Friday

Set on a near-future earth which is politically fragmented and at points anarchic. Our heroine, Friday, is a genetically engineered human (Artificial Person) who works as a courier for a mysterious organization. A key theme is Friday's desire to be treated as a 'regular' human and to find love and acceptance for who she is. This underlies the action of the story while Friday navigates kidnapping, global geo-political breakdown, family unit disintegration, and epic treks across North America and ultimately the galaxy. I enjoyed the story and how different parts that seemed episodic eventually came back together as part of a bigger picture. Some aspects of the way the main character was presented were a bit off-putting. She's this super-human being and yet she retains a basic 'stupidity' and lack of common sense about some things, generally aspects of human behavior. This despite all her experience and training – which includes the ability to make quick judgments, often in dangerous situations, based on her understanding of people and the way they think and act. Plus, many of the characters (usually men) are very condescending to her and despite her intelligence and self-sufficiency at other times she immediately reverts to a subservient mode when talked down to by these people. I was prepared for a certain amount of sexism (based on the cover of the book alone) and while it comes and goes ultimately it doesn't overpower the tale, though it does color my overall feelings about the book.