NNO Book Club: Little Eyes

October is Spooky Season and we try to keep with that theme for our book selection. While I had some books on the list that were a little more traditionally horror – supernatural events, monsters and the like – this one caught my attention right away. Originally written in Spanish by an Argentine author who now resides in Berlin, I think we are really going to like and/or be eternally creeped out by Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell.

***Book summary from Goodreads***
A visionary novel about the collision of technology and play, horror and humanity, from a master of the spine-tingling tale.

They've infiltrated homes in Hong Kong, shops in Vancouver, the streets of Senegal, town squares of Oaxaca, schools in Tel Aviv, bedrooms in Ohio. They're following you. They're everywhere now. They're us.
In Samanta Schweblin's wildly imaginative new novel, Little Eyes, "kentukis" have gone viral across the globe. They're little mechanical stuffed animals that have cameras for eyes, wheels for feet, and are connected to an anonymous global server. Owners of kentukis have the eyes of a stranger in their home and a cute squeaking pet following them; or you can be the kentuki and voyeuristically spend time in someone else's life, controlling the creature with a few keystrokes.

Through kentukis, a jaded Croatian hustler stumbles into a massive criminal enterprise and saves a life in Brazil, a lonely old woman in Peru becomes fascinated with a young woman and her louche lover in Germany, and a motherless child in Antigua finds a new virtual family and experiences snow for the first time in Norway.

These creatures can reveal the beauty of connection between farflung souls - but they also expose the ugly humanity of our increasingly linked world. Trusting strangers can lead to unexpected love and marvelous adventure, but what happens when the kentukis pave the way for unimaginable terror?

***This month's restaurant selection***
Back to an old favorite this month – Craft Street Kitchen. I am hoping the weather may be nice enough for us to be out on the patio but we will see. You can check out the menu here: https://www.craftstreetkitchen.com/menu-4-3.

***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!

***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.

***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.