REMAKE

Having read all the major Connie Willis novels, I’m slowly picking away at the various short stories and novellas that remain. My library didn’t have this one, but I wanted to get my hands on it because it’s about movies, so it was part of my Christmas Amazon gift-card haul. If I’d read a library copy first, I might not have felt the need to buy it, but even though it wasn’t her best work, it was still a fun and fast read. Set in a future where computers have replaced live movie production (old films are endlessly re-edited with different stars, dead actors are mashed together into remakes, and controlled substances such as alcohol are deleted entirely), Remake was a timely read, considering I’d just seen Avatar a few weeks before. Sometimes the futuristicness felt a little stale and belabored (the slang got dense and showoffy), the characters were a bit flat, and even though it was short I grew impatient with the plot (lots of scenes of the narrator doing drugs/getting drunk and editing films). But I loved the basic concept and all the detailed, well-researched references to classic films. It made me want to binge on old movies. And I think now that I know not to expect a huge payoff, it might make an enjoyable reread in a couple of years.