Food for Thought

M.T. Andersen's Feed will scare you. Not in a Stephen King way, not even in a George Orwell or Aldous Huxley way, but it will scare you. Why? Because it's not far off.

The novel, published in 2002, takes place in a future where the Internet, renamed "Feednet", is installed in the brains of America's people. Computers, television, iPods, cell phones, and all the technology familiar to readers is obsolete; the characters are able to chat with their friends and buy the latest clothes within their minds.

The story begins with the main character, Titus, and his group of friends as they vacation on the Moon. The Moon, however, is not all it's cracked up to be, with Titus proclaiming that it "sucks" and that he wishes they had never gone there. This apathy is rife within the story, with flying cars and trips to Mars merely accepted. However, Titus' trip becomes more exciting when he and his friends and their new companion, Violet, become victims of a terrorist attack. As a result their feeds are turned off and they are quarantined until the problems can be fixed. During this time Titus becomes friendly with Violet and learns that she has had quite a different experience from his and that of his friends. She had the Feed installed later in life, rather than at birth, and is homeschooled by her scholarly father. She has dreams of seeing mountains and going to the ocean (but not swimming in it, as it is polluted beyond recognition) and scoffs at Titus' friends and their lack of concern or free-thought.

The book follows the path carved by the likes of Huxley (Brave New World) and Orwell (1984): young man without care or concern who is suddenly awakened to the devastation and dismal that surrounds him. M.T. Andersen's novel fails, however, to do anything new, anything substantial. Narrated in first-person by Titus the book is difficult to "get into" at first due to the abundance of slang, yet works for the character - the readers get into the mind of Titus, yet only as far as the Feed will let us. The narrative is frequently interrupted by adds and proclamations Titus hears from the Feed, which aids the reader in understanding how the Feed commandeers its owners, but also leaves the reader in want of more.


Titus does not evolve. He is trapped by the Feed and develops a love-hate (but mostly hate) relationship with Violet and her revolutionary thoughts. The story lacks a complete or satisfactory ending and leaves the reader with unanswered questions. There is little action and little insight into the history of the Feed, which alienates the reader rather than pulling them into Titus' life.

Feed is a worthy read for young adults, especially high school students who, like Titus and his friends, are glued to their technology, but is not as provocative as its aforementioned predecessors. The book may spark conversation and debate but gives little support for either side of the invasive-technology argument. For writers it is a good study of first-person narrative but not for story-telling. As for older readers it is disheartening - what may have been furtistic only nine years ago is rapidly becoming a reality. Most recently TIME Magazine published a report highlighting many of the aspects in the fictional universe of Feed. M.T. Andersen's book becomes all the more frightening once it is realized that his fiction may soon become prophecy.