Review: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Series: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing #2
Author: Hank Green
Edition: Paperback (452 pages)
Publisher: Trapeze (July 7, 2020)
Genre: Science Fiction
Synopsis
The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While they were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction without ever lifting a finger. Well, that’s not exactly true. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories.
Months later, the world is as confused as ever. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online about the world post-Carl; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda infiltrates a new scientific operation . . . one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension.
As they each get further down their own paths, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers; unexplained internet outages; and more—which seem to suggest April may be very much alive. In the midst of the gang’s possible reunion is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality.
My Review of A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is a carefully crafted story of fame, power, alien robots and all the ways in which humanity might be doomed. April and her friends try to navigate their new world and its mysteries while the dangers that they thought to have passed with the disappearance of the Carls are stronger – and closer- than they suspected. It might just be the rare case of the sequel that is better than the original and I know I’ll be returning to this story time and time again.
Plot and Pacing
Part adventurous scavenger hunt, part heist story: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor manages to be even more action-packed than the previous book. It widens the scope in interesting ways, interrogating the consequences of concentrated power on a global scale. It does so through the smallest possible lens: individuals. Every character tells their own story in the post-Carl world, letting different perspectives and experiences take centre stage chapter after chapter. They’re connected by the shared loss of April, but equally isolated in their grief – an aspect that helps explore the social isolation caused by (or maybe despite) the social internet.
Despite a bigger focus on politics and economics, both things I know too little about, the pacing was impeccable and I felt very safe in Green’s hands. There was not a moment of boredom or a less-than-stellar middle in sight. Every twist was unexpected but delightful and I was turning the pages eager to see which new places the story would take me next.
The multiple POVs added depth and nuance and all characters had distinct voices, which certainly is an impressive feat when juggling five of them. I loved the multimedia aspect, including tweets and news articles that rooted the story firmly in our contemporary digital culture whilst also showing the importance of collective storytelling and perspective.
All throughout A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, similar to April’s tiers of fame in book one, there are character’s observations about money, fame and power, often in lists. To me, those moments were hugely enjoyable and I’ve marked them all. They’re certainly food for thought and didn’t break my reading flow if anything the listicles made the musings about how humans look for meaning easier to grasp.
Characters
I enjoyed that characters who in An Absolutely Remarkable Thing were pushed to the sidelines by April now got to explore their own stories. Their parts of the bigger puzzle beautifully highlight their unique perspectives, strengths and weaknesses. The way their adventures intertwine and collide with each other was masterfully done, a complex web of individual and collective reconciliation with how to live in the current world. Additionally, I think Green’s ability to give each of the POV characters distinct voices deserves to be applauded, it shows just how well he knows these characters and their inner lives and manages to clearly communicate that.
It’s impossible for me to pick a favourite character because they’re all so wonderfully flawed and human, but Miranda Beckwith holds a special place in my heart. A material scientist, she gets swept up in April May’s orbit in An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and functions mostly as a nerdy sidekick, but A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor allows her true brilliance to shine as she navigates both her research and a medium-sized identity crisis. All whilst casually being a total badass who saves the world!
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is such a huge book about all of humanity whilst also being about just tiny, fragile humans and I love that. It’s funny and weird, but it’s written with so much love, hope and despair for humanity, it hurts my heart. Somehow it manages to be both hilarious and magical, whilst also providing interesting and nuanced analyses of our current society and our digital culture. All while saying what needs saying but also being hopeful. I think that’s the point, though. Humanity may be doomed and always will be, so hope truly might be a foolish endeavor. But it’s also beautiful and necessary and so, so human
This book is for you if…
…you enjoy hopeful contemporary science-fiction that explores what being human looks like in the age of digital media, has enough mysteries to keep you guessing for days and adds loveable, nuanced characters into the mix to help you imagine people, and the world, complexly.
…you find yourself worried about the state of the world and are looking for an escape that simultaneously discusses the issues of power and fame whilst also sending you on a weird and wonderful adventure.
2 Comments
Pingback:
Pingback: