That’s it guys: my final read of the decade.
I’ve gotta say, I enjoyed this heartwarming story about getting unstuck, wrapped in a tale of friendship.
SYNOPSIS
Meet Ben. He’s married to Amy; she is smart, driven, and poised for success. Meanwhile, he spends his days in his pajamas, living off the money his parents left to him. But Amy wants more from their marriage, yet she hasn’t been successful in motivating Ben to strive for more. And she is fed up.
Early one morning, she notices a robot sitting against a tree in their yard. Not the sleek service Androids that are all the rage, but a rinky-dink, haphazardly thrown together, robot. She asks Ben to send it away.
But he’s determined that there is something special about this robot, even though he can’t explain why. So, he keeps it, much to Amy’s dismay.
After giving the robot a once-over, Ben notices that one of its cylinders is leaking fluid. Unable to repair it, and concerned for its survival, Ben and the robot embark on a quest to find, and return it, to its owner, before it’s too late.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I could earn a small fee, at no additional cost to you.
*******
I liked it, ummm, I said that already.
Ok, let’s start with this –
A Robot in the Garden is a Contemporary Fiction novel. If you can call it Science Fiction, the focus rests squarely on the fiction, and ever so lightly on the science.
Tang was a pleasure to read about. He is funny, clever, even calculating at times. I laughed out loud a lot. Not the ‘LOLs’ of shorthand text. Like, I really laughed out loud. He’s even been compared to R2D2, though I can’t vouch for that. What can I say? I’m not a Star Wars gal.
Womp, womp.
I know.
Ben, Tang, and their quest are the novel’s focus. There is also a strong sub-plot involving Ben & Amy’s floundering marriage, viewed from Ben’s perspective, bringing depth to the story, without overshadowing it.
Finding yourself, and moving forward, are other threads in the story, though there are more.
However, the story struggles in one aspect: the journey. It was fun at first, but it lasted a bit too long for my liking, teetering on redundancy. Just before I exasperated, the plot swooped back in, and continued forward. But Tang kept me entertained in the meantime.
The story wasn’t wrapped up with a neat little bow, though it was still satisfying.
Overall, this was an endearing, humorous, story. And I enjoyed it.
Happy Reading!
All the Best,
~Ash