You Have Arrived at Your Destination

Forward

By: Amor Towles

Narrated by: David Harbour

Length: 1 hr and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

Audible narration by David Harbour (Stranger Things)

Nature or nurture? Neither. Discover a bold new way to raise a child in this unsettling story of the near future by the New York Times bestselling author of A Gentleman in Moscow.

When Sam’s wife first tells him about Vitek, a twenty-first-century fertility lab, he sees it as the natural next step in trying to help their future child get a “leg up” in a competitive world. But the more Sam considers the lives that his child could lead, the more he begins to question his own relationships and the choices he has made in his life.

Amor Towles’s You Have Arrived at Your Destination is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

©2019 Cetology, Inc. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"...[David] Harbour’s lively narration makes for a performance that's difficult to stop listening to. The short length works well, and characters crackle with life as Harbour's gruff cadence and occasional spot of humor keep the story engaging. The work will stick with listeners, thanks to its compelling narration and intriguing 'what-if' elements." (AudioFile magazine)

"...a sensational project...." (Spine Magazine)

"This is exactly how I like my techno-anxiety.... Happy bingeing!" (Audible, an October Editors Pick)

Excellent

Wow, I really enjoyed this intriguing short story and LOVED the narration. My only reservation (hence the 4 stars instead of 5) was the way the story kind of diverged off at the finale. It felt like the author didn't quite know how to wrap it up. But overall, a great story. Amor Towles is a wonderful writer.

A little disappointing

2.75 out of 5 stars

The start of this one was interesting. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into. I’ve been trying to read books without fully fleshing out the synopsis. This one, since I was already interested in the other books in this series – I go into without even reading about it. Judging from the title I thought it was going to be something about self driving cars or something like that. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It’s hard to describe a book that’s shorter like this one in the “typical” fashion but the beginning of this (when we first find out about the technology) is fascinating. Even for being a short story – Towles is still slow playing the build up a bit and I respected that. Not reading the synopsis just lead to further suspense as I tried to figure out this new technologies fatal flaw.

The first 50% or so of this book I felt like I knew where it was going. The second 50% felt like it was almost another book. It obviously fits into the story but the beginning and end were so different I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it. I don’t expect to leave a story “satisfied” and I feel dirty even typing that, but this book left me with as many questions as it did answers.

Towels writing style made the story fly by along with the narration by David Harbour – but the ending (or lack thereof) kind of flopped this one a bit for me. You Have Arrived At Your Destination was one of the rare cases (in my eyes) where I think a longer story would have done it justice. I feel like the length of this one held it back a bit. It was almost like Towles was trying to be clever and end it on a complete surprise.

4.01 stars

This is the first story I've listened to from this series. I'm a fan of this author and will listen to anything he writes, which led me to this story story that ended up being really good. I may give a few of the others a try after listening to this one. If your a fan of Towles' work, I'm sure you will like this. I'm usually not all that much of a fan of short stories. I prefer longer works that go more in depth. That being said: this is one of the better short works I've heard or read.

Overall rating: 4.01 stars

Best narrator I've ever heard

The story itself is a little underwhelming but the narrator has the best story telling voice there is! I would listen to anything by this guy!

What is this, a scam?

I rally enjoyed Amor's first two, especially Gentleman. This book began with a clever tease, then evaporated. I want my money back!

mature and well-written

this is sophisticated sci-fi with some very interesting themes. it might be more interesting to people with a few years under their belt. there is a lot of talk about what it means to grow up and get over the self-centered egotism of youth. not everyone with many years reaches adulthood. some become adults quite young, others in middle of age, and a few when they are old. this story's best sections are about what it means to get past the fantasies driven by a self-centered ego and accept the world as it really is.

Excellent Narration

I want David Harbour to narrate every book on Audible now. He was simply fantastic.

Enjoyable hour

Quick listen, enjoyed the story. The story is interesting in that it leads to a lot of introspection.

Good Writer, Eh Story

Narration: 3.75⭐️

A technically well-written meditation on the slippery-slope of society's somewhat heedless embrace of every new technological advancement and lack of introspection. As Sam sits in the fertility lab and contemplates how his child may grow up, he reflects on his own life, choices and relationships.

The story started off great and seemed like it wanted to put a new spin on the ethics of future-tech, but, honestly, it just tapered off into lifetime reflections via beer-goggles. Something that's been done and better.

The narration is good, if a bit dodgy in places. When Harbour is into the story, his voicework and narration is great, but early on, there is little distinction between his narration and the main character's voice.

very intriguing

I thought this story was going to go one way but I got surprised as it went along. The thoughts of being able to map out the life of your child is definitely enticing to many. As I saw how the story unfolded it made me reflect on my past life and how I'm a reflection of my parents and think about the direction I'm influencing my child. A great listen.

Well, that was depressing

An interesting thought experiment, but ultimately painting a bleak picture of a possible (probable?) future. The writing was good. The narration the best part, but slightly monotone.

Thought Provoking

You Have Arrived at Your Destination is a near-future sci-fi short story about genetic engineering, or even "boutique parentage", where picking the qualities of your child is the norm for the rich. It reads like a terrible dream for the main character as he sits through multiple projections of the life his potential child may live. An interesting topic for sure, very thought-provoking. And fascinating how they come up with these projections. But I'm not sure I completely understood the purpose of the ending. It's much less wrapped up than the other short stories in the series.

In terms of my enjoyment whilst reading this, it was a rollercoaster. At the beginning I struggled to get into it, then the crux of the story appeared and I was hooked, but then the ending disappointed me. Definitely a case of wasted potential but still worth a read.

3.75 stars, rounding up to 4 because I'm feeling kind.

"Where would you like to go?"

His father's financial problems when Sam was at college meant he gave up on having fun and drinking with his fellow students to help his dad get out of debt. He never wanted to inflict anything like that on his own family. so it is only now, at 45 and financially secure, that Sam and his wife feel that they can have a child, Naturally, they want him (yes, they want a boy) to have every possible good start in life. So they go to Vitek, a new fertility clinic which can nudge genetics according to the parental preferences to give the baby certain attributes. Three short videos illustrate to Sam how the predicted life of each child will play out given certain characteristics, and he is supposed to chose. It is an uncomfortable look towards the future then an even more difficult spotlight on the past.

Narration by David Harbour is excellent. The fifth of the books in the the Forward Collection that I have read and, although well written and feeling very close to possibility, my least favorite of the short stories so far but still well worth the read

Thought provoking

I enjoyed the first half of this short story, which involved a man bring presented with various options for his kids future from a DNA manipulation firm. In particular I was struck by the idea that lives fall into typical '3 act' structures and can be predicted to a high degree of certainty.

I didn't fully get where the book went after this point, the narrative could have been elaborated into something quite profound or thrilling, but went out on a drunken stagger. Much like Daniel's lives, the ending was predictable and underwhelming.

I'd still recommend giving this a quick listen, as it has some interested and though provoking ideas.