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Michael Frayn an English author done remarkably well in the genres of science fiction, non-fiction and short fiction. He wrote some exceptionally interesting and meaningful novels and plays.
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Author: Michael Frayn
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 148
Good reads rating: 3.64 of 5
My Ratings: 7.1 of 10
Published: 1968 (Original edition)
Publisher: Faber & Faber; Main edition (November 12, 2015)
Language: English
For The Latest Price: A Very Private Life
***Warning Spoilers Below This Point***
A Very Private Life presents a novel written in science fiction genre which we can also say is a fairy tale but with a twist.
The story is about a girl named Uncumber who lives in a world overwhelmed with depression and misery. We can say she lives within two worlds, an inside world and an outside world. The inside world holds the wealthy people who never leave their homes and allocate their entire life in the insides of their houses, provided with every privilege and luxury. The tubes give everything they need for sustenance.
They do not contact each other physically and meet each other via holograms. The people become medicated by drugs that control their moods and emotions. They call them The Insiders. The others received the name of The Outsider. The Outsiders live in the external world and are in ruins with industrial and nuclear wastes, full of jungles and polluted with wilderness where they struggle to survive at every passing moment.
Uncumber belongs to the Inside world of monied people but carries different emotions and feelings. She is tired of her Inside world and even trashes her medications Insiders use to relax their moods and feelings.
One day due to some faulty miscommunication in her hologram screen she met a man. The person represents an Outsider who speaks a different language. She finds him very attractive and flies off from her Inside world to experience the Outside world and to pursue the man of her dreams. The story takes many events with Uncumber exploring the Outside world. It describes her living with them, experiencing their lifestyles and even getting in the hands of a gang of robbers.
The novel basis itself on deep and philosophical thoughts of Frayn by sketching a future which we might experience. Technology progresses day-to-day, creating a gap between the rich and the poor that influences society’s thinking. My rating for this novel is 7.1 out of 10 because of the interesting storyline it presents. Also, the manner the narrative captures the reader’s imagination. Would I re-read the novel? No. Am I glad I read it? Yes.
For The Latest Price: A Very Private Life
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