Review: The Velveteen / Android Rabbit
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 13, 2010
"Am I real," is the question the android Lucian asks by way of interacting with his human wife, Adriana, and daughter, Rose. Further, "What does it mean to be real?" Rachel Swirsky's short story is not new in the genre of human and android interactions and in asking the question what exactly is the difference between created life and natural life. The flash backs kept me interested, and the daughter's confusion over what she is was worth dwelling on, but ultimately the story disappoints. In the end, Lucian's quest is unfulfilled and unclear. How he means to find himself in the end is never explained. The reader is not let in on the secret of motives, only given a snapshot. Technically well written, but not very enjoyable and the questions posed are not new. For me, it was a resounding [shrug].