The Word Exchange: A Novel
*Starred Review* What if we became so dependent on our gadgets that we lost our ability to speak? That’s the big idea in Graedon’s entertainingly scary debut, a bibliothriller of epidemic proportions. In the nearish future, in a steampunky New York where messages travel by secret pneumatic tubes, Anana Johnson’s father, Doug, is preparing to launch the final edition of the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL). Then he suddenly goes missing (both in real life and from his biographical entry in the dictionary), Anana sees something bizarre in the NADEL’s basement, and people start talking funny. Aphasia is the first symptom of “word flu,” a sickness that scrambles speech and renders some speakers permanently silent. It’s all tied to people’s habit of using their Memes (think iPhones to the tenth power) to buy words when they can’t remember them, Anana eventually learns. As in Dave Eggers’ The Circle (2013), Graedon’s fears about technology are clearly evident. There are a few stutters in the structure and pacing, but this is a remarkable first novel, combining a vividly imagined future with the fondly remembered past to offer a chilling prediction of where our unthinking reliance on technology is leading us. And, as you’d expect, Graedon’s word choice is exquisite. --Keir Graff