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Empathy
a science-fiction novel involving clones, a psychic, and empathy as a recreational drug.
We have always been we. Then they forced us to become you and I…
Empathy consists of two stories told in parallel.
Vuong is one of five Vietnamese clones that have come of age at 25. The Department in Hanoi is allowing them to meet after being separated for twenty years. Lian has murdered her foster father after being forced to eat meat. Geraldine is dying of cancer in Australia. Giang and Khanh were brought up together as twins in New Zealand and are telepathic. They have been used for research over their lifetimes. Vuong discovers that the data kept on all of them has been used to develop empathy, the latest party drug.
My meets Truong in Berlin who introduces her to empathy which makes the user supersensitive to other people's feelings. My's mother is a cleaner at CHESS, a multinational chemical company, and My comes to believe her mother is ex-Stasi and an industrial spy for Vietnamese government. My comes down from the drug after hearing about the saturation point when the penetration of empathy would be such that the world's population would be pacified. She discovers that Truong is actually the one who is in the pay of the Vietnamese government and her mother is just a cleaner. She tries to out the conspiracy in the media but no one believes her…
We have always been we. Then they forced us to become you and I…
Empathy consists of two stories told in parallel.
Vuong is one of five Vietnamese clones that have come of age at 25. The Department in Hanoi is allowing them to meet after being separated for twenty years. Lian has murdered her foster father after being forced to eat meat. Geraldine is dying of cancer in Australia. Giang and Khanh were brought up together as twins in New Zealand and are telepathic. They have been used for research over their lifetimes. Vuong discovers that the data kept on all of them has been used to develop empathy, the latest party drug.
My meets Truong in Berlin who introduces her to empathy which makes the user supersensitive to other people's feelings. My's mother is a cleaner at CHESS, a multinational chemical company, and My comes to believe her mother is ex-Stasi and an industrial spy for Vietnamese government. My comes down from the drug after hearing about the saturation point when the penetration of empathy would be such that the world's population would be pacified. She discovers that Truong is actually the one who is in the pay of the Vietnamese government and her mother is just a cleaner. She tries to out the conspiracy in the media but no one believes her…
244 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
2 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 5, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up. This was okay. The writing is a bit strange - choppy and simple. Often summarizes a lot and tells instead of shows.
Characterization is very weak. There are two POVs and they are not very distinct, so I was often mixing them up. Especially when they are in the same place in the end.
The plot interested me at the start, but then it lost me as the scale grew. It reminded me a bit of The New One. It’s also about clones and also gets wild at the end. It feels silly instead of intense. There are so many betrayals I lost track of what was happening. There’s also a lot of plot told via characters talking to one another which is just not that engaging.
I did enjoy the first half well enough, when the plot was less chaotic and the story drew me in. So I’m still rounding it to a 3.
Characterization is very weak. There are two POVs and they are not very distinct, so I was often mixing them up. Especially when they are in the same place in the end.
The plot interested me at the start, but then it lost me as the scale grew. It reminded me a bit of The New One. It’s also about clones and also gets wild at the end. It feels silly instead of intense. There are so many betrayals I lost track of what was happening. There’s also a lot of plot told via characters talking to one another which is just not that engaging.
I did enjoy the first half well enough, when the plot was less chaotic and the story drew me in. So I’m still rounding it to a 3.
July 2, 2023
The pace is a bit too slow for how short it is, but despite how little actually happens, the story gives you a lot to think about. The relevance to modern times also makes the questions raised all the more concerning. If you're interested in philosophizing about the nature of empathy and the psychological effects of advancing technology, then you will likely enjoy this book. But if you were intrigued by mention of drugs, clones, and corporate espionage, you might be left unsatisfied by the scarcity of those elements.
May 15, 2023
Well written and a quick read. I was expecting more to the story. The ending left me a feeling a bit flat.
June 22, 2023
A short story that certainly had me absorbed. Cool concepts, thought provoking. I don't know if I loved the ending.
July 17, 2023
Great idea. I felt it fell apart.
September 17, 2023
I liked the start, but the second half was a slog. The characters are flat, the language choppy, and the plot is full of holes even if you accept that the narrator is untrustworthy.
November 1, 2023
Very odd and bizarre. The topic is fresh as it touches human clones and a new-found drug through their chemistry with each other that is taking over. I enjoyed the freshness of the topic.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews