Tell the Machine Goodnight

A Novel

By: Katie Williams

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Kirby Heyborne, Alex McKenna, Jorjeana Marie, Arthur Morey, Cassandra Morris

"Imaginative, engaging, emotionally resonant...this novel is itself a receipe for contentment." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Smart and inventive, an emotional page-turner that considers the elusive definition of happiness.

Pearl's job is to make people happy. Every day, she provides customers with personalized recommendations for greater contentment. She's good at her job, her office manager tells her, successful. But how does one measure an emotion?

Meanwhile, there's Pearl's teenage son, Rhett. A sensitive kid who has forged an unconventional path through adolescence, Rhett seems to find greater satisfaction in being unhappy. The very rejection of joy is his own kind of "pursuit of happiness." As his mother, Pearl wants nothing more than to help Rhett--but is it for his sake or for hers? Certainly it would make Pearl happier. Regardless, her son is one person whose emotional life does not fall under the parameters of her job--not as happiness technician, and not as mother, either.

Told from an alternating cast of endearing characters from within Pearl and Rhett's world, Tell the Machine Goodnight delivers a smartly moving and entertaining story about relationships and the ways that they can most surprise and define us. Along the way, Katie Williams playfully illuminates our national obsession with positive psychology, our reliance on quick fixes and technology. What happens when these obsessions begin to overlap? With warmth, humor, and a clever touch, Williams taps into our collective unease about the modern world and allows us see it a little more clearly.

Read by Rebecca Lowman, Kirby Heyborne, and Alex McKenna, with Jorjeana Marie, Arthur Morey, and Cassandra Morris

the story felt incomplete

i enjoyed the story very much but felt it ended with very little to hold on to. Not sure if I'd recommend unless there's another book?

Beautifully written and imaginative

This book has a fascinating premise, and the premise and the characters develop throughout the story. This is not a page-turning roller coaster ride, more a series of related vignettes from the viewpoints of various characters. None the less, it held my attention and I look forward to more from this author.

I can't even explain

I'm usually pretty good at explaining why I like our dislike a thing but I have no idea why I love this book so much, but I do. I could list the things I like (the characters, the poetry in the authors writing, and more. But even combined they don't really do the book justice. A new personal favorite.

Best book I’ve listened to in a long time

Wholly original, this is a story about a woman navigating a world in which her job is to deliver the secret key to happiness to her customers. It is near future, but it doesn’t feel like run-of-the-mill sci-fi as the core of the story is about Pearl and the characters who come into and out of her life.

I will be devouring any books Katie Williams has written.

Realistic Sci-Fi

A very believable family, social, work multi-generational dynamic. The sci-fi sneaks up in the everydayness of this interesting story that deals with a difficult coming of age and parents maturing into emotional adults. A well-told well-rounded story with just enough YA. romance, tech, suspense and mother's love to have a great story for everyone