Interested to look at the Internet culture and the extents to which people can go to become famous? Followers might be a good book to read then! It was this connection to social media that drew me to this book and overall, I was not disappointed. Take a look at the synopsis first and then I’ll go into the details. Note that there are some spoilers in this review and I have marked the headings accordingly.
Orla Cadden is a budding novelist stuck in a dead-end job, writing clickbait about movie-star hookups and influencer yoga moves. Then Orla meets Floss―a striving wannabe A-lister―who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss’s methods are a little shady and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can’t be wrong.
Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity―twelve million loyal followers―Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.
Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.
Content Notes: Cyberbullying, Suicide, Body Image issues.
Themes for Thought
In my mind, Followers tried to do too much. Set in 2015 and 2051, the story focuses on the relationship between three women, Floss, Orla and Marlow. There were so many mysteries and hints at other mysteries to solve in this book that it was hard to keep up, and this is when the story telling was slow-paced. Anyway, there was one main theme that spoke to me through this book, and several smaller themes that I want to highlight, which could have been executed better.
On Being Famous
This was the bigger theme I mentioned above. Floss wants to be famous and Orla has a way to make her famous, whether it is through suggesting nude Instagram posts or using Floss’ social media accounts. They are roommates with benefits though throughout the story, Floss exploits Orla and Orla allows herself to be exploited and be a by-stander in all that goes on.
Later, when Floss runs out of ideas, she pushes Marlow, her daughter who is in her teens at that time, to be the poster child on TV for a mental health prescription pill.
Being famous comes with its baggage. Followers does a good job of showing the influence that a celebrity has on her followers and how important it is to use words carefully. In the 2051 timeline, it dives into how these very followers can be used to hunt the celebrity down when they run away.
On Struggles of Being a Writer
So why did Orla go along with all this? Why did she endanger her position at the online magazine for Floss? Two-word answer: An agent.
I know from talking to indie authors and writers how hard it is to make it big in the publishing industry (see The Creator’s Roulette archive). I have heard about how important it is to have some connection to agents and to have a following. Orla does not talk about indie publishing and is aiming high to be traditionally published. Floss promises to get her an agent when she is famous, and Orla takes that because years of being in New York city and contacting agents has led her no where.
On Data Privacy – SPOILER
What if someone dug through the Internet archives and found every bad thing that you ever said and are embarrassed about? What if they threatened to show this to others who would be most hurt by it?
For the longest time, Followers hints at the Spill – an event that changed the Internet forever and put it in the hands of the government rather than private companies. The Spill was a massive data privacy violation that really messed up a lot of people and changed the United States to the point that there are no handheld devices in 2051 (replaced by chips that speak in your mind), millennials have a condition called ‘the fog’ where they zone out and the Atlantic City is now Atlantis, its own governing entity (yes, there is a WALL around it).
Did I mention this book tries to do a lot?
Through all this, the commentary around need for privacy is clear and the depiction of what it would take to be private in a world that is online, the terrors of having our secrets revealed, is an interesting take on social media.
On Followers – My Side Musings
They might have had all the followers, but they were never finished chasing.
Followers, pg 318
This is a quote that stands out to me from this book. Whether it is writers lifts on Twitter or self promo Saturday tweets, the Internet is saturated with attempts to get more followers and more audience.
What number of followers would make you content? Why do you participate in writers lifts and follow Fridays? What are you really trying to do? There could be so many reasons! Maybe you are genuinely trying to support others. Maybe you are looking for true connections and it will take some trial and error to find your tribe.
I know my following on twitter does not translate to the following on the blog. I also know that there will always be someone who has more followers or better engagement than what I get on my stuff. There are days when I go down that rabbit hole of wanting to be more visible but doing that means taking time away from the things I love. It’s a hard thing to balance when we are inundated by messaging to be more popular and more visible.
Through Orla and her attempt to be a published author, Followers gives us a glimpse of how social media and getting an audience can sometimes takes the driver’s seat and puts dreams at the back.
Followers is a slow-paced engaging read offering perspectives on before and after a massive privacy violation. It will ask you to question your social media presence and ponder a future where the Internet isn’t accessed through a hand held device anymore but a chip that is embedded in you, answering your thoughts when you need it, except it talks in ‘I’. Don’t worry though, that isn’t the focus here. So many good ideas and only so much follow through.
** Followers is now out in stores for you to check out. I would personally recommend the library if you are curious about the book. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Many thanks to the publisher, Harlequin for the review copy of this book through NetGalley. I also won a Goodreads giveaway for this book which made this even more special.
Cover image: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Twitter image from Unsplash.
Great review, Kriti! This book certainly creates some interesting points for thought or discussion. I admit that ages ago I used to worry about losing Twitter followers. I never intentionally look at my follower count now.
I am glad you enjoyed the review, Stephen! Yes, I no longer look at my follower count either.