![]() ![]() From a young age, Alfred's dislike of what he sees as people's acting and fulfilling prescribed roles drives him to engage in strange and abrasive behavior, like placing a bag over his head at dinner or asking pointed and rude questions. The following chapter focuses on Ted Hollander's youngest son, Alfred, who is obsessed with the idea of authenticity. He returns home, calls his mother-in-law, and feels excited about the new possibilities he envisions. After a few meetings, he learns about psychologists who have begun experimenting with downloading animals' consciousness onto computers. Under the cover of anonymity, Bix attends the group hosted by art historian Ted Hollander at Columbia University. He comes across a flyer for a discussion group studying the work of anthropologist-and prominent critic of his work- Miranda Kline. He continually sees a blank white space in his mind when trying to think of a new or original idea. At a career crossroads, he has become the founder of a social media behemoth called Mandala, but is experiencing an existential crisis as he feels he has lost his vision for innovation. The novel begins with the story of Bix, a secondary character from Egan's earlier novel A Visit from The Good Squad. The novel is split into a series of short narratives, which are not in sequential order, but are structured as overlapping short stories. ![]()
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