YMMV / Feed (2002)

• Anvilicious: Did we mention New Media Are Evil, you guys? M.T. Anderson has stated that he is by no means a Luddite and finds the new avenues of technology incredible (he says Feed wouldn't work as a satire if he didn't feel the seduction himself) but simply wishes to point out that progress comes with costs of its own.
• Accidental Innuendo: From the filet mignon farm scene we get the phrase "beef hallways". Context would only ruin it.
• Don't Shoot the Message: Even if some readers agreed with the messages Anderson sends, some people may feel that Anderson made his point roughly half way through the novel and that part 3 and 4 just drags on and on.
• Ending Fatigue: Some feel like Anderson's message had been pretty much hammered in by Part 3, making it seem like parts 3 and 4 drag on a little too long. Then again, the fact that sitting with a dying friend takes patience that Titus and his zero-attention-spanned peers simply do not have is, arguably, precisely the point.
• Funny Moments: Surprisingly, in such a dark book. One of the feed-breaks that are scattered throughout the book contains the following:
  “…what the President meant in the intercepted chat. This was, uh, nothing but a routine translation problem. It has to be understood, that…It has to be understood that when the President referred to the Prime Minister of the Global Alliance as a ‘big shithead,’ what he was trying to convey was, uh—this is an American idiom used to praise people, by referring to the sheer fertilizing power of their thoughts. The President meant to say that the Prime Minister’s head was fertile, just full of these nutrients where ideas can grow. It really was a compliment…”
• Genius Bonus: A few things, such as a brief mention of BASIC. There's also a mention of characters talking in a sestina during Violet's breakdown- if one goes back and looks through previous dialogue, you find out she's right.
• Harsher in Hindsight: One scene involves Titus's friends wearing clothing based off of victims of the Kent State Massacre, complete with blood stains, to show how much their society places aesthetics above knowledge of their own history and respect for tragedy. In 2014, twelve years after the book was written, Urban Outfitters attempted to do just that. Thankfully, it was not well-received.
• Nightmare Fuel: More than you may think. One of the most chilling things, however, isn't just the horrifyingness of the futurescape, but how easily and unconcernedly the characters take the nightmares in stride.
• Spiritual Successor: The themes of Capitalism Is Bad, New Media Are Evil, the dangers of apathy toward one's own existence and that of the world, and having a good chunk of the story be about a character slowly dying due to complications regarding cybernetic implants would repeat again in the video game Cyberpunk 2077, though with far more violence, sex, and the possibility of slightly happier endings.
• Squick: The book is layered with it. The lesions call particular attention.
  • You can't mention this book's squick whithout mentioning the filet mignon farm and the steak maze. And for those of you curious, yes, it's Exactly What It Says on the Tin. THERE ARE HORNS AND EYES COMING OUT OF THE WALLS.
  • Near the end of the book, Americans are getting severely radiated, and it's mentioned that people are losing their hair and skin. In an unrelated conversation with Titus's mother, he mentions that her skin is so thin that you can see her teeth through her lips. The most disturbing thing is that no one else seems to notice or care.
  • Related to the above example: Among Titus's peers, skin lesions are shown off as something akin to fashion statements. (It's strongly implied that the corporations who are causing the pollution that's causing the lesions are also the ones manipulating the Feed to convince people that lesions are the cool new fashion trend—and it works. You can even buy fake lesions so that you won't be the only one at your School™ without them.)
• Tear Jerker: A good majority of Part 4 thanks to Violet's worsening condition:
  • Violet's long chats to Titus just radiate desperation and grief, but the saddest one has to be her long list of things she wants to do before she dies. And the worst part is Titus ignores every single one of them because he's just too scared to discuss how little time Violet may have left to live.
  • Titus and Violet sneaking off to a cabin in the mountains is difficult to read solely because of how hard the two try to appear happy with the situation. This all culminates in Titus turning Violet's sexual advances away from him because, in his words, he feels like he's getting it on with a corpse. And thus marks the end of Titus and Violet...

---