Book Of The Month for August was Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan. For online Book Clubbers there are some questions below for you to get involved with. Either answer in the comments section or use as discussion points at your next Book Club. If you haven’t read the book check out the Lowdown all about it here.
Machines – the blurb
Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret.
When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first batch of synthetic humans. With Miranda’s assistance, he co-designs Adam’s personality.
This near-perfect human is beautiful, strong and clever – and soon a love triangle forms, which leads Charlie, Miranda and Adam to a profound moral dilemma. Can you design the perfect partner? What makes us human? Our outward deeds or our inner lives?
Discussion Points
The following are written with the presumption you have read Machines Like Me. If you haven’t, bookmark the post and come back to answer the questions later.
- Why did Charlie buy Adam?
- Did you like Miranda? What about after she revealed the truth about the rape?
- Why didn’t Charlie send Adam back after he broke his wrist? Or after he had disabled his kill switch?
- Why do you think McEwan chose the 1980s as the backdrop to the book?
- Robots that are lifelike are often treated with suspicion in literature/film. If this is the case why do we continue to develop them?
- What were the differences between Adam and Charlie, were they only physical?
- Do we live in a beautiful world? Are humans too self destructive to live alongside?
Get Involved
Feel free to answer as many of the questions as you want. Post your replies below, discuss with us on social media using @BookSocialUK, or pose some questions of your own. If you enjoyed the questions, have a go at last month’s Get Involved: Shotgun Lovesongs.
