I love the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, so I had high hopes for More Perfect, which sounded like a fascinating reimagining of the Greek myth. I think the themes and concepts that Oh had in mind were absolutely great, as she gets the reader to think about technological innovations in relation to surveillance, the (over)reliance on technology, and this constant questioning of what is “good” as opposed to “evil” when it comes to technology and social media. And, while the novel is marketed as science fiction, I felt that it was light on the science compared to other novels of this genre, though you could tell from the author’s descriptions that she had a neuroscience background. Ultimately, it seemed to me that she was more interested in telling a story about characters’ relationships with technology.

Unfortunately, I felt that the overall execution was a bit weak and resulted in a too-long novel with uneven pacing. I found myself frustrated that questions I had during my reading were never fully answered (e.g., how certain technologies worked, why certain characters and places held particular significance, etc.). I also feel that it’s slightly misleading to call this novel a retelling of the myth, mostly because the two were very loosely connected. It wasn’t really until the end that you really see how Oh put her own spin on the myth. I also felt that some parts of the book were a bit repetitive and could have been removed altogether to tighten the writing and address the pacing issues.