A Working Theory of Love

By: Scott Hutchins

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

Settled back into the San Francisco singles scene following the implosion of his young marriage just months after the honeymoon, Neill Bassett is going through the motions. His carefully modulated routine, however, is soon disrupted in ways he can't dismiss with his usual nonchalance.

When Neill's father committed suicide 10 years ago, he left behind thousands of pages of secret journals, journals that are stunning in their detail, and, it must be said, their complete banality. But their spectacularly quotidian details, were exactly what artificial intelligence company Amiante Systems was looking for, and Neill was able to parlay them into a job, despite a useless degree in business marketing and absolutely no experience in computer science. He has spent the last two years inputting the diaries into what everyone hopes will become the world's first sentient computer. Essentially, he has been giving it language - using his father's words. Alarming to Neill - if not to the other employees of Amiante - the experiment seems to be working. The computer actually appears to be gaining awareness and, most disconcerting of all, has started asking questions about Neill's childhood.

Amid this psychological turmoil, Neill meets Rachel. She was meant to be a one-night stand, but Neill is unexpectedly taken with her and the possibilities she holds. At the same time, he remains preoccupied by unresolved feelings for his ex-wife, who has a talent for appearing at the most unlikely and unfortunate times. When Neill discovers a missing year in the diaries - a year that must hold some secret to his parents' marriage and perhaps even his father's suicide - everything Neill thought he knew about his past comes into question, and every move forward feels impossible to make.

With a lightness of touch that belies pitch-perfect emotional control, Scott Hutchins takes us on an odyssey of love, grief, and reconciliation that shows us how, once we let go of the idea that we're trapped by our own sad histories - our childhoods, our bad decisions, our miscommunications with those we love - we have the chance to truly be free. A Working Theory of Love marks the electrifying debut of a prodigious new talent.

©2012 Scott Hutchins (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A brainy, bright, laughter-through-tears, can't-stop-[listening]-until-it's-over kind of novel. Fatherless daughters, mother-smothered sons, appealing ex-wives, mouthy high school drop-outs - damn, this book's got something for everyone!" (Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story)

The dialogue was detailed

It always comes to somewhat of a surprise how an author can create an immense amount of dialogue with the characters in a book, including inward perspectives. This book is a great example of that.
Morally, I found the book lacking, but realize that times have changed in that arena, with many people.
I read as a book club choice, so I completed it and made an effort to enjoy it and appreciate the talent it takes to write a book like this, as well as different people’s likes and dislikes in reading genre.
Suicide leaves many unanswered questions for the loved ones left behind, this book grapples with that, by manufacturing a computer program bringing the deceased to life in a sense, through using his journals for the data in creating artificial intelligence.
There’s a surprise ending, which I always like.

meh

Any additional comments?

I read it for a book club, turns out it had been recommended by the author. Better options for the credit in my opinion.

hit me at the right time

I started this book years ago and though I remember liking how it started I put it down and lost track of the book somehow. years passed and I found myself unable to recall the title or author, but I had some details in mind and a vague memory of the color scheme of the book cover. even this didn't prove to be enough for me to recover this one specific book out of the countless in a book store or online. recently a specific detail struck me and I searched for it again, finding it in the top search result. despite the references that reveal this book's 11 years of age; the themes still feel very relevant, at least to me. I really enjoyed it.

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