I Hate the Internet is a, “bad novel,” written by author, Jarett Kobek. This novel follows the Adeline, a comic-book illustrator. She was pretty famous in the comic book industry under her alias, M. Abrahamovic Petrovich along-side her partner Jeremy, aka J.W. Bloss. Together they created the Trill series. After years of producing content, Trill ceased publication in 1999. After that, Adeline’s fame began to dwindle. This was until the late 2000s when a film version of Trill was created and her fame struck yet again. Because of this, she was asked to guest lecture at the California College of the Arts.
While Adeline was rambling during her lecture she began to discuss the issues if copyright. Without her knowledge one of the students was recording her and posted the video online. This video went viral. People began sending her hateful messages left and right. This is the main plot of the story. Beware, for there are dozens more.
Honestly, this novel was not my favorite. Throughout the book there were at least ten different plot points and it was a lot to keep track of. From Adeline, to Ellen Flitcraft, Lady Gaga, Thomas Jefferson, Jack Kirby and Marvel… The book was all over the place. Though, this was not what made the novel difficult to read. The difficulty came with the contradictory opinions. The narrator would make an elaborate and convoluted point, and then immediately dismiss that thought. For example, near the end of the story when we are brought back to Ellen Flitcraft, when she comes to the realization that she is control of her life. No one else. The next couple paragraphs proceed to explain how this is incorrect and basically life is pointless, how nice.
My biggest critique of the novel is how insanely repetitive it is. I understand that is it supposed to be witty and satirical but if I had to read about the eumelanin in the basal stratum of someone’s epidermis one more time, I think I would have exploded. The point that Kobek is trying to make is that the only difference between skin color if a biological factor. Race is a social construct. I agree with this. But reading this over and over again throughout the entire novel makes this important fact lose its gravity.
Another repetitive factor of the book is the over-explaining of certain constructs, people, or things. When I read about Kobe Bryant and basketball on page 61, I literally laughed out loud. By the time I got to page 134 and was reading an unneeded explain of the concept of irony, I was over it. At this point it was pretentious and irritating.
Overall, the book had many interesting points and facts. But it definitely was not a good novel. I would never have read it voluntarily and I would not suggest it to most people I know. I appreciated the structure of the novel, the occasional wit, and how open Kobek was about his opinions. Though I agree with lots of the things he talked about, I would not read it again, for it was too difficult to stay invested in the plot.
Sincerely, a woman in a society that hates women, without eumelanin in the basal cell layer of her epidermis.
Literature & the Internet 