This is the disturbing and exhilarating novel in which the anonymous protagonist, a dealer offering a range of the latest chemicals designed to make the consumers forget everything.This finds his past and present, along with his own identity, disintegrate under the effects of these 'drugs of oblivion'. Set in the very near future, this novel is very much in the style of dystopia like Orwell's 1984, while also evoking the bewildering visual universe of Blade Runner.
The protagonist moves through a world of cynical consumerism, whether in Arizona, South East Asia or Europe. Under the constant scrutiny of the Company in whose products he deals in. The alienating urban environment that surrounds him intensifies the feelings that he does not belong to any one country or place. His own life is spent in a transient nature on the deserted motorways, in crowded airports or anonymous hotel rooms which are punctuated by business contacts with similar nameless customers and the random and meaningless sexual encounters. There is no place for guilt or any personal responsibility in the society in which one's acts are easily forgotten thanks to the drug which has been designed to erase the memories from the users mind.
The protagonist speaks with a very disarming humour which is born from his detachment from life, personal relationships and the very consequences for his actions. What makes the subject in this novel so alarming is the fact that bother the observations and the conclusions are completely believable.
I did not enjoy this book for the reason that there was no character information which would allow you to have an internal dialogue with them. I found that this was very disengaging and made me instantly not enjoy the what should have been an interesting story, This is something which is a subject which is at the forefront of everyone's world and it is clear to see how things can jump to this type of designer drug. I don't think that i would recommend this to anyone to read as it was not my type of novel.
