Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_Recognition_(novel)
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Pattern Recognition is a novel by science fiction writer William Gibson published in 2003. Set in August-September 2002 the story is about Cayce Pollard, a 32 year old marketing consultant with a psychological sensitivity to corporate symbols. The action follows her from London to Tokyo to Moscow as she seeks the creators of film clips anonymously posted to the internet.
Written in 2001 and 2002 much of the novel was changed after the September 11, 2001 attacks because the main character's background, providing some of her motivation, was already set in New York City in 2001. The attacks are used as a motif representing a transition to the new century. The central theme examines the desire to detect patterns or meaning in life and the risks of apophenia, or finding patterns in meaningless data. Other themes include the cultural familiarity with brand names and the tensions between originality and monoculture, and between art and commercialization.
It is Gibson's eighth novel, but the first to be set in the contemporary world. Like his previous work, it has been classified as postmodern and science fiction, with the action unfolding as a thriller plot line. Reviewers compared this novel with Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 as post-structuralist detective stories. The book peaked at #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Critics approved of the writing but found some of the language distracting and the plot unoriginal.
Written in 2001 and 2002 much of the novel was changed after the September 11, 2001 attacks because the main character's background, providing some of her motivation, was already set in New York City in 2001. The attacks are used as a motif representing a transition to the new century. The central theme examines the desire to detect patterns or meaning in life and the risks of apophenia, or finding patterns in meaningless data. Other themes include the cultural familiarity with brand names and the tensions between originality and monoculture, and between art and commercialization.
It is Gibson's eighth novel, but the first to be set in the contemporary world. Like his previous work, it has been classified as postmodern and science fiction, with the action unfolding as a thriller plot line. Reviewers compared this novel with Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 as post-structuralist detective stories. The book peaked at #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Critics approved of the writing but found some of the language distracting and the plot unoriginal.
