XYZ by William Knight
Jack Cooper is a depressed, analogue throwback; a cynical, alcoholic Gen-Xer whose glory days are behind him. He’s unemployed, his marriage has broken down, he’s addicted to internet hook-ups, and is deeply ashamed of his son Geronimo, who lives life dressed as a bear.
When Jack’s daughter engineers a job for him at totally-lit tech firm Sweet, he’s confronted by a Millennial and Zoomer culture he can’t relate to. He loathes every detail – every IM, gif and emoji – apart from Freya, twenty years his junior and addicted to broadcasting her life on social media.
Can Jack evolve to fit in at Sweet, or will he remain a dinosaur stuck in the 1980s? And will he halt his slide into loneliness and repair his family relationships?
XYZ is for every Gen-Xer who ever struggled with a device, and for everyone else who loves emojis … said no one ever.
Author Bio
William Knight is British born writer and technologist currently living and working in Wellington, New Zealand. He’s chased a portfolio career which began in acting, progressed to music, flirted with handbag manufacturing and was eventually wired into technology in the late nineties.
“I had my first feature published in Computing magazine back in 2003 and subsequently wrote about the many successes and failings of high-tech for the Guardian, Financial Times and the BBC among many others publications. I now work as an IT consultant, and write blistering content for technology firms :-)” says William
The Donated (formerly Generation), his debut novel and a Sci-tech Thriller, started in 2001 and was ten years in development. XYZ, “A mid-life crisis with a comic vein”, took far less time. “But I think it’s funnier and better. Yay. Jazz hands!”
My Review
4 Stars
Jack Cooper’s life has gone to hell. He is divorced, his ex and him despise each other. He is still paying the mortgage on the house along with his apartment. He doesn’t understand his son’s choice of living like a bear and so much more about his life. So he spends his day drunk at a bar near his place. His daughter manages to find him a job at the company Sweet but it’s clear that Jack is in over his head.
Jack is now in the new world of technology being everywhere and people obsessing over emoji’s and internet statuses. If that wasn’t bad enough, he is a manager over a group of people that are not held accountable for their work and spend most of their time on their phones. But an encounter with his boss becomes a turning point for Jack. He’s either going to be able to grow with his new role or go the way of the dinosaurs.
I had to laugh about this book. I am right at the end of Generation X and can relate to most of what Jack is. His whole view of this new world filled with technology is hilarious. And the behaviors of this younger generation irk me right along with Jack. But I loved how he decides to take the leap of faith and try to straighten his messed up life out.
Jack is not the best of characters and I admit that at times I downright didn’t like him. But I could relate to his situation and found myself laughing at his different situations. I think this book will appeal to those of us that are older and feel like a dinosaur stomping around in the technology age. But there is hope in the end. At the very least to find someone that feels the same way about our world makes this book a little gem.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
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