It's the year 2036 in Matthew Binder's The Absolved and humanity is living a questionable existence, one where automation has rendered human labor nearly obsolete. The "Absolved" refers to the majority of humankind who no longer have jobs. Instead, they are given a minimum wage on which to live and provided a home, food, and minimal comforts.

The story is narrated by Henri, a wealthy oncologist who has yet to be absorbed by machinery. He has a beautiful wife, Rachel, and a young son. He also has a woman on the side named Taylor who hopes to attend medical school someday. Henri is shielded from the reality of the Absolved for the most part, but every now and then he gets a thrill by hanging out in a dive bar frequented by many of the Absolved.

I had a lot of hope for this book because I enjoy speculative fiction and the premise sounded promising, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. For one, 2036 really didn't feel that far off from today's society; it felt like an amplified version of it, but nothing too drastically different for me to feel as though I was in an entirely unfamiliar and new world. I expect speculative fiction to present creative twists on the world as we know it, especially when it is set only 20 years from today's society. This world, for me, was too close for comfort. For instance, healthcare is one of the few areas of life that are not dictated by machinery. However, healthcare mandates passed down by politicians have resulted in universal healthcare that is based upon cost-benefit analyses of human life. I'd say this practice is very much alive here in the United States, where insurance coverage often dictates the care a patient is able to obtain.

The characters also left me wanting. Henri is self-motivated and narcissistic, engaging and indulging in anything that pleasures him despite who it might hurt. His wife, who has some fairly odd behaviors (such as dressing up as Snow White??!), is also superficial, obsessed with her looks, decorating their house, and her son's education. The characters' self-worth is entirely wrapped up in their money.

I kept trying to figure out what the plot was and how the characters would transform, but I was disinterested by the time the author got to it. Henri does experience a moral reckoning, but those around him fail to experience the same transformation. I felt that women, in particular, were painted as one-dimensional characters who were out for themselves or as objects of sexual desire: there is so much more to humanity (and women!) than this.

Thank you to the author, Matthew Binder, the publisher, Black Spot Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of The Absolved.

I usually require a strong start for any novel.  I was reading along OK for a while, enjoyed the world where self-driving cars were the law and young people were hacking them to take back control, but then I did a double-take when I was told the narrator's car went off the road and crashed into a light pole because the OS hadn't applied the most recent patch.  Then we get into the infidelities and bedroom practices of the narrator and his wife for far too long and I'm done.

The Absolved by Matthew Binder is told through the eyes of Henri, an oncologist in the not-so-distant future where robots and other technological advances have taken over most of the world's jobs. I love the voice of Henri. He is a great narrator in this new world, being flawed and disillusioned and completely credible. If not for my love of this character and the incredible writing talent of Binder, I doubt I would  have been able to finish this book. The story quickly falls flat and as interesting as Henri is as a character, he's not enough to carry the entire story. 


I was provided  an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.