The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

★★★★☆

If you could access every memory you've ever had and interact with the intimate details of other people's memories, would you want to?

The Candy House presents a Black Mirror-esque concept developed by Bix Boulton, a hot-shot tech entrepreneur. To participate, all you have to do is upload every memory and emotion you ever had or felt into a convenient and sleek "Own Your Unconscious" box. Once your memories are uploaded, you can - of course - further upload your entire consciousness to the "Collective Consciousness," a not-at-all-intrusive program that allows you to access the memories of every other person who has chosen to do the same. If this isn't your choice of brunch cocktail, you could also give up your entire life and go off-grid to become an Eluder.

The Candy House weaves a story around the tension between authenticity and a reality where constant self-surveillance impacts our understanding of ourselves and those around us. This thread is developed through character-specific chapters that allow readers to briefly dip into the lives of those living within this reality. The characters are never more than a few degrees away from each other, and choices made by one character can have an incredible impact on another. These interactions and the broader review of a "collective" consciousness present a fascinating story that forces us to consider how our personal choices might impact another person's opposing choice.

I found myself comparing the collective to a drone in a public space. If it isn't your drone, then you haven't necessarily signed up for being "surveilled," but isn't being in a public space enough indication of consent? If I choose to upload my memories but my best friend who features in 75% of my memories chooses to elude, have I violated their privacy? What might we lose when we upload, dissect, and rebuild our understanding of our memories?

At times, the dynamic character intersections and changes in writing style (hello, email chapter) may leave you grasping for straws. I found some characters left me with more questions than answers, and overall, the novel could have done without a few of those stories. To quote Egan, "... knowing everything is too much like knowing nothing; without a story, it's all just information"; while the cast of characters allowed me to explore the ins and outs of Bix's new world, I found that some stories actually slowed the momentum Egan was building.

Overall, this is an imaginative and fun exploration of a reality that feels both futuristic and also not too distant. Present society is grappling with nebulous concepts of privacy and authenticity against the need to document every aspect of our lives in the never-ending chase for likes, views, and engagement. Does that mean we may already live in an era of "owning your unconscious?" In the end, The Candy House may drag you through a few too many characters, but I suspect it will also leave you questioning whether you might participate in the Collective or become an Eluder -- and what you might gain or lose either way.

Review by Tatiana