The Unseen World

A Novel

By: Liz Moore

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

A heartbreaking and moving story about a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her father's hidden past.

Ada Sibelius is raised by David, a single father and head of a computer science lab in Boston. Homeschooled, she accompanies her loving father - brilliant, eccentric, socially inept - to work every day. By 12 she is a painfully shy prodigy.

At the same time that the lab begins to gain acclaim, David's mind begins to falter, and his mysterious past comes into question. When her father moves into a nursing home, Ada is taken in by one of David's colleagues. She embarks on a mission to uncover her father's secrets: a process that carries her from childhood to adulthood. Eventually Ada pioneers a type of software that enables her to make contact with her past and to reconcile the man she thought she knew with the truth.

Praised for her ability to create quirky and unforgettable characters, Liz Moore has written a piercing story of a daughter's quest to restore the legacy of the father she desperately loves.

©2016 Liz Moore (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"In her third novel, Moore delivers a striking examination of family, memory, and technology…Moore's exploration of David's decline is remarkable and heartbreaking, and she shifts gears deftly as the story is complicated further: when Liston tries to become Ada's legal guardian, questions about David's identity arise.... Mysteries build, and Moore's gift for storytelling excels. This is a smart, emotionally powerful literary page-turner." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Moore's third and perhaps most ambitious novel is large in scope, as it explores the philosophical issues surrounding human vs. computer consciousness, but it is also a small-scale, powerfully local story about a young girl.... Moore's vivid characters will stay with readers long after the story has ended. Highly recommended for literary fiction enthusiasts, with crossover appeal to sf fans." ( Library Journal)

"Intelligent and brilliantly absorbing.... Filled with achingly memorable scenes...and beautifully nuanced writing, Moore's latest is a stunner in its precise take on identity and the compromises even the most righteous among us must make to survive life's challenges with grace." ( Booklist)

Weak Elements

I did not find any of the characters quite believable, The main character Ada has been homeschooled with no mother, virtually no TV, no social life, and no friends, yet this does not seem to have affected her significantly. She seems to have the desires and motivations of a normal young girl. Other characters seemed narrow with little development or evolution.

The story is also problematic. The novel hinges on a secret coded message. Yet this secret message would be completely obvious to anyone who had ever decrypted anything. Yet all the experts are completely stumped for years. Finally a character with zero experience solves the obvious puzzle.

There is a tiny AI subplot which also seemed contrived. There was virtually no action and very little tension.

I would not recommend this to any sophisticated reader. It might be fine for younger readers.

Appreciated but Not Enjoyed

What did you like best about The Unseen World? What did you like least?

I'm not sure where to begin. I respect Ms. Moore's tackling the idea, the premise, the story layers, however felt at times I was listening to a YA book...perhaps because the young Ada was well drawn and quite likable. I found the language uncomfortably stilted...which had its justification, but for me was a constant distraction and caused the often very slow pace to further lose momentum. This tale might be better told in cinematic terms with visuals replacing many of the repetitive computer and coding references. Typically I am sad when a book ends even as I am compelled to listen and reach the conclusion, but I could not wait to get to the end of those one. It was work.

Would you be willing to try another book from Liz Moore? Why or why not?

I'm not sure! I think I might carefully read other listener and reader comments first!

What three words best describe Lisa Flanagan’s performance?

Modulated / Editorial / Directive

Was The Unseen World worth the listening time?

I'm sorry to say, for me, no. I wish I could have spent those hours in the company of characters I cared more about. But, I felt I should see this one through for some reason. Maybe because there was an underlying earnestness and I appreciated the effort to construct the story, but I frequently found myself checking how long there was left.

Moore's Character Depth is Impressive

I loved Heft, Moore's second novel. In my opinion the audio production of Heft is in the top 3 audiobooks I've ever listened to. I was very excited when her new novel came out. The audio of The Unseen World is quite good compared to most but no where near Heft. Moore is amazing for her depth of character description, she is able to draw people in a way that puts the listener behind the eyes of her main subjects look no other author I have read recently. In both novels I was amazed by how she crafts her characters as though she has lived their lives. Her description of adolescent angst and fear and uncertainty is so vivid, her insight so clear, you feel the anguish physically. The premise of The Unseen World is based on computer science, which I have no interest in, and certain passages where she describes coding and technical aspects don't lend well to audio, but overall this novel is a success. I do recommended reading Heft first to experience her writing style.

interesting story with an alternative motive

I enjoyed the characters and the jumping timeline. it starts out slow but not so dull as to make me give up. I didn't appreciate the pro-gay, anti-government, anti-christian propaganda. The antagonist(s) are too stereotypical and quite liberal. This really ruined the experience for me. However, the aspects of coding. encryption, and AI were interesting.

Intriguing

I bought this book because of how much I enjoyed Liz Moore's book Heft.
This book is similar in that the character development is excellent. However, I didn't feel any of the emotional engagement that I expected based on my experience with Heft. Perhaps that is part of the point based on some of the relational limitations of some of the primary characters? I enjoyed the book very much and I thought it was extremely well written, but it left me feeling a little flat...
The themes and ideas around technology and relating are very intriguing and handled beautifully.
The narration is excellent.

Enjoyable Not Riveting

I look for books with well-drawn characters, a good story and - hopefully - a mystery to solve. This book had all three, but in a milder, less exciting form. I liked the characters, but I was not dying to know what happened to them. And the basic premise - that a father had to keep his true background a secret from his daughter - was a little bit silly. There was no pressing reason for the secret at the time of the story, although there was when he was much younger.

So I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it.

Fascinating Characters And A Great Narrator, Too!

I did not devour this book quickly like some others that I really enjoy. I didn't have that desperation to finish, which was very nice for change. Rather, I took it slowly, digesting the story, the characterizations, adding some time off for a vacation, and then finished the remainder in one day.

What made this book particularly likeable to me was the wonderful narration contributed by Lisa Flanagan. I am usually a bit more fond of male readers but I will search out more books narrated by Lisa in the future. I also enjoyed the scientific aspects, that is, the lab, the computer and the artificial intelligence aspects. I like this type of fiction.

In looking over other's reviews, there are some terrific ones for this audiobook, and I am not sure if I could do it justice. It is very strong on interesting characters, and I almost feel the events of the story are secondary to them. That is not bad, actually, once you come upon the realization that you can enjoy the characters and the narration as much as the plot. Which, I may add, is not to say that the plot is lacking. Well, maybe it is lacking just a hair. I expected a bigger reveal on Ada's father's secret, the history he kept from his daughter until after his death. I even, at some points, expected something perhaps sci-fi, which really didn't happen.

Never-the-less, I found the book fascinating and enjoyable and am glad I chose it. If you read some of the more comprehensive reviews, I am sure you can determine if it is something you would enjoy.

Meticulous, Patient, and Wonderful

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Unseen World?

The epilogue, but I can't say why for risk of spoiling it. Second most memorable part was a simple scene where Ada finally allows herself to be vulnerable with Liston and gain comfort from another human.

Any additional comments?

4.5 stars. This is the story of Ada and her father David, and of David's work (work that is fully intertwined with his life) and the lab that is a home away from home for both him and Ada. And this is a story of what happens when early onset dementia intrudes upon this life, this small family, this intense little world, and things that were taken as true are found to be false.

This was a quietly wonderful book and a book that really defies genre classification. Much of it feels like character study and examination of identity, carving a place for yourself in the world, and the puzzle that is life. It is a family story, stories of the families you are born to and the families you create, sometimes from whole cloth. It is a coming of age story, but without any melodrama besides the fits and starts of fitting in and crushes and bullying. It has elements of a mystery and examination of the past. And it has ideas mixed in that, in many contexts, would brand it science fiction (except that the story is mostly told at the human scale, and while intertwined with technology it is not driven solely by such advancements). Which is the long-winded way of saying what I already said -- this book defies genre. And I loved it.

Unique and ambitious

The basic story and plot were unique and interesting, and there was a lot that I liked about this book, especially the following:

1) History of the early days of computer science was really interesting, even for a non-computer savvy person like me
2) Good character development
3) Poignant story of a young girl's coming of age
4) Blends a LOT of different elements into a cohesive narrative
5) Appealing characters
6) The author is very good at setting the scene

My main complaint about the book is that a lot of elements of David's character were inconsistent. For example, you learn at the beginning of the story that he rarely expressed physical affection for his daughter, yet later on he talks about how moved he was by caring for her in the night when she was a baby. He also is initially described in a way that makes him seem excessively rigid and particular, but then later in the story there lots of examples of him acting warm, affectionate and sentimental. You also don't understand why he would have been so averse to showing affection for his daughter, as there is nothing in the book that really explains it. It's not a fatal flaw, but I would have enjoyed it more if the author had been more consistent in her portrayal of David, since Ada's relationship with and memories of her father are what drive her development throughout the book.

The narration was good, and I would definitely consider reading other books by Liz Moore.

Excellent

What defines a really good book ? For me, it's when I experience "withdrawal" after finishing the story. That's how I felt when "The Unseen World" ended. The characters were real and sympathetic, and he narrration is superb. Lisa Flanagan is becoming one of my favorite readers. ( check out "Do Not Find Me". She reads it so beautifully ) My only complaint is the sections of code that were obviously included in the print copy but are super dull to listen to. Apart from that, this is a really unique and compelling story.