My Human Nature

I remember what I thought in 1995: Paul's weakest book, though I'd heartily recommend it, but only after reading his prior books, and after reading Sanctuary (which I didn't like). I thought Revelation and Love and War and No Future were great stuff.

2007, I considered rereading No Future along with Richard, but just couldn't get into that car crash of a novel. So across South Australia I reread Human Nature before its imminent adaptation (which I am yet to see) and the only note I could make was:

p74 I'd forgotten. It was like a sleeping tiger, and it was suddenly awake and upon me again. And it was beautiful.

I reread and made 151 notes on this 255 page novel in Broome. And I guess that's just the stuff I took an interest in or felt I could deal with; I didn't want to make a record of every companion-in-memory spotted or note down every feminist point. This is a thoroughly structured novel, a fractal hypertext. The more I look, the more I find. But how would I sum it up? A sustained dialogue about progress, involvement, and identity (both positive and negative). A great novel, full stop.

Notes to follow. Don't worry, I haven't written up all 151.

Hi, I'm David Golding.