I started out this book confused some, but I truly did get into it and understand it. When I first looked at it to read it there were claims that you didn't have to read the book(s) before it. I was thinking that was a mistake, but as I got to understand the characters more and the story line, I did enjoy it quite a bit. The title makes it sound like this book is gruesome, but it is not. Good book! I have just reread this series for the third time. I am still troubled, to be honest by the whole concept, but like a car accident that secretly captivates me, I find myself thinking again and again about the themes in the book. Sommer first published manufactured identity in 2009, and I first heard of this book from a friend who had him in Child development last year at ISU. Then, another friend of mine held a massice book club to raise awareness of the series. I kinda joined with skeptacism becuase I have had bad experiences with these kinds of things before. But this series did seem different. In the first book (TMI) you are introduced to a cadre of characters who all seem hapless. This progresses and you realize this is exactly what the author is going for. I've worked with a lot of mental health pros in the past and it seems this book, which was very suspenseful, is really about life. the good the bad, and the ridiculous. it seems Sommer want to mess with your mind by building up an argument then tearing it down. you keep waiting for the resoultion of the moral crises, only to realize the point is to have no clarity from him but to force you to take a side along the way, which feels impossible to avoid.The stories themselves are brutal and esclaating, but not offesnive. Somehow even the murders and numerous terrible atrocities he showcases seem soft lit and palatable, although the terror of human life becomes instantly obvious. Though i didn;t expect it, I found myself reading more and more intensively through the night, and wound up finishing the trilogy in 3 days, then faced the startling reality I had attached to the characters, and really felt their pain and loss, and their triumphs. I don't know, I really liked these books, but like schindler's list they alos left me not knowing how to feel, and it only deepend the more i review the issues brought up. Definetely a new favorite author and restored my faith in the book club concept! Recomended reading for those psychologically minded and open minded.
What do You think about The Human Obsession (2010)?
Unbelievable. This is such a good series! I will be very angry if there is not a fourth!
—sidra
high-blood pressure read. I held my kids a little too close last night when I finished!
—krissi
