*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author, Pan Macmillan, Tor and NetGalley. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: From New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune, In the Lives of Puppets is a queer retelling of the Pinocchio tale, inviting you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.
In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees live three robots – fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They're a family, hidden and safe.
The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled 'HAP', he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio – a past spent hunting humans.
When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic's assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.
Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: can he accept love with strings attached?
Inspired by Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, In the Lives of Puppets is a masterful standalone fantasy adventure from the author who brought you The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door.
Oh wow! This book is sooooo good! I'm actually worried that I loved it so much that I can't find the words to do it justice. But at least I now know what is meant by the phrase 'gave me ALL the feels'. I beamed, I giggled, I fumed, I cried, and my heart silently ached for the characters as I read.
And what fantastic characters they are. You would think having robots as the majority of the characters might hamper a novel's emotional depth and impact, but this is not the case. From the very beginning I loved Nurse Ratched, Rambo and Gio just as much as Victor (actually, more, in the case of Ratched and Rambo, who make a hilarious and touching double act). Hap slotted straight in there too, filling the violently angry slot that I hadn't been aware was empty, to complete this perfect little found family.
TJ Klune has taken the story of Pinocchio and mixed it with a little Frankenstein, a little The Wizard of Oz, a little scifi à la Asimov or The Matrix, to create something completely and wonderfully new.
This is a love story, but also somewhat asexual in its representation (I did begin to type that robots and humans don't have sexually compatible parts, then realised I really don't want to go down that rabbit hole, no matter what the Blue Fairy might promise!) Anyway, mainly this is a story about what it means to be human, to be alive, to love and to dream.
I really didn't want to leave the story at the end and felt I would be happy just continuing to read about the characters' continuing, everyday lives together forever. And while I did feel a little sad about aspects of the ending, which reminded me a little of loved ones lost to Alzheimers or dementia, I felt that it was all the more poignant and realistic - insofar as realism can be applied to a story about living robots!
Deeply moving, this story touched my heart and stirred my mind, making me think and making me feel, and I have already pre-ordered a copy for my personal 'keep' shelf. I think I might treat myself to the audiobook too - I can't wait to hear what a narrator makes of that drilling banter (Nurse Ratched) and terrifying flirting (Nurse Ratched again) and find out whether it is as funny as it was inside my head.
"I'm fine the way I am," Rambo muttered.
"You are not," Nurse Ratched said. "If you like, I can run a diagnostic scan to see if I can pinpoint your malfunction. Do you have insurance?"
"No," Rambo said morosely. "I don't have anything."
"You are fine the way you are," Vic told him, shooting a glare at Nurse Ratched which she ignored completely. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're just... unique. Like the rest of us."
"That is called a white lie," Nurse Ratched said, her screen filled with digital balloons. "White lies are often spoken to make one feel better. I will assist Victor in this process. Here is my white lie: you are a wonderful machine beloved by many."
"Leave him alone," Vic said as he knelt at his father's feet.
"Do you feel better?" Nurse Ratched asked.
"Yes," Rambo said promptly. "Tell me more white lies."
"You are important. You have a purpose. The pipe you displayed earlier is bigger than any I have seen before."
"Yay!" Rambo said, arms raised. "I'm endowed!"
- TJ Klune, In the Lives of Puppets
About the author
TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include the Green Creek series, The House on the Cerulean Sea and The Exraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.
Website: https://www.tjklunebooks.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tjklunebooks/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TJKlune
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