On the artificial island of Atlantica, politics has been replaced by consumerism, with the Libertycare computer running every aspect of life on the island. One of Atlantica's main sources of prosperity is its willingness to receive the world's garbage, no matter how toxic, and store it in the porous rock on which the island stands, and another is the prison ships that circle the world picking up new inmates and occasionally stopping off in Atlantica for a 'Final Adjustment'.The islanders are now known as customers rather than citizens and despite the mantra that the customer is always right, anyone who rocks the boat is 'questionnaired', and customers denounce their friends, relations and neighbours for infractions via the 'customer help-line'. At the start of the book, they are voting on whether Libertycare should run the island for a second term, and a campaign is underway in the USA to have Libertycare replace the president and government. But could what has been so successful on a small island really be scaled up for a country the size of the United States, and are things actually running as smoothly on Atlantica as Libertycare would have you believe? Why exactly are there so many Atlantican geologists being held in solitary confinement on the prison ships?The Paper Eater is a dystopian satire on rampant consumerism, the power of big business, man-made ecological disaster, and the ability of human beings to stick their heads in the sand and ignore all signs of trouble ahead.
I love books that are different, quirky and unusual, so when I read the cover blurb on this book, then read the reviews on Goodreads, I was expecting great things. Unfortunately, I found the book very hard to get into and found that not only did I not care for any of the characters, I struggled to remember who each of them were as I went through the book. The Goodreads rating for this book is pretty high, so I guess I am in the minority, but isn't that what reading and opinions are all about?! Don't let my review put you off if you fancy giving this book a try, I hope you enjoy itmore than I did :)
Another original work from Jensen. The Paper Eater is Harvey Kidd, who is made a scapegoat of a malfunction in the computer-run Atlantican republic. To keep himself from blurting the truth and subsequently bringing forward his execution, he munches trial papers in to papier mache, turning them into chess pieces resembling those who screwed him over.The usual mix of psychological disorders, characterisation and plain foreplay helped with the speed of reading - I finished this in three days. However, the Orwellian comprisons are a bit far-fetched; anyone who has read Jensen before will know that entertainment plays a bigger part in her sardonic jabs at society. But the trademark Jensen's are there: quick yet complete character development; concurrent use of suspense and humour and the non-big-bang ending.
—Stephanie Augustin
