In a networked world, anything can change in an instant, and sometimes everything does…
Transmission, Hari Kunzru’s new novel of love and lunacy, immigration and immunity, introduces a daydreaming Indian computer geek whose luxurious fantasies about life in America are shaken when he accepts a California job offer.
Lonely and naïve, Arjun Mehta spends his days as a lowly assistant virus tester and pining away for his free-spirited colleague Christine. Arjun gets laid-off like so many of his Silicon Valley peers. In an act of desperation to keep his job, he releases a mischievous but destructive virus around the globe that has major unintended consequences. As world order unravels, so does Arjun’s sanity, in a rollicking cataclysm that reaches Bollywood and, not so coincidentally, the glamorous star of Arjun’s favorite Indian movie.
Award-winning novelist Hari Kunzru was hailed as a “modern-day Kipling,” for his bestselling debut, The Impressionist. With this exuberant follow-up, Kunzru takes an ultra-contemporary turn in a stylish, playful, and wicked exploration of life at the click of a mouse.
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"this book weaves together the lives of 2 indian film stars, an indian temp worker living in the u.s., the owner of a "branding" company and his girlfriend, a computer virus protection company and a few others. the main character arjun, being desperate to keep his job releases a computer virus which wreaks havoc on the entire world, bringing him into contact with his movie star crush and giving a few characters the extra push they needed off the edge of the cliff of ruin. i did like the impressionist better but i thought this book was an entertaining read although not as involved as the other."
— Maggie (4 out of 5 stars)
“With this second novel… the entertaining Mr. Kunzru makes it even clearer that he has a flair for culture clash and metamorphosis.”
— New York Times“Kunzru’s engagingly wired prose and agile plotting sweep all before them as the characters careen toward ruin.”
— New Yorker“Kunzru… is as up-to-date as writers come, with interests in technology, pop culture and the economics of globalization. If anyone deserves a shot at breaching the literary space-time continuum and doing what logic says can’t be done, it’s Kunzru.”
— New York Times Book Review“Hari Kunzru [has] a skewering wit, wide sympathies and a gimlet eye for the killing or illuminating detail.”
— Washington Post“Swiftly paced and cleverly plotted…the ride is exhilarating.”
— People“A balance between high comedy and genuine pathos.”
— Time Out New York" Underwhelmed. For someone whose work is spoken about orgasmically, this book is a mediocre work, at best. "
— Anand, 2/19/2014" I would have given this book three stars, possibly, for another author, but after reading The Impressionist by Kunzru, this was such a disappointment. (I should have seen the signs... all the credits and reviews on the book jacket are for Kunzru's first book). Kunzru, again, clearly comes off as a highly skilled writer; he catches small truths very well. However, from the get-go, this book feels rushed, and he never gets far beyond a few clever turns of phrase. It was a brave move to write about something so completely different from his first novel, instead of sticking to 'brand', but the perils of technology/globalization and capitalization could have been done so much more powerfully if they weren't painted in little clever one-liners and stock characters. I'm almost hesitant to read "My Revolutions" now, because if there's nothing worse than reading a bad book, it's reading a bad book by an author you know could/should be brilliant. "
— Shaheen, 2/10/2014" When I first started this book I was a little put off. I thought, ok, here's more of that young male post-modern author thing of piling on adjectives and similes and events into a sort of frenetic pastiche. But as the book progresses you do actually start to care about the characters and it becomes a meaningful reflection on the nature of global society, and not just an exercise is "how clever can I be." However, you're more likely to like this one if you tend to like those sorts of clever post-modern boys. "
— Jennifer, 1/25/2014" I had to read this for my "Politics of Globalization" class, and why were we reading fiction, I don't know. But the whole time I found it hard to care. At all. "
— Fuck, 1/24/2014" After reading My Revolutions a few months ago, I was excited to read Hari Kunzru's Transmission. The basis of this novel was initially intriguing to me but its execution was disappointing. Honestly, the last twenty pages of the novel were the most interesting portion, and I suppose they would not have made any sense if it were not for the preceding two hundred pages, but the story ended were it should have began. "
— Ashley, 1/22/2014" Clever and enjoyable, but a bit thin. The setup and payoff are compelling but there's not enough of certain elements. Specifically, certain characters' backgrounds and how they factor into the conclusion. "
— Adam, 1/22/2014" What I liked most about this book was that it was written from a research perspective. What can we know, truly, about events in the past? How does the transmission of information blur the line of fact and myth? "
— Nicole, 1/15/2014" Disappointed. Had higher expectations from Kunzru. "
— Indra, 1/13/2014" A book I wish I'd written. Love the plot, love Kunzru's treatment. What a find. "
— Arcopol, 1/5/2014" India programmer makes it to America only to get laid off. A half thought out revenge goes very, very bad. I would liked a more satisfactory ending but on the whole I enjoyed it. "
— Mark, 12/22/2013" Pretty Good, But lacked the wow factor in the end. "
— Nicola, 12/20/2013" It took me a while to get into it, but once I did, I really enjoyed this. It's clever, well written, and a satire -- what more can one ask. It even has one small reference to Helsinki, Finland. Yeah! "
— Isabell, 12/13/2013" An interesting, compelling quick read. Not incredible but not terrible either. "
— Florence, 12/7/2013" Innocent greenhorn Indian boy learns life lessons in the smug programming environments of Silicon Valley and Seattle. Too many of the characters were cut-outs -- nicely nailed, but lacking in nuance. "
— Lydia, 10/10/2013" Surprisingly pretty funny and maybe even...relevant "
— Eric, 2/13/2013" a pretty predictable book, nothing new or fascinating, but it works if you're after an easy read! "
— Catalina, 12/13/2012" Fragmented and occasionally confusing. Too many characters I couldn't care less about, yet was somehow meant to have a connection with. "
— Rob, 9/9/2012" AKA "Revenge of the H1B worker." An enjoyable, if somewhat dated, tale featuring likable stereotypes as the central characters. "
— Hannah, 8/28/2012" The adventures and misadventures of an Indian software developer in the U.S. I loved the send up of U.S. IT culture - beautifully done and hilariously funny. The second part of the book gets somewhat swallowed by the subplot involving a Bollywood film star, but overall a very enjoyable read. "
— Catherine, 6/15/2012" Couldn't finish, not interesting to me. "
— Paul, 5/5/2012" Bleh. This is what I get for blind-buying remaindered books on the basis of glowing blurbs. Pretty trivial young-hip-information-era-global-culture stuff. Linked in my head to other annoying satire in similar voices, like the Russian Debutante's Handbook, which I think most people actually like. "
— Nate, 5/2/2012" I really liked parts of this to begin with, but somewhere around about 100 pages in were a couple of chapters that felt really cliched, and by about page 180 I realised I'd been completely uninterested for a while. Verdict: signal failure. "
— Ugh, 3/26/2012" An entertaining read, though it felt a bit underdeveloped; many of the secondary characters' plots felt more like vignettes than proper stories. Still, Mehta's disillusionment was suitably touching, as Swift's Nathan Barley-like business venture. "
— Michael, 3/10/2012" Kinda silly and unbelievable potboiler. "
— Bharat, 10/17/2011" i'm not sure if this is the right book cover exactly, but the one i'm talking about is Transmission by Hari Kunzru. i loved this book - it's hilarious, really fun to read, a creative story about a geeky indian guy and the intersection of indian and british worlds. "
— Cynthia, 8/23/2011" Not finished. I got really bored. "
— Anna, 5/17/2011" India programmer makes it to America only to get laid off. A half thought out revenge goes very, very bad. I would liked a more satisfactory ending but on the whole I enjoyed it. "
— Mark, 5/8/2011" Very smart, hilarious, ambiguous, and sometimes heartbreaking. Loved it. "
— Anne, 1/17/2011" I liked the story, but wished to know the truth at the end. Ambiguous endings kind of bother me. "
— Esther, 1/12/2011" I really enjoyed this book. There was a constant stream of social commentary and critique. And yet it was done in a way that seemed to be simply remarking at how things are, and maybe chuckling at them, as opposed to suggesting any particular remedy. (Or even that a remedy exists.)<br/>Very astute. "
— Christy, 12/14/2010" Possibly one of the best books in contemporary times (fiction) by an Author of Indian origin. Several notches above many half - baked so called fiction bestsellers in India... "
— Ahmed, 9/24/2010" Very interesting story that deals with globalization "
— Charlayne, 1/31/2010" Picked this up in a second hand store on holiday and was captivated by the opening scenario. The "i saw this and thought of you" that appears in in boxes all over the world. The story moves along nicely and is an easy and enjoyable read. "
— zespri, 1/23/2010" The plot involving an "innocent" computer hack (if there is such a thing) gone awry appealed to me, but this book didn't deliver for me. The humor just didn't really click for me and I just found it so-so. "
— Katie, 9/25/2009Hari Kunzru is the author of several novels that have been translated into twenty-one languages, and his short stories and journalism have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Guardian, New Yorker, Washington Post, Times of India, London Review, Wired, and New Statesman. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Public Library, and the American Academy in Berlin.