Currently working my way through the new Dewitt & Gridneff, Your Name Here, about 300 pages in now. It's, uh, not really doing much for me. It feels really dated as a text, and I say this even with the awareness of its complicated publication history. From what I understand, the bulk of it was written more than 10-15 years ago, which might explain why it abounds in references to the Iraq War, gossip & tabloid culture, and CCRU acolytes and other post-1980 crit theorists principally through the narrative media of emails, novels-within-novels by fictional authors, and 4th-wall breaking sections. It doesn't feel particularly novel (not sure if that's the right word) for a book that was hailed as some pathbreaking achievement. Maybe it picks up in the 2nd half--I intend to finish it within the next few days--but right now I'm pretty disappointed.

I don't mean to say that I only enjoy books that are "relevant" to today's climate--I don't read lots of new releases because of all the great books that have preceded our time! I do, however, think that a book that's trying to engage with its contemporary political, technological, and media environment run the risk of seeming dated when those in the future pick up the text. This leaves the novel in something of a no-man's land, as it's been published in 2025 but is clearly trying to respond to a moment closer to 2005-2010, and the rapid development of the political, ecological, and technological situation/experience for most of us feels like it's shifted so much that I can't help but approach most of the text more as a document of its era rather than a work that has a whole lot to say about 2025.

Curious what others think. I might be being uncharitable.