IT ’ S A FASCINATING NOVEL — AND A FASCINATING WORLD , WHERE KLING HAS TAKEN THINGS TO THE EXTREME
QUALITYLAND BY MARK-UWE KLING TRANSLATED BY JAMIE LEE SEARLE
The prose is playful and experimental — POV switches , movement forward and backward in time , an omniscient narrator who pops in now and then . All of this could be awkward and confusing , but Zeh delivers it smoothly , and it ’ s a credit to Sally-Ann Spencer ’ s translation that this reads so easily .
It is interesting to look at this novel through the lens of the COVID conspiracy theorists , who would invariably find something in common with the rebellion against the state : the “ PRI ” are fighting for the People ’ s Right to Illness . In some ways , the “ method ” is an imagining of the very extreme end of the “ Big Pharma ” conspiracies .
When I first started Qualityland ( published in 2018 in German , 2020 in English ), I was tempted to put it down for good after the first few pages . I ’ m not big on the kind of slapstick / over-the-top comedy that I felt Qualityland was going to be . As I read on , however , I warmed up to it . It ’ s very much in the vein of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett : lots of funny , sarcastic humor , used to speak to larger issues . Marc-Uwe Kling focuses on companies like Amazon and Meta , how they use our data , and how they apply algorithms . He is also touching on our current media and news environment and the echo chambers we can live in if we stick to particular sources .
It ’ s a fascinating novel — and a fascinating world , where Kling has taken things to the extreme : instead of the emails we get now with “ suggestions ” by Amazon , in Kling ’ s world a drone will arrive with a product that is anticipated and personalized to your exact preferences . The algorithm knows what you want before you do — and the machines are never wrong !
Both these novels felt highly relevant and would both be great for older teens , too — a great way to spark discussions about the consequences of the way we live today , and what their future may look like .
CURRENTS 37