Touch by Courtney Maum

Touch

by

Courtney Maum

Blurb:

"Sloane Jacobsen is one of the world's most powerful trend forecasters (she was the foreseer of 'the swipe'), and global fashion, lifestyle, and tech companies pay to hear her opinions about the future. Her recent forecasts on the family are unwavering: the world is overpopulated, and with unemployment, college costs, and food prices all on the rise, having children is an extravagant indulgence. So it's no surprise when the tech giant Mammoth hires Sloane to lead their groundbreaking annual conference, celebrating the voluntarily childless. But not far into her contract, Sloane begins to sense the undeniable signs of a movement against electronics that will see people embracing compassion, empathy, and 'in-personism' again. She's struggling with the fact that her predictions are hopelessly out of sync with her employer's mission--and that her closest personal relationship is with her self-driving car--when her partner, the French 'neo-sensualist' Roman Bellard, reveals that he is about to publish an op-ed on the death of ['intimacy']...Despite the risks to her professional reputation, Sloane is nevertheless convinced that her instincts are the right ones, and she goes on a quest to defend real-life human interaction, while finally allowing in the love and connectedness she's long been denying herself. A poignant and amusing call to arms that showcases her signature biting wit and keen eye, celebrated novelist Courtney Maum's new book is a moving investigation into what it means to be an individual in a globalized world."

My Review:

Well, let's just say that I didn't even know what a trend forecaster was before I read this book. I had no idea that there were people who predicted things like skinny jeans and touch screens years before 

they become popular. I had also never heard of a Zentai suit. Have you? It looks like this, by the way:

Photo Credit: http://www.zentaitime.com/Fitted-Light-Blue-Fullbody-Shiny-Metallic-Zentai-Suit.html

Yep, a suit that covers your whole body, including your face. Now you know. You're welcome. I am the mom of four children, so I did not relate to Sloane at all. Because of the above Zentai suit, I didn't relate to Roman either. Dax was definitely not someone I related to. There were a few minor characters like Deidre, Jin, and Mina, along with Sloane's mom and sister, that I related to a bit more, and they helped me keep reading. I just could not get into the story because it is just so far from what my life is, and without characters that I could latch onto, it was a difficult sell. The style of writing was also a bit rough for me. Ms. Maum likes to use big vocabulary words, which is a good thing, but it seemed more like she was trying to be grandiloquent than anything else. I hate to admit that I had to go back and reread a few sentences because I had no idea what was going on. I did enjoy delving into the inventiveness of the company and thought a couple of their inventions would be great to have; I also liked seeing the intricacies of Sloane's relationship with her family. Unfortunately, that's about where my enjoyment of this book ended. I didn't agree with the premise, and I'm way too conservative to delve into Roman's philosophies. Wow. Just wow. It was way too much for me. There is so much profanity along with discussions about everything regarding "intimacy"--in great detail. I like that topic to stay in the bedroom, not be paraded in front of the world and written about on a majority of the pages of this book. The only thing that I thought slightly redeemed this book was the ending. It did end with a good moral, and by the end I thought Sloane was a better character; I did enjoy watching her grow over the course of the book. Could I recommend this book to my friends? Ummm....no. However, if profanity doesn't bother you and you enjoy very detailed and kind of crazy talk of "intimacy," then you may enjoy this book. 

Rating R (Is there anything higher than R??) There is lots of profanity, including many "f" words. There isn't any violence, but there is a lot of "intimacy." There are quite detailed discussions about and inventions for. There are also a couple of detailed scenes. 

Recommendation: Adult (This book is NOT appropriate for anyone younger than an adult.)

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.