num_pages: 328
description: Settled back into the San Francisco singles scene following the implosion of his young marriage just months after the honeymoon Neill Bassett is going through the motions. His carefully modulated routine however is soon disrupted in ways he cant dismiss with his usual nonchalance.When Neills father committed suicide ten years ago he left behind thousands of pages of secret journals journals that are stunning in their detail and it must be said their complete banality. But their spectacularly quotidian details were exactly what artificial intelligence company Amiante Systems was looking for and Neill was able to parlay them into a job despite a useless degree in business marketing and absolutely no experience in computer science. He has spent the last two years inputting the diaries into what everyone hopes will become the worlds first sentient computer. Essentially he has been giving it languageusing his fathers words. Alarming to Neillif not to the other employees of Amiantethe experiment seems to be working. The computer actually appears to be gaining awareness and most disconcerting of all has started asking questions about Neills childhood.Amid this psychological turmoil Neill meets Rachel. She was meant to be a one-night stand but Neill is unexpectedly taken with her and the possibilities she holds. At the same time he remains preoccupied by unresolved feelings for his ex-wife who has a talent for appearing at the most unlikely and unfortunate times. When Neill discovers a missing year in the diariesa year that must hold some secret to his parents marriage and perhaps even his fathers suicideeverything Neill thought he knew about his past comes into question and every move forward feels impossible to make.With a lightness of touch that belies pitch-perfect emotional control Scott Hutchins takes us on an odyssey of love grief and reconciliation that shows us how once we let go of the idea that were trapped by our own sad historiesour childhoods our bad decisions our miscommunications with those we lovewe have the chance to truly be free. A Working Theory of Love marks the electrifying debut of a prodigious new talent.
language: English
title: A Working Theory of Love
publisher: The Penguin Press