Jonathan Abernathy is deep in debt, from his student loans and an inherited debt he had no idea about. Unable to find a decent job, when he is offered a unique government role in order to pay back his debts, he has little choice. The definition of a 'dream job' he will be working as a dream auditor, part of a whole crew who are tasked with entering workers dreams and cleaning up the bad parts in the hopes that they will be more settled, well-rested and therefore more productive in their jobs. But os Jonathan starting to get real-life and dream-life mixed up? And how will it affect his relationships?

This was a quirky, scifi-dystopian tale with an interesting, fresh plot and some brilliant characters, especially Jonathan. He is so likeable and who doesn't love to root for an underdog! It also touches on some important social issues and the audio narration was great.

Highly recomended if you are in the mood for a unique read that will make you think!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the whole concept of this book! The male narrator did a wonderful job and made me feel like I was right there alongside Jonathan in this crazy story! It was clear and concise, and easy to listen to in a single sitting. The story captivated me right from the start. Who wouldn’t want a job where you can take people’s bad dreams away?? Some parts I found a little predictable but overall didn’t guess the outcome. If you’re into science fiction, you’ll probably enjoy this book as much as I did!

This was such a strange book, but really worked for me. I found it to be so unique and creative. It did not seem as if it would come together, but somehow it really does. I decided to try something out of my comfort zone and am so glad I did.

Jonathan Abernathy is deeply in debt, can’t find a decent job, and thinks he’s worthless. So, when he is offered a job as a dream auditor he is very enthused. That job entails going into workers’ dreams and auditing out the bad parts so the person will be more productive at work.

This is a dystopian tale using speculative fiction, but basically it’s about Jonathan trying so hard to make something of himself that he is willing to convince himself that this job can somehow work out ethically. It can’t. Jonathan starts to see a much darker side as the story progresses and yet he keeps trying. He wants to do well and he wants to please people, so he is a great character that I routed for. He doesn’t always make the best choices, but there is just a real human feel to the story. You can understand the choices and the fear he holds. He starts to feel his life finally will work, has intense feelings for his neighbor, Rhoda and cares for her daughter, Timmy. Yet, Rhoda’s life gets pulled into this mess, too. He wants to make things ok for Rhoda, but has he gone too far already?

I found his mantra of “You are Kind, You are Loved, You are a Valued Member of this Community” quite amusing. It’s a lie he must tell himself to keep going. It reminded me so much of the marketing done to convince people that if only they believe in themselves just a bit more, riches are waiting at their door.

I really enjoyed the audio version of this book. I thought the narration by McCloud Andrew’s was done very well. Listening made me laugh many times throughout the story. It is funny.

Thank you NetGalley, Molly McGhee, Astra Publishing House, and Spotify Audio for a copy of this book and the audio version. I always leave reviews of books I read.

Have you watched those movies where the narrator voices over what is going on for example "Jonathan Abernathy you are kind." The narrator then will interject, "Jonathan Abernathy was not in fact, kind." That was what a good chunk of the book felt like. We have the third-person POV throughout this head trip of a book. In this story, we look at the capitalist agency that sends people into their employee's dreams and removes unpleasant aspects to make their employees more productive. The staff used are either prisoners used for free to work off their prison sentence or people like Jonathan who think this is honorable and of a high-paying position. Abernathy barely makes enough money to survive, making enough for either food or rent until he gets this job and then he can pay for basic food supplies. The problem is people tend to lose themselves in the dream world confusing reality and dreams. Also, if you make a mistake and anger the wrong person you can lose everything including yourself.

I still don't know how to feel about this book, it was confusing, and intriguing all at the same time. Jonathan is the ultimate employee, he isn't the brightest bulb but he is a people pleaser and tends to follow the flow. When his life gets more difficult he turns to self-affirmations to keep himself upbeat. The narration is top-notch, and Andrews does a great job bringing a passion to the project that gives Jonathan more of a personality.

The book discusses a world that is in debt and how corporations exploit their employees for their own benefit. As the employees uncover more of the corporations' unethical practices, they lose their sense of purpose. Though the book is a work of fiction, some of the themes feel relevant to our current times. The story starts off strong but loses momentum towards the end. Furthermore, the ending is predictable because the narrator reveals it in the beginning. Nevertheless, this book is a great example of surreal fiction and serves as a promising debut.

3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4

I really liked the concept of this book, but it didn't totally land for me. I started off really intrigued... Jonathan Abernathy is going through a really tough time and is desperate to make some money or at least have his loans forgiven. So, when he gets a job offer to audit people's dreams, he decides to take it. A job he can literally do in his sleep! The problem? He's not auditing dreams to help the dreamers; he's doing it to help the government. And his work could have terrible consequences.

The narrator of the audiobook was great and definitely felt like the person who should be reading the book. My issue is that I found most of the dream sequences to be really boring and hard to stay engaged with. This could have been partly because I was listening on audio and I wonder how it would have been if I was reading a physical copy.

Jonathan Abernathy, You are Kind may make you feel a bit bleak over the state of the world, but at least you'll be entertained by feeling this way! The book has some super strong themes that I think I'd be able to better dive into with a physical copy.

This book.
It is rare that I give a book five stars — I have to absolutely love it. And even though the ending was not what I wanted, it was also perfect.
The way the character of Jonathan was so real and flawed and scared and desperate and still full of hope… I knew him.
This book is extremely well-written and gives one so much about which to think.

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind is the first audio book I’ve listened to and actually finished in years, and I’m so happy I consumed the book this way because I feel like I absorbed all the feels I don’t think I would’ve been able to had I been reading it with my eyes. When we first meet him, Jonathan Abernathy is in his mid-twenties. He’s pretty much alone in the world and he’s got this huge debt he has to pay. That’s how he ends up enrolling in this government program in which he has to get into people’s dreams and erase anything that could make them unproductive in their jobs.

This is the kind of story that plays with the reader because we never really know if what we’re being told- what Abernathy is experiencing, is reality or a dream. It is also the kind of story in which you remember how it made you feel more vividly than the actual plot. If you liked More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera or Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, then I believe this is the book for you.

Book 139 of 200 ~ 2023

🌟🌟🌟

This felt a little like a rollercoaster ride. There were some highs but more lows for me.

It was an okay read.. if not for the complimentary copy, I doubt this would tickle my fancy.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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I was having fun listening to this one… for the first half anyways. I lost a bit of interest as it went on. The narration was on point so that wasn’t the issue. Others might like this one all the way through, maybe I have too many life distractions going on to stay committed to this one. Scifi dystopian…. Light read.

Narrated by Macleod Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
by Molly McGhee ⭐⭐

This book was interesting but overall not for me.
I found the premise hard to follow through audio format. I probably would have been able to make more sense of it in Ebook form so for that reason I would still recommend because someone else may really love it.

1.5 stars

i really couldn’t get into this, unfortunately. the premise is quite original and it is, in many ways, a very good portrayal of late stage capital is, but sadly that didn’t make it any more enjoyable to read. i get what the author is trying to do, but for me personally, the novel simply drags on for way too long and becomes very tedious. i didn’t find the characters particularly interesting, which might have been intended but made getting engaged with the novel more difficult. it might’ve worked better as a short novella and probably could’ve been improved by some editing. it’s a shame because we love an anticapitalist novel, but i’m glad to see that other people rated it quite highly - probably just not my cup of tea!

Fresh and different, quirky and smart - an unusual way of looking directly at economic woes.

Through no fault of his own, Jonathan Abernathy finds himself deeply and hopelessly in debt: inherited debt, of which he had no idea he was not responsible, and student loan debt. Add to that a lack of a job, and he’s in a horrible situation.

Finally Jonathan’s “dream” job comes along - in which he monitors dreams of the working class and reports issues that might affect their work. It’s quite a creative and enlightening look at everyday problems, and I’m grateful to have read it. The audiobook was very well done.

Poor Jonathan Abernathy. Can anything in his life go well? Is he destined to be a loser. At age 25, he has never had a real job and is drowning in student loan debt. Then one night, while he is asleep and dreaming, he is visited, in his dream, by two suited men who offer him a literal “ dream” job. If he agrees to enter the dreams of the working class, and excise the negative threads to help them be happier and more productive at work, he can earn his way to personal success and debt resolution. Or can he?

This story is set in a sci fi dystopian world of what ifs, written with a fresh original plot and narrated in the audio version by a reader who knows just when to emphasize and just when to pause. In other words, it kept me interested and coming back for more.

So many social issues are addressed:
Is our capitalist economy serving our working class well?
Will workers be more self actualized if they are more productive?
Can dreams really influence our waking hours?
Is there a quick fix for problems?
Is student debt a societal issue?

And much more.

Four stars for a book that is perfect for a reader who wants something to think about. My thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audio for gifting me an ARC of Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind in exchange for an honest review. This book was published on October 31, 2023.

Jonathan Abernathy is a hapless young man, up to his eyeballs in debt, and becomes an auditor of dreams to survive. In this dystopian world, dreams are audited to remove the bad parts to that workers will, theoretically, be more productive.

Despite the Severance vibes, I had trouble getting into this one. People describing their dreams, sometimes surreal and trippy, other times abstract and non-sensical...just isn't always that interesting. Distinguishing between the real world and the dream felt like too much work. This novel just wasn't my bag.

I did appreciate the lively narration by Macleod Andrews, giving distinct voicing to the characters.

My thanks to NetGalley and Spotify audiobooks for the ARC. Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind will be available as an audiobook later this month.

I really enjoyed the first half of this one, I liked seeing where it was going with Jonathan going in people's dreams and such. But then I think as he became more involved in relationships it lost me some. I usually love character development in books but maybe this one I just wish the book had taken a different path as I enjoyed the dream portion.

Wow! What an interesting read! Drowning in debt and struggling to stay afloat, Johnathan Abernathy accepts a government position of "dream auditor" as a way to keep his head above water. While analyzing the dreams of people and flagging any any nightmarish bits for removal, Abernathy begins to experience some morally questionable flagging behavior. Will he allow it to affect his work? How about his relationships?

I absolutely love books where characters "dream walk", which is what originally attracted me to this book. Overall, I really enjoyed reading the story! I do wish there was a bit more character depth and interactions, however.

As I listened to this book on audio, I'll also just quickly mention that the narrator was great! He was very expressive with his words, had great pacing and diction, and definitely kept my attention.

*****A big thanks goes to NetGalley, Spotify Audiobooks, and Molly McGhee for providing me with an audiobook copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*****

4.25

Have you ever been used by capitalism under the guise of opportunity?

Jonathan Abernathy is a down-on-his-luck, 25-year-old "failure". He's never held a real job and is barely getting by, living with the constant, crushing reminder of student loan debt and (illegally - unbeknownst to him) inherited debt from his parent's deaths that he cannot pay.

He gets an offer from a government loan forgiveness program to work as he sleeps, auditing the dreams of the working class and marking any "unsavory bits" that may interfere with their ability to work.

He has certain affirmations that he tells himself, while not really believing it, that get him through the day-

Jonathan Abernathy,
You are kind.
You are loved.
You are a valued member of this community.

While things seem to be looking up for him - his relationship with his neighbor, the enigmatic Rhoda, is blossoming - the dream auditor position is proving to be something far more sinister than he could've imagined.

As his reality begins to shift around him he finds that he's losing more than he's gaining, and the further he moves up the corporate ladder, the more there is at stake.

This was truly a gem. Surreal, lovely, and a bit gruesome at times, it felt very <i>Sorry To Bother You</i>-esque. Abernathy is likable, yet realistic. He makes bad decisions, feels sorry for himself more often than not, doesn't say what he knows he should, yet constantly imagines the outcome of the unsaid words. I found myself consistently interested in his story throughout, it felt fresh; something I haven't been getting lately. It never felt predictable, and while it gets a bit sporadic, I think it added to the overall sense of dread and loss of reality. I could see myself rereading this, I really enjoyed it!

The narrator for the audiobook was amazing, really made it come alive.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this audiobook! Now available as of Oct. 31, 2023.

Jonathan Abernathy...
you are kind.
You are loved.
You are a valued member of this community.

That's what Jonathan Abernathy, all of 25 years, tells himself whenever he is filled with doubt and insecurity. Just like you and me, he repeats affirmations to himself, to brainwash himself into believing that he's good enough, and he has what it takes to get through life without falling apart.

Except that it doesn't do much to help him erase his crushing student loan debt and his bleak employment prospects. He has nobody who loves him, and no friends either. The future looks bleak.

The one night, he is visited in his dreams by two people in suits, who offer him a job. He will have to audit people's dreams, and remove the stressors or irritants to the dreamer in these dreams. This will result in happier and less stressful dreamers, ensuring better sleep, and when they are well-rested, this will enhance their performance at work. Happier people are just likely to make more money.

Abernathy is under the illusion, like all corporate minions are, that hard work and determination will help him climb up the ladder. His boss, Kai, just rolls her eyes at him and enlightens him that he's not on his way to achieving The Great American Dream, but rather, he's just a disposable cog in the wheel of government-sponsored indentured servitude.

Abernathy will struggle to clear his debt, struggle to earn enough to be able to afford groceries and pay his bills, he will form bonds and relationships, but struggle to maintain them. Abernathy will struggle to find meaning and balance in life, but he will fail. Abernathy will try, he will try, try and try some more, but in the end, what will it all be worth? Oooof. All a bit too bleak for me.

I know good writers give the reader a lot to think about and be enlightened by, but the writing just confounded me at times. Which is not to say that the writing was bad, just obscure, like the dreams that Abernathy often found himself in. Maybe that was the point? But as a reader, I don't enjoy being frustrated by the style of writing.

Apart from everything that actually happens, the reader is subjected to what could have happened, what should have happened, what Abernathy meant to say but didn't, what he wanted to say but actually said instead, and on and on. It gets a bit exhausting to read about everything that goes on in the mind of someone who lives in his own head so much.

At many times during (and also by the end of) this book, I felt like, 'Am I dumb? Why can't I understand EVERYTHING that's going on in this story? What is this part supposed to mean?' but I'm not beating myself up about it. Experience, context and exposure are very important elements when it comes down to the interpretation of the themes and meaning of a book, and it's okay that this didn't touch my heart and mind in places that it has for other people.

The audio narration by MacLeod Andrews is outstanding, and perhaps, if it hadn't been for his narration, that is to say, if I had been reading the book instead of listening to him narrate it, I might have abandoned it midway. Again, it's not because it's a bad book, it's just about how I relate to it (or don't). Not every book is meant for everybody.

Thank you to Netgalley and Spotify Audiobooks for the ARC of this title in return for my honest review.

An interesting concept, no doubt about it however the story goes completely off the rails before the ending

I received an audio ARC of Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind through Netgalley.

Jonathan Abernathy is every American who feels as if they are three steps behind. I never thought a narrative written in third person could feel so much like second person. It's dreamlike, which works as much of the story takes place in dreams. The prose reflects this wonderfully, and I was completely immersed in Abernathy's small world.

The nods to the harsh realities of life in a capitalist society are on-the-nose and often stated outright, but the writing is beautifully dark and surreal. I wish there had been more to explanations of dream symbolism, as it would have added humor and depth to the parts that take place within dreams. The narrator gives hints to much of the ending as the story goes along, which made it feel slow to resolve in some parts, but overall the pacing is well done.

The audio narration by MacLeod Andrews is exceptional. The highs are high and the lows are low, and I felt he was in full control of the emotional rollar coaster that was this book.

I recommend for anyone who enjoys journeys with flawed characters who try their best but get in their own way. Readers who like speculative elements that are surreal, yet believable due to real-world parallels, will connect with this book.