Book Review: THE DELIVERY

Title: The Delivery

Author: Gregg Hurwitz

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Pages: 154

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐

Rebecca Higgins and her CXO husband Mark, parents to 7yo neurodivergent daughter Maddy, are struggling at home. Rebecca has just had a miscarriage, and she is exhausted by the demands of carrying for her daughter, the endless run of school, nurse and psychologist visits etc.

Mark has a toxic boss, Derek de Grasse, who refuses to understand his home situation and overworks him. While Mark is stretched thin at work, Rebecca is plagued by a creepy neighbour, Jackson. Soon more challenges hit. Maddy is bullied at school by Mean Girl Sydney and her clique, and Mark’s company’s stock is down, which might adversely affect his job and their lifestyle.

When Derek and his wife Alexa offer them a solution, an AI humanoid that will do everything they ask for and make life easy for them, while they stay in control, they cannot say no. They are excited about the possibilities that will open up for them. Maddy names the humanoid, Mr Man.

At first, life is perfect. Mr Man keeps house, does chores with precision, freeing time for Rebecca and making life smoother. But then trouble arises. What happens next?

 

WHAT I LIKED:

I opted to read this book because the premise had potential. It spoke of how humanity was increasingly relying on AI, and seeking to delegate and outsource tasks, and what that might spell for the future. Sadly the execution didn’t match the potential.

Written in the 3^rd person, present tense, the narrative blends description with action and insight, making for an engaging style of prose. The chapters are short.

The novel brings out the pain of miscarriage, the challenges faced by neurodivergent children and their families, and calls out bullying in strong terms.

 

WHAT I DIDN’T:

The status quo went on for far too long. Things got marginally better only at the 57 percent mark.

I couldn’t understand Rebecca acting as if she and Maddy were having an apocalyptic experience, in the face of Mr Man’s actions.

A story works only if the author puts the characters through the wringer. There was none of that here. The Higgins family is never in any real danger, which makes the so-called threat impersonal. Nor do they ever face any threat from the authorities for the events that take place. In fact, there is zero investigation of these events.

The antagonist is very weak. I got no sense of menace or even antagonism from them. Whatever menace there is is more tell than show. The author doesn’t even attempt to create a sense of mystery. We know from the beginning who is responsible for whatever is going on.

For a while, the author tries to make the corporation appear evil, but that attempt fizzles out and Mark’s attempts to score over them are laughable.

‘Berserking through the neighborhood’ is faulty grammar.

There is no explanation for why, for instance, Mr Man went rogue, and if Derek’s humanoid is trouble free. Also, Derek, we are told, is very toxic, but again that’s more tell than show.

Ultimately, the Higgins family had one antagonist too many, between evil corporation, humanoid, pesky neighbour, bully girl, bully’s mother, toxic boss, and his wife. Yet none of these were villainous in the true sense.

 

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:

The narration begins on the day that the AI humanoid is delivered, then swings back and forth at various points: 9 months before the delivery, the night of the delivery, 8 months before the delivery, 1 month after the delivery, 7 months before the delivery, and 2 months after the delivery. There seems to be no reason for the back and forth in the narrative and it adds no value to the story.

Despite knowing that their speech must leave no room for ambiguity, Mark and Rebecca continue to speak irresponsibly, and then act all melodramatic as if they have let a monster enter their lives. This seemed like lazy plotting.

Alexa is made to appear bad for no other reason than to make Rebecca look good. The suggestion made about her and the humanoid in her home is uncalled for.

At one point, Derek is very grievously injured. The author says that he is wrapped in cords and bandages and lines, and yet he manages to make a call to Mark, and even have a conversation with him in the hospital.

We are never told why Mark and Rebecca want to do everything by themselves. Do they have no family or friends? We aren’t told. Instead of paying $225,000 for a humanoid, they could have got a housekeeper for a fraction of the cost.

 

ALL SAID AND DONE:

If you’ve ever feared AI, this story might feed into those fears, but not in a very convincing way.

 

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.)