This is a novel narrated by household appliances. Now, I've read some weird books in my time, but never one narrated by a vacuum cleaner.

What a weird but beautiful book. I don't know what I was expecting. Something weird and wonderful, and that's what I got. It's such an uplifting, comforting novel.

This could be our future, appliances that communicate with us, that can make decisions for us. And that's scary. I'm not a fan of overly smart gadgets even though we have some. But it''s made me really aware of the feelings of my appliances. I mean, I already say please and thank you to our Alexa so that when the robot uprising occurs, they'll remember I was polite and spare me.

I rarely want a book to be longer but at just over 200 pages, I felt it could have been longer. It's such a joyful book that I wanted to read more of it.

The chapters are a little too long for my liking but because it's a short book, it doesn't really matter much. It's so easy and quick to read that I finished it within a matter of hours.

It's not a horror, obviously, by any stretch of the imagination so I won't pretend it is. But it is quite scary at times, this idea of AI and smart tech and robots controlling every aspect of life, and people just going along with it because what's the alternative?

I loved the love letter he gives to books in this story. If you're a passionate reader, you'll know how important books are, and Glenn has got that just right.

Never did I think I'd feel so emotionally attached to a vacuum cleaner. It's so moving. Such a wonderful story I highly recommend to everyone.

Took me by surprise. Dystopia on a small scale, so moving.

This was lovely writing. Hints and small nods everywhere to the wider world, where the action really takes places within one home and the broader implications become apparent through the story.

And it's a sad story. A little like the start of Up - we meet Harold and Edie, and piano teacher Edie is dying of cancer. Harold, once an English teacher himself, reads to her from his treasured first editions, To Kill a Mockingbird while he listens to her gradually losing the ability to play her beloved piano.

Also listening is their Roomba, who has named herself Scout in honour of a character from the book she too is listening to. The other appliances find this silly. Yes, the other appliances. Harold and Edie's sad story is played out in a house run by a Watch, where the Fridge re-orders food, the appliances speak to each other. And where outside, the human world seems to be contracting as machines have slowly taken charge.

In the midst of Harold's terrible time, a young pupil of Edie's knocks on the door to ask if he can continue practicing on his teacher's piano before his exam. Scout vows to help him... and also Harold, as circumstances change and the appliances help her understand that things may change for them all, including her Human.

I found this more sinister than I was expecting, even though little happens outside of the home and the appliances/humans we meet there, you just know that the world outside is so very different a place from ours and though the view may not be much altered, the way society is functioning has drastically. It's really well done.

Little Scout is a marvel too, a curious and questioning machine, picking up on life's quirks and joys, philosophising with Clock and trying to stay within her programming whilst constantly breaking it just by existing.

It's kind of terrifying, kind of beautiful. And a great story of where things could be heading.

Was so much more than I was expecting.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

When I first saw this title, I immediately knew that I wanted to read it. I mean, how can you resist a title like that? When I found out that it was a dystopian novel, then I was even more hooked as I’m always intrigued to see how authors view our possible futures.
The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances I think can best be described as a cosy dystopian novel which sounds like a complete contradiction of terms but the bleakness of the envisaged future is perfectly balanced by the love found inside Harold and Edie’s apartment. The fact that the story is almost entirely set in the apartment also adds to the cosy feel.
In a time sometime in our future, households are run by sentient appliances which are all under the oversight of The Grid. Harold’s wife Edie is dying of cancer and as she lies in bed, he reads To Kill a Mockingbird aloud to her. The little vacuum cleaner listens avidly and decides to name herself Scout. This sparks a journey of discovery as the appliances share their experiences and learn more about what it is to be human.
Other than the sentient appliances, life at first doesn’t seem to be too different to our lives now. The only restriction appears to be that flights are restricted to keep the climate under control which means that Edie and Harold’s daughter can’t come to visit her dying mother.
When Edie dies however, the full impact of the control that The Grid has over people’s lives becomes really clear. Harold will be forced to leave his home of over 50 years and his daughter Kate is sent to make sure that he complies with this.
I really loved the portrayal of the appliances in this book. Scout and her co-conspirators are machines but being sentient are able to think about ideas such as happiness. Each of the appliances has a distinct personality which contrasts brilliantly with the impersonal aspect of The Watch which has overall control of the house and reports directly to The Grid.
The sheer level of the amount of control exercised by The Grid is revealed very gradually and this slow build up is incredibly effective as we and the appliances realise that things are definitely not how they appeared at first.
Humans cannot be completely cast down though and although the book feels bleak, the relationships in the book and the characters, especially the young Adrian, prevent it from being too depressing.
I really loved this different take on a dystopian novel which felt scarily all too possible especially with all the current focus on AI and its potential.
Huge thanks as always to the publishers and Net Galley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon is such a delightful and thought-provoking book.

It’s set in a dystopian future where smart appliances run houses and report to The Grid.

Harold, a 68 year old retired English Teacher, taking care of his dying wife Edie. Each day he reads To Kill a Mockingbird to Edie, a book they both love. The Roomba listens in finding the story compelling and decides she will now call herself Scout.

Each night Scout provides house updates to the other household appliances including Fridge, Clock, Thermostat and Watch which will be fed back to The Grid. The house updates between the appliances shift from house updates to existential conversations about what it means to be human.

When Edie’s wife dies The Grid plans to take Harold’s home and the appliances come together to support Harold and to try to keep his home.

This little novel really packs and a punch and the conversations between appliances are delightful and thought-provoking. I adored reading this book.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Faber and Faber Ltd, for making this e-ARC available in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’ve seen this book discussed on social media particularly by Jenny Godfrey author one of my favourite novels of last year who loved it .
I very much enjoyed this sweet novel which tells the story of loss and loneliness from the point of view of sentient pieces of house hold equipment ,a robot hoover ,a fridge and a self driving car for example

A friend of mine has one of these small robot vacuum cleaners and one day when I was there I said oh hoover you’re so noisy and blow me down did it not turn itself off and work silently! My other friend has an electric car on day she drove through a pothole and swore loudly her car replied Anne are you alright? I suppose it’s was set to call for an ambulance or Police in the case of an accident which was why it was listening but it freaked her out that’s for sure.
The Grid an overlying artificial intelligence is clearly very sinister right from the beginning of the book and provides the necessary threat and conflict to the Story

One major comment about the book is that the central male character is called an Old man at 68 !! I think not I think very not I’m incensed

The author has a beautiful flowing writing star. This is a very enjoyable read
The human emotions are described beautifully and amplified by the small appliances initially not fully understanding them
I’m sure this novel is going to be incredibly popular when it’s published and I look forward to seeing it do spectacularly . I can imagine it making a lovely film.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an emotional character based novel the book that I immediately reminded of is Klara and the Sun by kazo ishiguro personally this novel more than the Japanese one.
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK. The book is published in the UK on the 30th of June 2026 by Faber and Faber Limited.

This review will appear on Goodreads, NetGalley UK, Story and my book blog bionicsarahSbooks.wordpress.com
After publication, it will also appear on Amazon and Waterstones

A densely packed little novel that took me by surprise. Sweet, moving and at times, surprisingly sinister. It certainly gave a taste of what life in the future could be like if AI were to continue to progress.

Scout had me and it took me all the way to reading the authors note to truly understand why. Scout felt familiar and loved from the instant and then The Brave Little Toaster was mentioned and I was hit with a wave of nostalgia and a realisation that Scout was the epitome of the character that little toaster held! Love!

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon is an extremely moving story that combines elements of love and loss into something truly magical. From the perspective of Scout, the humanistic Hoover created after reading many books and getting to know humanity through its kindness, the story takes on a very special character. The bond between humans and household objects turns out to be unexpectedly tender, while the theme of family and community makes the book especially uplifting.

What a wonderful surprise of a book.

Set years in the future we meet an advanced model Roomba who calls herself Scout. Scout lives in an AI controlled house along with Fridge, Clock, Auto and the all-seeing Watch who not only controls the house but also keeps an eye on Harold and Edie Winters, the humans who live there.

As the story unfolds Scout begins to question the things that she experiences during her existence in the house. She listens to Edie playing the piano and watches Harold mending his precious first editions. But when Edie falls ill Scout senses a change in her home and she begins to have sensations she cannot explain.

When Edie dies big changes begin to happen. Adrian, an young student of Edie's arrives to practise his exam pieces and Kate, the daughter who left long ago, returns to help her father mourn. But with these two come strange happenings and Scout is forced to see that it is not Watch who controls everyone's every move but The Grid.

The Grid controls all the houses and all the people. It makes decisions for the whole world because the humans have been irresponsible. But is there something else happening outside? Is The Grid working in everyone's best interest or have things changed? And what can a tiny vacuum cleaner, a small boy and a reckless young woman do to help?

This book is not all it seems at the start. What begins as a sweet story about an AI controlled machine, who may be beginning to be sentient, devolves into something much more sinister. So be warned.

"Infinite Sadness .." is a great short novel that highlights our looming dependence on automated processes. The characters of all the machines and humans are beautifully drawn and if you will fall in love with Scout.

Loved it. Laughed and cried. Beautifully written, clever plot, great characters. Highly recommended.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the digital review copy.