This book was a lot of fun. I really liked the main character and all of the descriptions about cryptography, puzzles and math were really interesting. ( )

I bought this one because it was recommended by the Atlantic, which included it on a list of "Books that Feel Like Puzzles". They're not wrong about that, and while I enjoyed reading "Popco", I'm not sure it met all of my expectations. The book certainly has its strengths. It took me just a few pages to realize that Alice, the novel's narrator and main character, was a unique and believable individual, an odd fit in a creative industry that's full of careerists posing as eccentrics. I enjoyed the book's feel, too: the author describes a setting that is comfortable and beautiful but suffused with menace and mystery. "Popco" is full of interesting stuff, from tidbits about cryptography and math to stories about buried treasure and personal tragedy. To her credit, the author explains most of these subjects in a way that non-STEM majors will find easy to grasp. Well, I did get a bit lost when Alice discussed Kurt Gödel's theories, but that might have been inevitable. Lastly, for a book that discusses math and puzzles and length and has more than a few genre-fiction tendencies, this one has a lot to say about growing up as an outsider, about loss, and about the struggle to find your true place in the world. Improbable as it seems, for a book that has a lot to say about cryptography, "Popco" has a surprising amount to say about the affairs of the heart. I'm glad that the author even attempted to combine these elements, and I was pleasantly surprised that she pulled it off as well as she did.

I didn't necessarily have a problem with this novel's politics, which, to be honest, are somewhat close to my own. And Thomas makes good points about the consumerism, competition, and media manipulation that seem endemic to today's modern world throughout. The book's big reveal, however, and the political logic behind it, was rather too much for me to take. I'm only willing to suspend my disbelief for so long, and, after finishing this one, I got the impression that the the author included the solution -- if we can call it that -- described in book's final chapters for lack of any better, more practical options. Also, as much as I enjoyed reading this one -- Popco Towers is a fun, comfortable place to hang out, from a reader's perspective -- I felt that the plot was a bit slack for a book that revolves around puzzles. Mind you, I enjoyed spending time with Alice and the other Popco employees, and I'd recommend this one to any anglophile out there, but there were times I wished it was a more streamlined affair. For all that, this is still a good read, and I have a feeling that readers with interests different than mine might enjoy it more than I did. ( )

This was yet another glorious book from Scarlett Thomas, who seems to have an inexhaustible supply of the most engaging and empathetic female protagonists. Megan Carpenter and Ariel Manto, the first person narrators of Our Tragic Universe (one of my all-time favourite novels) and The End of Mister Y respectively are two of the most memorable fictional characters I have encountered, and Alice Butler, protagonist of Popco,is of similar mettle.

The storyline of Popco moves between the present and the narrator's youth, and gives Thomas free rein to consider a number of mathematical paradoxes while also giving a pellucid insight into cryptography and cryptanalysis. I realise, of course, how frightening that might sound to people who don’t share my nerdish fascination with such matters. However, despite these potentially alarming-sounding digressions, she never allows the pace of the plot to flag, and the mathematical apostrophes are always entertaining and relevant. She also explores issues of rampant globalisation and the growth of immense worldwide corporation masquerading as benevolent institutions, again without ever proselytising or compromising the integrity of the plot, or losing the reader’s attention.

Scarlett Thomas seems to have carved out a genre all of her own in which she seems effortlessly to merge humour, science philosophy and mystery. And, as with all of the Canongate Press editions of her works, this book was beautifully packaged, too. ( )

Wow, this was good. Brilliant engaging story, intelligent characters and very well written. You could take this as a but preachy but you could also see past that. Was this a YA novel? It had that essential vitality and pathos that inhabits those creations. Either way that doesn’t lessen the impact of this book. You would know in the first twenty pages if this book is for you or not. You can also learn interesting stuff by reading this. I made lots of notes on the Kindle.


On the strength of this novel I am now reading am now reading The End of Mr Y. ( )

Very disappointing compared to Scarlett Thomas's other novels - all build up and no payoff. ( )