Matthew Binder

In PURE COSMOS CLUB, by Matthew Binder, Paul has a unique life as an artist who creates odd and often misunderstood art that often is dismissed by the traditional art world and at other times lovingly embraced by it's deeper meaning (even if Paul himself is unsure what that meaning is). Paul, along with his disabled dog Blanche, is looking for his own meaning of life and his search becomes a spiritual revelation that is the Pure Cosmos Club, a cult like group that encourages rebirth and freedom of thought. As Paul becomes more intertwined with the group, he begins to wonder if this really is the place for him to continue his discovery of his true self.
Paul is deeply flawed and doesn't seem to have many redeemable qualities and yet the reader almost immediately falls in love with him. He wants to continue to produce art and while he portrays it as a way to continue surviving, the book hints more and more about how he can't help but create more art and that creation seems to fulfill a void in Paul's soul. The cast of characters, including Paul's dog, Blanche (whose personality is so human-like that the reader forgets she is a dog) are not only load of funs, but serve a larger purpose of directly or subliminally guiding Paul forward in his journey. The book is like a giant amusement park ride that goes through the entire park: at times, the reader is on the lazy river, or the spinning tea cups, or the haunted house, or the death-defying rollercoaster. The reader never knows what is going to happen next, but all of those rides are fun.
I enjoyed the wild ride that is PURE COSMOS CLUB and I want more tales of Paul and Blanche and the rest of the characters I got to meet.
Thank you to Matthew Binder and Stalking Horse Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (mer)

This book is a look at where we could be headed in the near future. Most people have lost their jobs to robots. These people are referred to as The Absolved. Once they have been declared Absolved it is almost impossible to find employment again.

While the book is well written, I had a hard time getting through it. I really couldn't stand the main character, Henri. I just could not muster up any feeling for him. He is an oncologist with a beautiful wife and son and a girlfriend on the side. The women in the story are very one sided. I felt no connection to any of the characters, which made this a hard read for me.

While not for me, I could see how those who like darkly funny satire could enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.… (mer)

THE ABSOLVED, by Matthew Binder, follows Henri, an oncologist, in near future dystopia where automation is overwhelming the world, particularly on the labor front. Most people live as the Absolved class of people, where jobs they can do are obsolete and they are given a government-issued income that is enough to survive on but leaving them aimless and unmotivated to do much of anything. Henri is among the elite, he still has a job, and one that pays well. He lives the decadent life, but as the book progresses, Henri come to find out there is more to life that money, power, and status.
Binder has created a world that is a plausible (although 2036 is a little sooner than I would think) reality that society will have to struggle with. Binder tackles issues of class, political division, automation vs humanity, amongst others and provides a thought-provoking look at where our world could be in the future. Using a heavily flawed elite member of this world was a shift from most dystopian novels, where the reader is attached to mostly the struggling class, and I found it refreshingly different. Henri, protagonist of the book, was hard to relate to though. Several times, I found myself thinking that I was supposed to feel sorry for him or agree with his travels toward his internal truths, but I just didn't find him likable enough. It didn't seem like he loved much of anything and resented almost everything. And maybe that's what Binder is hinting at, that if we are not careful, humanity's passion for life will be squashed too.
Binder's commentary on society is strong and clear and at the same leaves the reader wondering what they would want to see our society become. I enjoyed THE ABSOLVED and I am interested in reading Binder's other work.
Thank you to Black Spot Books, Matthew Binder, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (mer)