Flux by Jinwoo Chong
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
A blazingly original and stylish debut novel about a young man whose reality unravels when he suspects his mysterious employers have inadvertently discovered time travel—and are using it to cover up a string of violent crimes . . .
Four days before Christmas, eight-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, twenty-eight-year-old Brandon loses his job after a hostile takeover of his big-media employer, and forty-eight-year-old Blue, a key witness in a criminal trial against an infamous now-defunct tech startup, struggles to reconnect with his family.
So begins Jinwoo Chong’s dazzling time-bending debut that blends elements of neo-noir and speculative fiction as the lives of Bo, Brandon, and Blue begin to intersect, uncovering a network of secrets and an experimental technology that threatens to upend life itself. Intertwined with them is the saga of an iconic ’80s detective show, Raider, whose star actor has imploded spectacularly after revelations of long-term concealed abuse.
Flux is a haunting and sometimes shocking exploration of the cyclical nature of grief, of moving past trauma, and of the pervasive nature of whiteness within the development of Asian identity in America.
I always know a book is gonna be good if I’m like “WTF is even HAPPENING here?!?” for the first few chapters.
Where I can’t exactly get a grasp on what is going on or where the story is gonna go…the anticipation and surprise of it all is THE BEST.
This was one of those FOR SURE.
I DEFINITELY had to pay SUPER DUPER close attention to this story…this is not one where you can zone out while reading/listening or just kinda skim the pages and still know the baseline of what is going on.
No siree…you gotta be ALL EYES AND EARS to absorb each and every word.
It jumps around ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE— there are lots of flashbacks or time travel situations, you aren’t really sure WHAT they are.
This is a sci-fi book, but I don’t think it’s like HEAVY DUTY Sci-Fi.
There are emotional storylines and deep messages here that have NOTHING to do with sci fi things, and everything to do with real life human things, like navigating life thru loss and grief and trauma.
I mean, it IS about time travel and the butterfly effect and what not…but it’s also about the dangers of capitalism, cultural assimilation, individualism, and dominating whiteness.
It is also has you considering the questions of how do we know what REALLY makes a good life or person? if we could change certain events or decisions from our past, what would we change? And would it make a difference in who we are and what direction our life takes?
(Actually…..I do think all crazy good sci-fi books make you get inside yourself and reallllly contemplate deep life issues…)
I made it to the end of the book and I STILL was kinda like “whhhhaaattttttt was that????”
But it was a hella interesting and action packed ride…. with a SUPREMELY PERFECT last line of a book—best closing words I have read in AWHILE. I can’t ruin it for you by sharing here…sorry not sorry about that!
Sci-fi fans…you’ll enjoy this one immensely.
Non sci-fi fans…I think you’ll have a pretty good time too.