier work) with a US immigrant angle (think Salman Rushdie in particular)
Dystopian tech story – think somewhere on a spectrum between the rather clumsy execution of Dave Eggers and the literary obliqueness of Emily St John Mandel (but borrowing the naming conventions of Margaret Atwood).
One of the more obvious comparisons in the latter is Jennifer Egan, and particularly her latest “Candy House” which contains a remarkable amount of overlap in terms of the underlying tech device which drives the plot: Egan had the Collective Consciousness and “Own Your Unconsciousness” App and Vara the “Harmonica” and “Clarinet”; the tech visionary behind it – Egan had Bix and Vara her eponymous character; the groups actively opposing and opting out – Egan’s Eluders, Vara’s Exes; and even the ambiguous relationship of the tech visionary’s children – Bix’s son Gregory and King’s daughter Athena – to both their father and his technological legacy.
Another comparison that sprang to my mind overall was to Preti Taneja’s Desmond Elliot Prize winning “We That Are Young” which is a recasting of King Lear to the family (and particularly the daughters) of an Indian oligarch (in this case though “Tempest” serves as potential but less explicit template): albeit that novel is almost entirely set in India.
I also was reminded a little – for very different reasons – of the Booker and Women’s Prize shortlisted “Great Circle”, of which I remarked there were at least 5 good novels in the book – which added together lead to a book that was simultaneously too long and unsatisfying in every aspect. Here I think its clear there are two potential novels interwoven (plus a whole Piketty style meditation on capital, even a digression into indigenous American beliefs), but Vara makes a choice to keep the overall book to a managable length so leading to a novel I thought was actually pretty well executed with some really clever links (one example below); albeit at the expense of including storylines which seemed extraneous (but were at least brief).
The eponymous subject of the book is from a family of relatively well-off but Dalit coconut farmers – as oldest son of the oldest son (albeit his father, married to the sister of King’s mother who died giving birth slumps into languor after King’s grandfather’s death – leaving King’s Uncle to take charge) he is the heir apparent to the business – one becoming increasingly lucrative under his Uncle’s Patronage, although always struggling with anti-Dalit prejudice. He is also, as result partly of his heir status and partly due to a family disaster (of which we learn much more later) sent off for an English language education and thriving in his computing studies at University is recruited as a graduate student in the US.
There, together with his graduate sponsor and his sponsor’s daughter (who in turn becomes his lover and wife) the three of them set up a nascent personal computing business, which starts with more of a home kit Sinclair/ZX feel but overtime combining say the PC selling skills of a Microsoft, the design genius of Apple and the data monoploy of a Facebook – their firm named Coconut – becomes the world’s most valuable firm.
The final step to world domination starts when a financial crisis/COVID hit US government agree a plan to effectively outsource most of their work as government to a small group of large firms (Walmart, JP Morgan and of course Coconut). These firms , who form a Board of which King Rao becomes chair, then over around 10 years sign similar agreements for around a third of the world before (and this is where the backstory takes its extreme/dystopian turn) effectively setting up as a supranational organisation and effectively abolishing national states, with King now CEO of a kind of supercharged version of the British East India company (as an aside this linkage, and the way that the latter was largely responsible for the perpetuation of a Caste system which would otherwise have died out which also permits one of the many discussions in the novel of societal structures and hierarchies - is a perfect example of the control and intelligence that the author brings to her writing and the way she dies up the seemingly disparate storylines).
Overtime the book then heads firmly into the kind of binary/extreme changes which characterise the dystopian genre. Society evolves into a combination of capitalist tech utopia and Chinese style state surveillance and control – with individuals deemed as Shareholders and with money/taxes replaced by a form of Social Capital, all moderated by an all purpose Algo(rithm) which also runs the legal system – an Algo I would describe as all powerful although it seems unable or unwilling to really deal with the threat of climate change, which at some point in the history of the novel has passed a tipping point.
King Rao’s fall comes when he pushes too hard and too early a product – the Harmonica – which contains an injection of genetic code to allow individuals to access the internet from their thoughts. Some resulting deaths invigorate the long running resistance to the Board/Algo and leads to a deal whereby Rao has to stand down and the Exes are allowed to go off grid on a group of globally distributed Islands – the Blanklands, portrayed to those still under the Algo world as badlands but in practice a kind of principled anarchic/pure communist society.
The story is actually told/written down by Rao’s daughter Athena who (we learn almost from the first chapter) is under arrest charged with the murder of her father and is drawing her case together for judgment by the Algo no behalf of the collective global Shareholders.
Athena was born after King’s wife died from a frozen embryo - her name is based on the Zeus/Athena legend although Miranda would be a better name as King Rao (whose legend only grows in his exile – including the belief he has found the key to prolonging his life, hence his nickname) raises her in exile and complete isolation on an island. There she realises as she grows up that he has used her as a prototype for his next development of the Harmonica – the Clarinet, which allows people access to each other’s memories and which also forms Rao’s real answer to how to achieve immortality for himself and ultimately for a humanity he feels is doomed (by the storage of stories and memories – something which becomes a closing coda to the novel).
Athena then rebels against her father and joins the Exes where she encounters more of her past than she expects, while having to navigate (my phrase) the Brave New World they are creating.
Athena’s access to Rao’s memories facilitates the multi-strand nature of the novel with chapters moving between a number of different timelines: Rao’s upbringing in India in his sprawling Dalit family – which includes a number of strands which I felt were left rather hanging and which I was really unsure added to the novel; Rao’s early time in the US which was one of the strongest sections I felt; Athena’s own early life – this part can at times be exposition heavy as she sets out what she has learnt from her father of his own back story albeit it is interesting over time how this links to what she currently discovers both from other but more so from her father’s own memories; Athena’s time with the Exes – this part was interesting albeit not always convincing (perhaps like Miranda she adapts a little too soon to meeting people for the first time) and at times a little didactic as we get a theory of capital relationships, and its interaction with technological change, through the ages.
Overall I felt this was a novel which could easily have not worked but instead held my interest throughout to the extent that many of the criticisms I had of individual elements were secondary to my overall enjoyment of this thoughtfully written and thought provoking book.
My thanks to Atlantic Books, Grove Press for an ARC via NetGalley.
April 22, 2022
The book tells the story of an Indian Untouchable, King Rao, whose mantra that there’s no problem that can’t be solved and his beyond genius computer skills end up literally changing the world. He and his wife start a company called Coconut (think Apple), that over time evolves into a super corporation that, as private industry, can provide the world’s people with whatever they need, better than the governments of their own countries ever possibly can. The company and its Algo (algorithm) ends up ruling the world, whose citizens become its shareholders.
Basically divided into three parts: we learn of King’s childhood in The Garden in India, where the family fortune is made harvesting coconuts; King’s immigration to the US where he marries, starts his company and rises to power; and the life of his daughter and her fate, after being accused of killing her father. (We learn this very early on, so no spoiler.)
While there are some interesting concepts here, the plot lines and characters were difficult to follow and piece together. A thumbs down for this one, at least for me.
@bookbrowse
Basically divided into three parts: we learn of King’s childhood in The Garden in India, where the family fortune is made harvesting coconuts; King’s immigration to the US where he marries, starts his company and rises to power; and the life of his daughter and her fate, after being accused of killing her father. (We learn this very early on, so no spoiler.)
While there are some interesting concepts here, the plot lines and characters were difficult to follow and piece together. A thumbs down for this one, at least for me.
@bookbrowse
August 25, 2024
King Rao is born to the lowest caste in Kathapalli, India, in the 1950s. (King is his given name, not a royal title.) Through determination and luck, he ends up in the US to obtain an education. He co-founds a technology company with his future wife. They develop innovative products, and the company succeeds. The US government outsources their services to corporations. This eventually leads to one worldwide governing Board with responsibility to Shareholders.
King Rao is selected first CEO of the Board. He designs a mechanism to connect humans’ thoughts and memories to the Internet, which leads to disastrous consequences. Individuals who protest against this powerful Board are allowed to live on specified islands but must make their own way. Athena, King Rao’s daughter, rebels against her father and joins the protestors. She narrates the story by writing a letter to the Shareholders.
The storyline switches between past and present, covering King Rao’s roots in India, early years in the US, and how he gained power, as well as Athena’s relationship with her father and how she arrived in her current situation. It is set in a near-future dystopian society where tech companies run the world, and social standing (as measured by the Algorithm) has essentially become the new caste system.
“Unless you had created and sold some valuable piece of IP, your best bet on this continent, that is, if you were good-looking and charismatic enough, was to try to make it as an influencer. Otherwise, you were left to look after those who had made it – to nurse their children, scrub their toilets, trim their hedges, stencil their toenails. It’s the same as what happened at the end of the ancient regime, slavery, apartheid, but this time the Algo is responsible, and who’s going to argue with an all-knowing algorithm? How conceited would that be?”
The story contains enough complexity to maintain interest without becoming too technical. In addition, it contains deeply drawn multifaceted characters. The relationship between King Rao and Athena is one of the highlights. It is commentary on a wide variety of topics, such as power, globalization, materialism, class status, and social media, all woven together into a compelling story. It is an excellent example of speculative fiction and extremely thought-provoking. I could run out of superlatives in describing how much I enjoyed this book. Suffice it to say I loved it. It is beautifully written and addresses relevant worldwide concerns.
“The stories of our lives are ephemeral. When we die, they die too. But what if someone…could gather up these stories and hold onto them for safekeeping. When humans finally drive ourselves to extinction, wouldn’t that be our best shot at proving to the universe that once upon a time we were here?”
King Rao is selected first CEO of the Board. He designs a mechanism to connect humans’ thoughts and memories to the Internet, which leads to disastrous consequences. Individuals who protest against this powerful Board are allowed to live on specified islands but must make their own way. Athena, King Rao’s daughter, rebels against her father and joins the protestors. She narrates the story by writing a letter to the Shareholders.
The storyline switches between past and present, covering King Rao’s roots in India, early years in the US, and how he gained power, as well as Athena’s relationship with her father and how she arrived in her current situation. It is set in a near-future dystopian society where tech companies run the world, and social standing (as measured by the Algorithm) has essentially become the new caste system.
“Unless you had created and sold some valuable piece of IP, your best bet on this continent, that is, if you were good-looking and charismatic enough, was to try to make it as an influencer. Otherwise, you were left to look after those who had made it – to nurse their children, scrub their toilets, trim their hedges, stencil their toenails. It’s the same as what happened at the end of the ancient regime, slavery, apartheid, but this time the Algo is responsible, and who’s going to argue with an all-knowing algorithm? How conceited would that be?”
The story contains enough complexity to maintain interest without becoming too technical. In addition, it contains deeply drawn multifaceted characters. The relationship between King Rao and Athena is one of the highlights. It is commentary on a wide variety of topics, such as power, globalization, materialism, class status, and social media, all woven together into a compelling story. It is an excellent example of speculative fiction and extremely thought-provoking. I could run out of superlatives in describing how much I enjoyed this book. Suffice it to say I loved it. It is beautifully written and addresses relevant worldwide concerns.
“The stories of our lives are ephemeral. When we die, they die too. But what if someone…could gather up these stories and hold onto them for safekeeping. When humans finally drive ourselves to extinction, wouldn’t that be our best shot at proving to the universe that once upon a time we were here?”
March 30, 2022
There was something déjà vu in reading The Immortal King Rao not long after finishing Jennifer Egan’s Candy House. Both books, at their core, are about brilliant tech entrepreneurs who invent ways to gain access to every memory ever had.
Egan’s version is a new technology called Own Your Unconscious – sharing every memory in exchange for access to others. Vara’s version is an Internet-connected device called The Harmonica, which provides access to all memories. Both books present estranged citizens who have rejected the new way, called the “eluders” in Candy House and the “exes” in Immortal King Rao.
I am not suggesting that either of these talented authors “borrowed” from the other; the books are being published at almost the same time. I do think it is an interesting commentary on our post (or present) pandemic society that writers are exploring the theme of memory preservation and human longing for real connection.
The concept of an India-born biotechnological genius and his daughter, Athena Rao, who tries to escape him after being implanted with his memories to make him immortal, is compelling. King Rao’s Coconut Corporation is evocative of the Apple Corporation with a dystopian spin – a corporate-run government where everyone (at least everyone who doesn’t opt out) is a Shareholder. Everything is determined by an algorithm (or ALGO), which is unerringly spot-on with where capitalism appears to be heading.
Equally compelling is the human-interest story. There’s a touch of Miranda, from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, in Athena. The technological aspects do not undermine or overshadow the human elements: the complicated relationship between father and daughter, the themes of betrayal and love and longing and understanding, and the courage it takes to open up to one another. The end message is poignant and timely: as we continue to drive ourselves to extinction, what if we could “gather up our stories and hold on to them for safekeeping?... Wouldn’t that be our best shot at proving to the universe that, once upon a time, we were here?”
A big thanks to W.W. Norton Company and BookBrowse for the privilege of being an early reader.
Egan’s version is a new technology called Own Your Unconscious – sharing every memory in exchange for access to others. Vara’s version is an Internet-connected device called The Harmonica, which provides access to all memories. Both books present estranged citizens who have rejected the new way, called the “eluders” in Candy House and the “exes” in Immortal King Rao.
I am not suggesting that either of these talented authors “borrowed” from the other; the books are being published at almost the same time. I do think it is an interesting commentary on our post (or present) pandemic society that writers are exploring the theme of memory preservation and human longing for real connection.
The concept of an India-born biotechnological genius and his daughter, Athena Rao, who tries to escape him after being implanted with his memories to make him immortal, is compelling. King Rao’s Coconut Corporation is evocative of the Apple Corporation with a dystopian spin – a corporate-run government where everyone (at least everyone who doesn’t opt out) is a Shareholder. Everything is determined by an algorithm (or ALGO), which is unerringly spot-on with where capitalism appears to be heading.
Equally compelling is the human-interest story. There’s a touch of Miranda, from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, in Athena. The technological aspects do not undermine or overshadow the human elements: the complicated relationship between father and daughter, the themes of betrayal and love and longing and understanding, and the courage it takes to open up to one another. The end message is poignant and timely: as we continue to drive ourselves to extinction, what if we could “gather up our stories and hold on to them for safekeeping?... Wouldn’t that be our best shot at proving to the universe that, once upon a time, we were here?”
A big thanks to W.W. Norton Company and BookBrowse for the privilege of being an early reader.
May 27, 2022
When I started reading this book, I didn’t know where it would go at all. In fact, even when I was mid-way, I didn’t have a clue about the progression of the plot. There is so much going on in this close to 400-pages book of love, family, climate change, death, of how memories function, and magic as well somewhere down the line. I was also kind of shaken by the way the Internet is reimagined in a sense – of how it will take over the world, and the role the corporations would play in this.
The Immortal King Rao breaks genres. Yes, it does seem literary on the surface, but it also goes beyond that – it is speculative fiction, historical fiction, dystopian even, and not for a minute does Vauhini Vara make you stop turning the pages.
There were times I was reminded of Moustache by S. Hareesh while reading the book. Then, I was reminded of Jejuri by Arun Kolatkar, given the lyricism of the prose. There is also only one way to read this book and that is to give in.
The story begins in the India of the 1950s. A young man is born into a Dalit family of coconut farmers in a remote village in Andhra Pradesh. He is named King Rao (I love the irony about this, which is also seen in other instances throughout the book). He studies in Seattle and rises up the ladder in the Silicon Valley to become a famous CEO of a tech-company, aptly titled Coconut Corporation. This is where of course the author’s skill of being a technological journalist shows, in the way that she makes you believe it all. In all of this, we meet Athena – the very talented daughter of King Rao who is trying very hard to escape him after being implanted with his memories (the idea to make him immortal – hence the title) is extremely fascinating. She is raised by him on a remote island after her parents’ divorce. This aspect of a single-parent and that too a father unfolds itself very cleverly later on in the book.
The core of this novel perhaps is not technology as it seems at first glance. There is an almighty algorithm as well that will run everything, and humans aren’t needed to apply in the company but after all it is humanity and the need to be keep it all together that will run the planet.
Vauhini’s writing appears to be simple but it is so layered and dense (all in a good way) at almost every page. It is reflective of the past, of how we are living now, and takes into account the entirety of the future or perhaps what is coming for mankind.
As Athena grapples with her father’s memories and what they stand for, forever jostling between his reality and hers, I could see traces of Atwood’s Maddaddam Trilogy, where a world unfolds slowly but takes the reader to this completely believable alternative reality where technology and capitalism have replaced human emotions as we know it.
Fathers and Daughters have always been depicted in literature so very often with a lot of emotion at play. Vara tends to not do that, which is quite refreshing. The relationship between King and Athena is very Shakespearean (had to be) – reminding the reader mainly of King Lear and the Tempest. The constant back and forth of wanting to be loved by her father and constantly seeking his validation makes Athena also seem weak but that is not the case. She is her own person and yet seeks the anchor in her father.
There is also the Dalit narrative that is told through flashback – painful memories that come to fore – told by Athena as she spends time in a jail cell. The revolution, subjugation, and the collective consciousness through one man is repeatedly communicated and done so in a satirical and sardonic manner.
Not once does Vara lose the believability factor when it comes to her characters or even the fantastical plot for that matter. I would also like to mention the role of wit and humour in this book that Vara employs to the fullest. The oddness of certain situations – of dreams merging with reality, of Rao’s internal musings through Athena’s recollections (well, not really hers) could only have been managed by a writer who sees and recognizes the absurdity within.
There are three distinctive timelines in the book only for them to merge seamlessly, not seeming separate at all. Vara forces us (well in that sense, almost) to look at the world that we want to look away from. The world full of its eccentricities, absurdities, the greedy world, about Shareholders, and how it all comes together with one Dalit family’s lives and histories. It is almost fascinating, but also heartbreaking to read those portions – just to understand that the technique of magic realism is employed to make the reading of Dalit lives bearable.
In all of this, there is also a lot of beauty and grace in the novel that cannot be missed. It is about the stories we tell ourselves in order to live and continue living, no matter what. The resilience of Athena, King Rao, and even King Rao’s wife Margie is what makes the reader grow to love them despite their inherent flaws and warts for all to see.
The Immortal King Rao is no less than an epic tale of human relationships. Of a daughter getting to know her father in death more than when he was alive. Of how relationships are so estranged not only between lovers but also parents and children, who cannot see eye-to-eye. It is about the future and yet looking into the past at all times, realizing that one cannot work without the other, almost to the point of it being inside your head. The book is about moments that pass us by and in the grander scheme of things, while may not seem much, they do account for something.
The Immortal King Rao breaks genres. Yes, it does seem literary on the surface, but it also goes beyond that – it is speculative fiction, historical fiction, dystopian even, and not for a minute does Vauhini Vara make you stop turning the pages.
There were times I was reminded of Moustache by S. Hareesh while reading the book. Then, I was reminded of Jejuri by Arun Kolatkar, given the lyricism of the prose. There is also only one way to read this book and that is to give in.
The story begins in the India of the 1950s. A young man is born into a Dalit family of coconut farmers in a remote village in Andhra Pradesh. He is named King Rao (I love the irony about this, which is also seen in other instances throughout the book). He studies in Seattle and rises up the ladder in the Silicon Valley to become a famous CEO of a tech-company, aptly titled Coconut Corporation. This is where of course the author’s skill of being a technological journalist shows, in the way that she makes you believe it all. In all of this, we meet Athena – the very talented daughter of King Rao who is trying very hard to escape him after being implanted with his memories (the idea to make him immortal – hence the title) is extremely fascinating. She is raised by him on a remote island after her parents’ divorce. This aspect of a single-parent and that too a father unfolds itself very cleverly later on in the book.
The core of this novel perhaps is not technology as it seems at first glance. There is an almighty algorithm as well that will run everything, and humans aren’t needed to apply in the company but after all it is humanity and the need to be keep it all together that will run the planet.
Vauhini’s writing appears to be simple but it is so layered and dense (all in a good way) at almost every page. It is reflective of the past, of how we are living now, and takes into account the entirety of the future or perhaps what is coming for mankind.
As Athena grapples with her father’s memories and what they stand for, forever jostling between his reality and hers, I could see traces of Atwood’s Maddaddam Trilogy, where a world unfolds slowly but takes the reader to this completely believable alternative reality where technology and capitalism have replaced human emotions as we know it.
Fathers and Daughters have always been depicted in literature so very often with a lot of emotion at play. Vara tends to not do that, which is quite refreshing. The relationship between King and Athena is very Shakespearean (had to be) – reminding the reader mainly of King Lear and the Tempest. The constant back and forth of wanting to be loved by her father and constantly seeking his validation makes Athena also seem weak but that is not the case. She is her own person and yet seeks the anchor in her father.
There is also the Dalit narrative that is told through flashback – painful memories that come to fore – told by Athena as she spends time in a jail cell. The revolution, subjugation, and the collective consciousness through one man is repeatedly communicated and done so in a satirical and sardonic manner.
Not once does Vara lose the believability factor when it comes to her characters or even the fantastical plot for that matter. I would also like to mention the role of wit and humour in this book that Vara employs to the fullest. The oddness of certain situations – of dreams merging with reality, of Rao’s internal musings through Athena’s recollections (well, not really hers) could only have been managed by a writer who sees and recognizes the absurdity within.
There are three distinctive timelines in the book only for them to merge seamlessly, not seeming separate at all. Vara forces us (well in that sense, almost) to look at the world that we want to look away from. The world full of its eccentricities, absurdities, the greedy world, about Shareholders, and how it all comes together with one Dalit family’s lives and histories. It is almost fascinating, but also heartbreaking to read those portions – just to understand that the technique of magic realism is employed to make the reading of Dalit lives bearable.
In all of this, there is also a lot of beauty and grace in the novel that cannot be missed. It is about the stories we tell ourselves in order to live and continue living, no matter what. The resilience of Athena, King Rao, and even King Rao’s wife Margie is what makes the reader grow to love them despite their inherent flaws and warts for all to see.
The Immortal King Rao is no less than an epic tale of human relationships. Of a daughter getting to know her father in death more than when he was alive. Of how relationships are so estranged not only between lovers but also parents and children, who cannot see eye-to-eye. It is about the future and yet looking into the past at all times, realizing that one cannot work without the other, almost to the point of it being inside your head. The book is about moments that pass us by and in the grander scheme of things, while may not seem much, they do account for something.
Read
December 29, 2022I really loved about two thirds of this. It's the story of King (his first name) Rao, a Dalit of aspiring family who goes to the US and becomes a sort of Steve Jobs type tech pathmaker. This is all really engaging and a terrific story. It's told by his daughter, who has a neural link with him so has access to his memories. She's living in a climate-collapsed world with a number of people who reject Rao's high tech connected world and capitalism in general. This part didn't really click with me so well: I wanted more on King Rao, in India or Silicon Valley, whereas the daughter is (deliberately for reasons of the plot) rather a blank with very little personality, and her interactions with the (mostly intolerably smug) self-exiled people are just not as engaging. Which said, it's a very impressive first novel with a ton to like, and I will read more by this author.
August 22, 2023
“We started out as scattered tribes, and then became feudal societies, then nations, then this grand collective of Shareholders.” (p. 309)
The author covers a lot of ground in this novel, probably too much, spending time at many of the above stages: first in King Rao’s Indian village, covering his childhood as an untouchable on a coconut farm, then in the nation state, covering his rise to dominance (technologically and economically) after his arrival in the United States as a foreign student specializing in computer languages (he is a fictionalized version of Bill Gates), and then in a futuristic society with a Shareholder Government, where everything is decided by a master algorithm (the Algo), where everyone has a Social Profile, where peoples' lives depend entirely on earned (or awarded) Social Capital, and where the world is facing a climate-change apocalypse (“Hothouse Earth”).
“It’s the same as what happened at the end of the ancient régime, slavery, apartheid, but this time the Algo is responsible, and who’s going to argue with an all-knowing algorithm?” (p. 193)
“You didn’t gain Social Capital for swearing off fossil fuels, going vegetarian. You gained it by consuming as much as you could, as fast as you could.” (p. 245)
Let me start with what is good about the book: using a situation where people can implant their memories into others (e.g., their children), the author raises some brilliant questions about how technology will affect the one thing that separates humans from other animals: the transition of accumulated knowledge and culture from one generation to the next. The author raises the possibility that technology, when combined with the obsession to prolong life, may eventually allow older generations to overwhelm newer ones, stealing their intellectual independence and blocking their opportunities for personal growth and the development of unique identities.
“Our defining characteristic is being able to pass something of our lived experience from one human to another, thus ensuring our advancement as a species.” (p. 188)
“Had he planned this invasion of my selfhood, seeing my mind as a receptacle for his own consciousness? ... The only relevant question was whether to sacrifice myself to be his vessel, or sacrifice him to save myself.” (pp. 103 and 106)
Two problems with the book are that: 1) too much time is spent on King Rao’s backstory, and 2) the shareholder-society parts are too brief and superficial (essentially amounting to a spy/assassination story). Another problem is that the author struggles too hard and unsuccessfully to weave in big lessons about capitalism and political economy. She is trying to convey the dark side of capitalism, especially when combined with a technologically-advanced information economy: “The defining sentiment of this late capitalist period was disaffection, and it began to take alarming forms” (p. 270). At the same time, however, she is aware that capitalism is responsible for most of humanity’s major triumphs: “People were, on average, leading longer, healthier, and more productive lives” (p. 276). Unfortunately, she does not successfully deal with these contradictions, leaving the impression that she just does not like capitalism, but cannot exactly explain why.
Other Notable Quotes:
“I wondered for a moment if being born human in this world automatically granted you a sense of kinship with others of the species, even if you’ve only ever met one.” (p. 136)
“The best anyone can do is to put enough goodness into the world to make up for the badness you’ve put into it.” (p. 186)
“Race-bating nationalists from oligarchical families began winning elections all over the world. It was the oldest trick around, promising the poor members of your own ethnic group that you’d help them become as rich as yourself, in large part by making sure that the poor members of other ethnic groups stopped stealing your group’s opportunities, thus dividing the poor so that they wouldn’t rise up together against the rich.” (p. 270)
The author covers a lot of ground in this novel, probably too much, spending time at many of the above stages: first in King Rao’s Indian village, covering his childhood as an untouchable on a coconut farm, then in the nation state, covering his rise to dominance (technologically and economically) after his arrival in the United States as a foreign student specializing in computer languages (he is a fictionalized version of Bill Gates), and then in a futuristic society with a Shareholder Government, where everything is decided by a master algorithm (the Algo), where everyone has a Social Profile, where peoples' lives depend entirely on earned (or awarded) Social Capital, and where the world is facing a climate-change apocalypse (“Hothouse Earth”).
“It’s the same as what happened at the end of the ancient régime, slavery, apartheid, but this time the Algo is responsible, and who’s going to argue with an all-knowing algorithm?” (p. 193)
“You didn’t gain Social Capital for swearing off fossil fuels, going vegetarian. You gained it by consuming as much as you could, as fast as you could.” (p. 245)
Let me start with what is good about the book: using a situation where people can implant their memories into others (e.g., their children), the author raises some brilliant questions about how technology will affect the one thing that separates humans from other animals: the transition of accumulated knowledge and culture from one generation to the next. The author raises the possibility that technology, when combined with the obsession to prolong life, may eventually allow older generations to overwhelm newer ones, stealing their intellectual independence and blocking their opportunities for personal growth and the development of unique identities.
“Our defining characteristic is being able to pass something of our lived experience from one human to another, thus ensuring our advancement as a species.” (p. 188)
“Had he planned this invasion of my selfhood, seeing my mind as a receptacle for his own consciousness? ... The only relevant question was whether to sacrifice myself to be his vessel, or sacrifice him to save myself.” (pp. 103 and 106)
Two problems with the book are that: 1) too much time is spent on King Rao’s backstory, and 2) the shareholder-society parts are too brief and superficial (essentially amounting to a spy/assassination story). Another problem is that the author struggles too hard and unsuccessfully to weave in big lessons about capitalism and political economy. She is trying to convey the dark side of capitalism, especially when combined with a technologically-advanced information economy: “The defining sentiment of this late capitalist period was disaffection, and it began to take alarming forms” (p. 270). At the same time, however, she is aware that capitalism is responsible for most of humanity’s major triumphs: “People were, on average, leading longer, healthier, and more productive lives” (p. 276). Unfortunately, she does not successfully deal with these contradictions, leaving the impression that she just does not like capitalism, but cannot exactly explain why.
Other Notable Quotes:
“I wondered for a moment if being born human in this world automatically granted you a sense of kinship with others of the species, even if you’ve only ever met one.” (p. 136)
“The best anyone can do is to put enough goodness into the world to make up for the badness you’ve put into it.” (p. 186)
“Race-bating nationalists from oligarchical families began winning elections all over the world. It was the oldest trick around, promising the poor members of your own ethnic group that you’d help them become as rich as yourself, in large part by making sure that the poor members of other ethnic groups stopped stealing your group’s opportunities, thus dividing the poor so that they wouldn’t rise up together against the rich.” (p. 270)
June 3, 2022
I'm SO glad I finally finished this. This book disgusted me on multiple levels. First of all, there are tons of gratuitous, gross-out moments. See content warnings for some examples. Second, there is just tons of gratuitous cruelty. It seems completely pointless and is miserable to read. Third, the only reason I didn't dnf this (I definitely should have!) is because the book comes across like it is trying to be super deep and say something profound about human nature or something. I wasn't getting it, but I thought that it might be worth finishing to find out if it does ever say something profound. Nope. It just ends. And oh my god I hated it so much. Do not pick up this book.
This book takes itself way too seriously. I really thought that maybe it would end up being warranted. Anarchism as a term was used correctly. That is rare. Bakunin and Proudhon were name dropped. I had such high hopes that this was going to really explore political/economic systems in a meaningful way. Capitalism is portrayed as dystopic and bad.....but also not? The Indian caste system was portrayed and lightly discussed. Just, absolutely nothing meaningful was said or explored. It was just portrayed in all its boring, miserable glory. Maybe it was just trying to say that humanity is miserable, cruel, and hopeless regardless of any system or accomplishment. Which, puke. That isn't deep and I don't think it is true.
The prose isn't bad, nor is it especially beautiful. I did notice that people's breath was described many times in many strange ways. As a reader, I don't really feel like I need to know what people's breath smells like to begin with, but the descriptions were strange and all very different. The only one I actually remember was "honeysuckle."
The story goes back and forth in time between a couple perspectives. I didn't find that hard to follow. I listened to the audio and it was fine.
Thank you NetGalley for granting my request for this audio arc in exchange for an honest review.
Sexual violence? Yep. Other content warnings? Violent, fatal child birth; gruesome murder; live, human dissection; divorce; torture and murder of lowest caste Indian boys; animal death; needles; medical experimentation; human skin made into a costume; suicide; adoption; gun violence; poverty; racism.
This book takes itself way too seriously. I really thought that maybe it would end up being warranted. Anarchism as a term was used correctly. That is rare. Bakunin and Proudhon were name dropped. I had such high hopes that this was going to really explore political/economic systems in a meaningful way. Capitalism is portrayed as dystopic and bad.....but also not? The Indian caste system was portrayed and lightly discussed. Just, absolutely nothing meaningful was said or explored. It was just portrayed in all its boring, miserable glory. Maybe it was just trying to say that humanity is miserable, cruel, and hopeless regardless of any system or accomplishment. Which, puke. That isn't deep and I don't think it is true.
The prose isn't bad, nor is it especially beautiful. I did notice that people's breath was described many times in many strange ways. As a reader, I don't really feel like I need to know what people's breath smells like to begin with, but the descriptions were strange and all very different. The only one I actually remember was "honeysuckle."
The story goes back and forth in time between a couple perspectives. I didn't find that hard to follow. I listened to the audio and it was fine.
Thank you NetGalley for granting my request for this audio arc in exchange for an honest review.
Sexual violence? Yep. Other content warnings? Violent, fatal child birth; gruesome murder; live, human dissection; divorce; torture and murder of lowest caste Indian boys; animal death; needles; medical experimentation; human skin made into a costume; suicide; adoption; gun violence; poverty; racism.
July 24, 2022
This ambitious book has so many angles for discussion, a book group could keep itself busy for hours finding the linkages to historical or mythical people, entities, ideas, etc. This book was also an engrossing read for me and even fun, despite its dystopian setting. The idea of a Google-like campus, abandoned and repopulated by an anarchist community was so good, I wish it was a book in itself. (Or maybe it is, I'll have to hunt around.) The only thing that kept this book from being a five star read for me was a certain thinness to some of the characters - or at least they felt underdeveloped in some ways. I realize this book isn't meant to give a realistic, in-depth psychological portrait of its protagonists, and as a semi-satire, it doesn't need to, but still, for me it needed to go just one layer deeper than it did I was also confused by a few elements of the story (difference between Clarinet and Harmonica?) and I found one implausible element in the plot I also didn't quite understand the ending Finally, I did notice info dumps from time to time but I liked them, so no complaints from me.
January 5, 2024
I am very torn about The Immortal King Rao. I was intrigued by the genre-bending situation it has going on, it’s a mix of a family saga originating in India and a dystopia tech utopian nightmare. Two things that I enjoy separately, but I’m not sure if I do conjointly.
The story follows King Rao’s involvement in a world domination scheme through apps, AI, and other tech headaches that take over after a financial crisis hits the US. To understand how he ends up in the US, the author introduces us first to his mother first, a Dalit with big dreams. King Rao’s birth comes from these dreams being crushed and his family raises him to become larger than life (through effort and smarts). Then the story has another focus following King Rao’s disappearance from the world arena. He moves to a desolate island and has a daughter, Athena. And then the story follows her after her father’s death and her brusque introduction to a tech dystopian world and society.
The story is engaging but it became a mess after 200 pages. King Rao’s story, especially his origins and everything to do with his mother was a solid 10/10. Also, learning how he introduced his Dalit origins as a brand to not hide who he was but to advocate for it and be proud of it was really interesting. But when Athena comes in… I’m lost. There’s a lot going on. A lot about King Rao’s tech, and Athena and the tech, and the new society, and it became a bit of a pointless mess for a while. I feel the book would have been better if it had had 50-100 pages less.
Vara had very interesting points to make about privilege and the caste system and she links it with how AI/Algorithms/tech yada yadas interact with it. It’s a pity most of it was brought up during Athena’s chapters. Everything with King Rao was more straight to the point and interesting to me.
If this story hadn’t had Athena, it would be a 4 stars, but I’m giving it a 2.5 rounded up. It dragged too much and there was a whole lot of too many things and too much nothing going on in her very lengthy chunk of the book.
The story follows King Rao’s involvement in a world domination scheme through apps, AI, and other tech headaches that take over after a financial crisis hits the US. To understand how he ends up in the US, the author introduces us first to his mother first, a Dalit with big dreams. King Rao’s birth comes from these dreams being crushed and his family raises him to become larger than life (through effort and smarts). Then the story has another focus following King Rao’s disappearance from the world arena. He moves to a desolate island and has a daughter, Athena. And then the story follows her after her father’s death and her brusque introduction to a tech dystopian world and society.
The story is engaging but it became a mess after 200 pages. King Rao’s story, especially his origins and everything to do with his mother was a solid 10/10. Also, learning how he introduced his Dalit origins as a brand to not hide who he was but to advocate for it and be proud of it was really interesting. But when Athena comes in… I’m lost. There’s a lot going on. A lot about King Rao’s tech, and Athena and the tech, and the new society, and it became a bit of a pointless mess for a while. I feel the book would have been better if it had had 50-100 pages less.
Vara had very interesting points to make about privilege and the caste system and she links it with how AI/Algorithms/tech yada yadas interact with it. It’s a pity most of it was brought up during Athena’s chapters. Everything with King Rao was more straight to the point and interesting to me.
If this story hadn’t had Athena, it would be a 4 stars, but I’m giving it a 2.5 rounded up. It dragged too much and there was a whole lot of too many things and too much nothing going on in her very lengthy chunk of the book.
September 18, 2021
Mind-blowing, epic, and full of love, this speculative and historical fiction novel (what a combination!) is for fans of Battlestar Galactica and The Maddaddam Trilogy. The world Vauhini has built here unfolds slowly but coalesces in a complete and believable alternative reality where technology and capitalism stand in for humanity and democracy. I love the background of King Rao and his family coconut farm in India, and how the history of his ancestors blend with the dystopian science fiction of his and his family's future. This is a phenomenal debut that will pull you in and make you think. I loved it! Can’t wait to see it with a cover 😉. Thanks to ABA and the publisher for an early look at this book for the Indies Introduce program.
June 24, 2022
In the Acknowledgements section on the last page, the author says a relative told her not to take this book seriously. I think it was the perfect way to describe this limp cold fish of a novel. When I read The Observer, Literary Hub, Vulture and others hyping this novel and saw it in the Most Anticipated Lists of the year, I hoped so ardently that this might be different than the other NRI-written corpses of novels that tend to get 'famous' or published at all simply because of their degrees and alma maters. To say the least, The Immortal King Rao is closer to a teenager's fan fiction-turned-into-a-novel. Only a White Lens would find anything remotely 'worthy' here.
Sold as a Dystopian, Science-Fiction, Speculative Fiction novel, it doesn't fulfil any of these genres' requirements. I have read better Dystopian, Sci-fi YA novels!!!! Though it's Adult Fiction, never once did it engage my attention right from page one despite my excitement to read it. I can't get enough of speculative/dystopian/sci-fi: some of my favourites since teenage have been Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World,1984, Kafka on the Shore, The Metamorphosis, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, The Handmaid's Tale, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Station Eleven and too many more to count. This novel is nowhere near the same league neither in the same spectrum as these genre books! The Immortal King Rao is about ‘King’ Rao- it’s more a family saga than anything remotely dystopian/sci-fi/speculative. It’s insulting to all the books in the genre to call this one dystopian. Because any reader would ask this basic tenet of a good dystopian: where's the world-building?!
The plot seemed like it was mocking logic, the mystery seemed something simply inserted to keep a reader’s interest to the last page (probably because the author might have known nothing else would sustain it), the lens was suffocatingly White but guised under the pretext of a flimsy protagonist who comes off more a s a misogynistic solipsistic prick. The author is preoccupied in repeating how everyone’s breath smells at every moment, piggy-back riding on current headlines and articles to spin them into the plot and expanding on them in futility, presenting ethnicity in a gross distorted view, trying to explore caste and colonialism (but the attempt ended up being more white-washed and extremely artificial and one-tone) and trying to assert that ‘capitalism is evil’ but then somehow later changing her tune and saying capitalism can save you too?! Half the text is littered with historical facts like the paragraphs about the Wright Brothers which I could have looked up in an encyclopedia had I wanted to… There’s also a White bias in the author’s prose - “a picture window that brought strong white American sunlight surging in.” I almost gagged reading this line. It’s clearly a debut and a shoddy one at that, I don’t undertsand the hype around this novel at all!!
If the prose had possessed even a fingernail's length of skill or imagination, the text could have been more bearable but the style is bland and flat, it sucked the joy out of reading! Several times, I wanted to stop reading the book at all but I grit my teeth painfully and endured to find somehting redeemable but there’s not a sliver till the end… The only other ethnic person is Vietnamese -who’s also racist for some reason and a tattle-tale and showed as ‘out to get people of other ethnicities’ and having ‘ a subservient expression in front of the white security guard as if he expected a pat on the head and. a biscuit’!!! My eyes bugged out at this farcical line stating nonsensical behaviour! The dialogue is badly stunted and I can't imagine a real person speaking in this way! But everyone else of course in the universe of this book, is a white American- no African Americans/Latinos etc, basically no people of colour except one Vietnamese man with a fleeting impression. The author goes on and on about ‘King’ Rao’s Dalit identity, simply inserting what they face because of caste in limp sentences, ultimately going nowhere with it. A Dalit man has rarely been a powerful protagonist of a novel and I had high expectations but she just sand-papered the entire character! None of the others- neither the daughter Athena nor the wife Margaret were sketched adequately and I don’t even want to get started on the flimsy convoluted family life staged in ‘Kothapalli’ a South-Indian village where King Rao is born. I have a bone to pick with the simplistic, narcissistic name ‘King’ for the central character- it doesn’t translate well if she meant it to replace the equivalent of ‘Raja’ in Hindi or Telugu and it’s nicknames read terribly in the novel. This is why I've always maintained that NRIs should never base their books in a country they have never experienced, they only present a white-washed version of things heard from their families. None of the names or characters are especially memorable or have any sort of arc. It seems like the author wrote the sentences as she heard them and it’s all just tedious telling, doesn’t build a picture of the village or the American cities or the supposedly ‘dystopian’ world.
There's the pretentious and elitist name-dropping of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (who is dropped four times and used to elucidate how much the daughter Athena knows of politics and philosophy), Mikhail Bakunin- the Russian philosopher on a close second, the Havels and the Goodmans. The problem with this casual elitism is that the author simply inserts their sentences verbatim and never shows/expands the point she wants to make. So what's the point of the name-dropping?
A thoroughly unreadable story, I knew nothing after Tomb of Sand would digest well but this book especially sits like bitter nauseous buds in my mouth. If you want to read a family saga there are many others better constructed. If you want dystopian, sci-fi, speculative I’m sure any other book in the genre is better than this one. “Most anticipated” to “Most disappointing overhyped” novel of the year would be more correct. Definitely wouldn’t recommend even at gunpoint! Do. Not. Read.
Sold as a Dystopian, Science-Fiction, Speculative Fiction novel, it doesn't fulfil any of these genres' requirements. I have read better Dystopian, Sci-fi YA novels!!!! Though it's Adult Fiction, never once did it engage my attention right from page one despite my excitement to read it. I can't get enough of speculative/dystopian/sci-fi: some of my favourites since teenage have been Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World,1984, Kafka on the Shore, The Metamorphosis, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, The Handmaid's Tale, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Station Eleven and too many more to count. This novel is nowhere near the same league neither in the same spectrum as these genre books! The Immortal King Rao is about ‘King’ Rao- it’s more a family saga than anything remotely dystopian/sci-fi/speculative. It’s insulting to all the books in the genre to call this one dystopian. Because any reader would ask this basic tenet of a good dystopian: where's the world-building?!
The plot seemed like it was mocking logic, the mystery seemed something simply inserted to keep a reader’s interest to the last page (probably because the author might have known nothing else would sustain it), the lens was suffocatingly White but guised under the pretext of a flimsy protagonist who comes off more a s a misogynistic solipsistic prick. The author is preoccupied in repeating how everyone’s breath smells at every moment, piggy-back riding on current headlines and articles to spin them into the plot and expanding on them in futility, presenting ethnicity in a gross distorted view, trying to explore caste and colonialism (but the attempt ended up being more white-washed and extremely artificial and one-tone) and trying to assert that ‘capitalism is evil’ but then somehow later changing her tune and saying capitalism can save you too?! Half the text is littered with historical facts like the paragraphs about the Wright Brothers which I could have looked up in an encyclopedia had I wanted to… There’s also a White bias in the author’s prose - “a picture window that brought strong white American sunlight surging in.” I almost gagged reading this line. It’s clearly a debut and a shoddy one at that, I don’t undertsand the hype around this novel at all!!
If the prose had possessed even a fingernail's length of skill or imagination, the text could have been more bearable but the style is bland and flat, it sucked the joy out of reading! Several times, I wanted to stop reading the book at all but I grit my teeth painfully and endured to find somehting redeemable but there’s not a sliver till the end… The only other ethnic person is Vietnamese -who’s also racist for some reason and a tattle-tale and showed as ‘out to get people of other ethnicities’ and having ‘ a subservient expression in front of the white security guard as if he expected a pat on the head and. a biscuit’!!! My eyes bugged out at this farcical line stating nonsensical behaviour! The dialogue is badly stunted and I can't imagine a real person speaking in this way! But everyone else of course in the universe of this book, is a white American- no African Americans/Latinos etc, basically no people of colour except one Vietnamese man with a fleeting impression. The author goes on and on about ‘King’ Rao’s Dalit identity, simply inserting what they face because of caste in limp sentences, ultimately going nowhere with it. A Dalit man has rarely been a powerful protagonist of a novel and I had high expectations but she just sand-papered the entire character! None of the others- neither the daughter Athena nor the wife Margaret were sketched adequately and I don’t even want to get started on the flimsy convoluted family life staged in ‘Kothapalli’ a South-Indian village where King Rao is born. I have a bone to pick with the simplistic, narcissistic name ‘King’ for the central character- it doesn’t translate well if she meant it to replace the equivalent of ‘Raja’ in Hindi or Telugu and it’s nicknames read terribly in the novel. This is why I've always maintained that NRIs should never base their books in a country they have never experienced, they only present a white-washed version of things heard from their families. None of the names or characters are especially memorable or have any sort of arc. It seems like the author wrote the sentences as she heard them and it’s all just tedious telling, doesn’t build a picture of the village or the American cities or the supposedly ‘dystopian’ world.
There's the pretentious and elitist name-dropping of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (who is dropped four times and used to elucidate how much the daughter Athena knows of politics and philosophy), Mikhail Bakunin- the Russian philosopher on a close second, the Havels and the Goodmans. The problem with this casual elitism is that the author simply inserts their sentences verbatim and never shows/expands the point she wants to make. So what's the point of the name-dropping?
A thoroughly unreadable story, I knew nothing after Tomb of Sand would digest well but this book especially sits like bitter nauseous buds in my mouth. If you want to read a family saga there are many others better constructed. If you want dystopian, sci-fi, speculative I’m sure any other book in the genre is better than this one. “Most anticipated” to “Most disappointing overhyped” novel of the year would be more correct. Definitely wouldn’t recommend even at gunpoint! Do. Not. Read.
June 15, 2023
this book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and was the only one that didn't win - which sucks. but it finally got me to read the book and I'm glad I did.
Vauhini Vara clearly has put a lot of research into this book and her years as a tech journalist clearly helped. The world that she created in this not to distant dystopia could be very real. I really liked the characters that she created and how we saw different timelines to understand who King Rao was and how he became the tech mogul he was.
However, the different timelines were ultimately to her detriment. There were too many and of course, there were some you like and some you don't. I also thought the end was just too sudden and wished it had a better way of tying things up.
However, I will keep reading from her and look forward to reading from her next.
if you want to know all my thoughts on this book, check out this video where i review all the booker international shortlisted books: https://youtu.be/RJcYZ6Chcsw (less)
Vauhini Vara clearly has put a lot of research into this book and her years as a tech journalist clearly helped. The world that she created in this not to distant dystopia could be very real. I really liked the characters that she created and how we saw different timelines to understand who King Rao was and how he became the tech mogul he was.
However, the different timelines were ultimately to her detriment. There were too many and of course, there were some you like and some you don't. I also thought the end was just too sudden and wished it had a better way of tying things up.
However, I will keep reading from her and look forward to reading from her next.
if you want to know all my thoughts on this book, check out this video where i review all the booker international shortlisted books: https://youtu.be/RJcYZ6Chcsw (less)
July 12, 2022
I read this debut novel because it was on the GoodReads list of books eligible for the 2022 Booker Prize longlist. I expected to find many different styles and genres on this list, but this work seemed to mash them all together in a rather incoherent (to me) manner.
The eponymous King Rao (his actual name, not indicating royalty) was born to a low caste family in India but manages to become a famous tech guru with his own company off the coast of Seattle, where most of the action takes place. The plot contains an aura of literary, historical and speculative fiction. Elements that I usually look for to judge a book are quite a mishmash! There are many characters that are one dimensional and difficult to tell apart. The setting and sense of place could have been developed much more visually, perhaps grounding this reader in the fictional world.
In short, I can't see this book on the Booker longlist and appreciated by a diverse group of readers. The Clarke Award for "experimental fiction with a bit of a speculative element" has
just been announced and I think this novel would have fit much better on that list!
The eponymous King Rao (his actual name, not indicating royalty) was born to a low caste family in India but manages to become a famous tech guru with his own company off the coast of Seattle, where most of the action takes place. The plot contains an aura of literary, historical and speculative fiction. Elements that I usually look for to judge a book are quite a mishmash! There are many characters that are one dimensional and difficult to tell apart. The setting and sense of place could have been developed much more visually, perhaps grounding this reader in the fictional world.
In short, I can't see this book on the Booker longlist and appreciated by a diverse group of readers. The Clarke Award for "experimental fiction with a bit of a speculative element" has
just been announced and I think this novel would have fit much better on that list!
Read
April 23, 2022I'm throwing in the towel at slightly over the halfway point, so I won't be assigning a star rating..
It's a beautiful, well written book, and I'm sure it's going to win all sorts of awards, but I'm just not enjoying it, and forcing myself to read it every day isn't making me like it any more.
Best of luck to the author, and a big thank you to W,.W, Norton for the ARC.
I'll try to pass it on to someone who will love it.
It's a beautiful, well written book, and I'm sure it's going to win all sorts of awards, but I'm just not enjoying it, and forcing myself to read it every day isn't making me like it any more.
Best of luck to the author, and a big thank you to W,.W, Norton for the ARC.
I'll try to pass it on to someone who will love it.
July 2, 2023
I enjoyed the setup of this cli-fi / dystopian multi-generational novel, but then struggled to remain invested as it ground onward. There are some interesting ideas and observations here, but overall the characters did not completely come alive for me.
August 12, 2022
Smart, Clear-eyed, Riveting!
A clear-eyed and endlessly thought-provoking entertaining read of the age-old debate of the role of technology as a tool for betterment, and opportunity.
The author displays her journalist skills as she effectively combines a matter-of-fact view with intimate details across a vast and diverse timeline from 1950s India of a rural Dalit community to the 1970s United States and the beginning of the rise the entrepreneurial technological behemoths to the futuristic corporate-run governments with algorithm driven solutions being the norm as climate change rages its revenge.
This was a smart, original, and completely absorbing read for me from the mysterious introduction of the narrator, Althea, accused of murdering her father (the King Rao of the title), the fresh look at the Dalit community, and the encroaching role of technology versus individual choice/freedom.
Raising fascinating questions, this book is a terrific pick for book groups that enjoy discussing timely issues.
A clear-eyed and endlessly thought-provoking entertaining read of the age-old debate of the role of technology as a tool for betterment, and opportunity.
The author displays her journalist skills as she effectively combines a matter-of-fact view with intimate details across a vast and diverse timeline from 1950s India of a rural Dalit community to the 1970s United States and the beginning of the rise the entrepreneurial technological behemoths to the futuristic corporate-run governments with algorithm driven solutions being the norm as climate change rages its revenge.
This was a smart, original, and completely absorbing read for me from the mysterious introduction of the narrator, Althea, accused of murdering her father (the King Rao of the title), the fresh look at the Dalit community, and the encroaching role of technology versus individual choice/freedom.
Raising fascinating questions, this book is a terrific pick for book groups that enjoy discussing timely issues.
May 13, 2022
The whole naming conventions in this book and the dystopian ultra capitalistic system were definitely not the strong parts, but I surely enjoyed all the story in the past, especially in the coconut plantation and then Rao’s development of his business. It may have all the trappings of sci-fi but where the writing shines is in the human story - the exploration of the emotions and relationships. I may not have been fully satiated with it but I definitely enjoyed the writing and look forward to what the author publishes next.
July 21, 2022
3.5, generously rounded up
This was an up and down and sideways (if that is possible) read for me. At times I felt I might even be reading more that one novel as there is a lot going on. As I'm not always keen on writing a review, I find I haven't the patience or words to sort though it all. This may sound negative, but I did often enjoy this book, flaws and all, and am generously rounding this up because I admire Vara for taking risks and writing a big, ambitious and challenging debut novel.
This was an up and down and sideways (if that is possible) read for me. At times I felt I might even be reading more that one novel as there is a lot going on. As I'm not always keen on writing a review, I find I haven't the patience or words to sort though it all. This may sound negative, but I did often enjoy this book, flaws and all, and am generously rounding this up because I admire Vara for taking risks and writing a big, ambitious and challenging debut novel.
August 21, 2022
4.5
I'm a huge fan of novels that defy genre, and this is one sure fits that bill. It's a family saga and historical novel set in 1950s India, it's a tech story about an Apple-like start up with designs on ruling the world, it's a near-future speculative fiction and cautionary tale about ceding control of our lives to technology, and it's a story about class and opportunity. It's ambitious, for sure, but it works! Really enjoyed this - glad I took a chance on it.
I'm a huge fan of novels that defy genre, and this is one sure fits that bill. It's a family saga and historical novel set in 1950s India, it's a tech story about an Apple-like start up with designs on ruling the world, it's a near-future speculative fiction and cautionary tale about ceding control of our lives to technology, and it's a story about class and opportunity. It's ambitious, for sure, but it works! Really enjoyed this - glad I took a chance on it.
May 2, 2022
This is one of those books that does so well I love it, yet don't like it anyway.
A women is in prison and has to tell us her father's memories so she can be judged. The father is a Steve Jobs-meets-Jeff Bezos-meets-Jesus Christ character, a man who helped change our world into something leaning more into Star Trek or 1984. A computer company ends up running the entire planet, with Steve Jobs being represented by King Rao and Apple represented by Coconut.
The plot unwraps slowly, beautifully. We find our world warped by global warming, the failure of humanity to cure capitalism and embracing running towards extinction because the ad revenue is just too good to pass up. There are some Idiocracy (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/) vibes, as governments run out of money they outsource their function to King Rao and his company. Eventually, an almighty algorithm just runs everything, humans need not apply.
Don't like this, or trust it? Then you can move to a wonderful selection of islands and just make it work, go on, it's your right to give up literally everything and go to an undeveloped chunk of land to settle it, no Internet, electricity, just you and your desire to be free. Enough people take this option, our main character ends up living there and the plot continues.
The story revolves around a small group of characters, told in flashbacks and our girl is forced to remember her father's memories (brain implanted computer chips that are a big part of the plot later on), so we see his childhood, moving to America and college, meeting his wife, building their empire, overlapped with her life, her decisions, her sins.
The story and writing are top notch, excellent. The characters feel real, believable, and are the focus of the story. The future technology is believable but we don't spend too much time in the details, the technology just develops and we move back to the people.
The point of her telling this story from her prison cell is so she can be judged, and the ending just disappointed me. You may love the ending, so good luck, a bunch of other early reviewers love it. It's just not for me.
But the rest of the book is so good, its worth it.
**I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
A women is in prison and has to tell us her father's memories so she can be judged. The father is a Steve Jobs-meets-Jeff Bezos-meets-Jesus Christ character, a man who helped change our world into something leaning more into Star Trek or 1984. A computer company ends up running the entire planet, with Steve Jobs being represented by King Rao and Apple represented by Coconut.
The plot unwraps slowly, beautifully. We find our world warped by global warming, the failure of humanity to cure capitalism and embracing running towards extinction because the ad revenue is just too good to pass up. There are some Idiocracy (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/) vibes, as governments run out of money they outsource their function to King Rao and his company. Eventually, an almighty algorithm just runs everything, humans need not apply.
Don't like this, or trust it? Then you can move to a wonderful selection of islands and just make it work, go on, it's your right to give up literally everything and go to an undeveloped chunk of land to settle it, no Internet, electricity, just you and your desire to be free. Enough people take this option, our main character ends up living there and the plot continues.
The story revolves around a small group of characters, told in flashbacks and our girl is forced to remember her father's memories (brain implanted computer chips that are a big part of the plot later on), so we see his childhood, moving to America and college, meeting his wife, building their empire, overlapped with her life, her decisions, her sins.
The story and writing are top notch, excellent. The characters feel real, believable, and are the focus of the story. The future technology is believable but we don't spend too much time in the details, the technology just develops and we move back to the people.
The point of her telling this story from her prison cell is so she can be judged, and the ending just disappointed me. You may love the ending, so good luck, a bunch of other early reviewers love it. It's just not for me.
But the rest of the book is so good, its worth it.
**I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
March 2, 2022
This title is on all the Spring What to Read Lists and it's easy to see why!
Athena Rao is on trial from jail her jail cell. Essentially she is on trial for her life as she speak to the shareholders of the board of the directors that oversees the working of the ENTIRE world. In this dysopian speculative fiction story, capitalism is truly king. .
This capitalist nightmare is comprised of three stories - the birth of King Rao and his Dalit childhood in the small village in India, the arrival of Rao in the US for grad school and his "great" world changing invention and finally, Athena's recounting of the events that led to his death.
In this story, King Rao is Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos or maybe both with the addition of Eli Musk! He will remain immortal through his memories which are implanted in his daughter as well as his monster corporation the behemoth Coconut Corporation ( which is equal google + apple + Tesla).
This is an epic tail for anyone who loves capitalist spoofs, dystopian stories and dark satire. If you like satire, being behind the smoke and mirrors of popular culture or just really love great writing, #TheImmortalKingRao is for you!
#wwNorton #NetGalley #NetGalleyReads #WwNorton&Company
Athena Rao is on trial from jail her jail cell. Essentially she is on trial for her life as she speak to the shareholders of the board of the directors that oversees the working of the ENTIRE world. In this dysopian speculative fiction story, capitalism is truly king. .
This capitalist nightmare is comprised of three stories - the birth of King Rao and his Dalit childhood in the small village in India, the arrival of Rao in the US for grad school and his "great" world changing invention and finally, Athena's recounting of the events that led to his death.
In this story, King Rao is Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos or maybe both with the addition of Eli Musk! He will remain immortal through his memories which are implanted in his daughter as well as his monster corporation the behemoth Coconut Corporation ( which is equal google + apple + Tesla).
This is an epic tail for anyone who loves capitalist spoofs, dystopian stories and dark satire. If you like satire, being behind the smoke and mirrors of popular culture or just really love great writing, #TheImmortalKingRao is for you!
#wwNorton #NetGalley #NetGalleyReads #WwNorton&Company
August 4, 2022
Meh. The various threads never connected. The women were the most interesting story in the book, not the main protagonist and I just kept waiting for the story to switch back to them. The part about Rao's origins in a village in Andhra Pradesh didn't really inform his character or his actions. It seemed to be in there just to tell the usual Indian story of caste and family turmoil, and I could have skipped entire chapters. There is an interesting core in the book around the father-daughter relationship, the end-stage capitalism that the book is set in, the increasing role of corporations in the public sphere and AI/technology, social capital and more. But there are large parts of the book that just don't work.
July 23, 2022
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up - FRTC
July 24, 2022
"It's a small word, grief. But for the disappearance of the one person by whom you have defined yourself, without whom you cannot be sure of your own existence, there is no word at all. If there were, it would have to be an endless one. You would go on speaking it for the rest of your life. You would die with the word on your lips."
I'm skeptical of diaspora writing the homeland, particularly if it involves thorny and crucial issues such as caste. Here, at least, Vara's background was a little reassuring and the book avoided missteps. I did feel that Vara sidestepped the pervasiveness of caste in Dalit daily life and made it mostly an afterthought. A single mention of Naxalbari is there and a Dalit schoolteacher spreads revolutionary thought to his students but also finds caste no different than the French Estates, accusing the British of cementing caste in society.
The novel begins with Athena in jail, accused of murdering her ailing father, King Rao. King with his wife, Margaret, are the Wozniak-Jobs duo in this alternate world who go on to find Coconut (aka Apple), the most pervasive tech company, ushering in a change from nations to one entity ruled by the Algo(rithm), presided by the Board. A globalized corporate government where citizens become shareholders and life is run by accrued social capital is a too plausible technocratic future informed by Vara's journalistic work. Initially, I found it mediocre but I warmed up to it by the fitting, if abrupt, end.
Vara painstakingly creates a secondary history; It's vaguely detailed and barely sketched out in piecemeal flashbacks. The chapters map three timelines: King's childhood in rural South India, his rise as a technocrat, and Athena's childhood to the present. The narrative is realized through Athena's gained memories. The writing is erratic and the tone becomes dry in places, especially in brief unnecessary historical asides. Those past chapters are the most interesting with the best prose. Its pacing is uneven, the allegories obvious, and even though the ideas are nice, if derivative, the execution falters.
(I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
May 19, 2022
I’m in awe of The Immortal King Rao’s complex and utterly engaging structure and style. It’s a page-turner that masterfully weaves together story threads across place, culture, time, perspective, and genre to create a riveting narrative that gives insight into both our possible future, and our current global, social, and technological challenges.
The novel has elements of sci-fi, historical fiction, dystopian fiction, and contemporary literary fiction, all blended into a reading experience that feels rooted in cultural and literary traditions, while being completely new and fascinating.
Written in an elegantly crafted, fast-paced story-telling voice that pulls no punches, the story moves to a breath-taking finish with a balanced mix of unexpected turns and coruscating insights. This artful merging of commentary on our present, reflections of our past, and cautionary depictions of our future is a thrilling read that left me with plenty to think about.
In short, if you're looking for a well-written, highly inventive, compelling, and thought-provoking exploration of our global society and where we might be heading, look no further than The Immortal King Rao.
The novel has elements of sci-fi, historical fiction, dystopian fiction, and contemporary literary fiction, all blended into a reading experience that feels rooted in cultural and literary traditions, while being completely new and fascinating.
Written in an elegantly crafted, fast-paced story-telling voice that pulls no punches, the story moves to a breath-taking finish with a balanced mix of unexpected turns and coruscating insights. This artful merging of commentary on our present, reflections of our past, and cautionary depictions of our future is a thrilling read that left me with plenty to think about.
In short, if you're looking for a well-written, highly inventive, compelling, and thought-provoking exploration of our global society and where we might be heading, look no further than The Immortal King Rao.
June 28, 2023
3.8/ Rounded up for an ambitious debut. The writing is quite nimble and reports an incredible amount of information, so much goes on during each (interspersed) timeline and I never felt lost or overwhelmed shifting between decades and continents. The majority of the story is told from a retrospective lens and I liked the narrative style, which reveals itself more and more and comes together well at the end. I wanted the novel to go deeper in a few areas, but especially into Margaret and King's marriage and the millennial years. I thought the sections in India were especially strong, as well as the sections when Athena is with the Xs. Overall an intriguing, well written story if not altogether a riveting one.
April 29, 2022
I just could not get into this book. I liked the idea but it just never clicked for me.
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