A Virtual Love
Synopsis
A Virtual Love explores the changing nature of personal identity in the age of social media.
The novel questions whether any person can be said to have one ‘real identity’ anymore. Do we in fact now have several identities - our Facebook profile, or blogging voice, our Twitter persona or our dating profile - and which if any are real?
Author's Biography
Andrew Blackman is 35 and is the author of On the Holloway Road, published by Legend Press in 2009. The book won the Luke Bitmead Writer’s Bursary and was shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize.
Reviews
Contemporary
Reviews: 'a remarkable novel....for anyone who loves to be seduced by characters whose desires are in conflict with a reality for which there is no Undo button.' Geoffrey Philp
'a fine study of identity and deception at the point where the online and offline worlds intersect.' We Love This Book
'A fascinating, modern story that had me gripped.'
– Alex Wheatle, award-winning author of East of Acre Lane
'A compelling and very entertaining look at the complexities of our hyper real age'– James Miller, author of Lost Boys and Sunshine State
'Blackman hits on the performative nature of online interaction and profile building, the task of constructing an idealised version of the self to be displayed to the world, and also questions our willingness to believe.'
– The Workshy Fop
'a thoughtful, artistic, entertaining and ultimately sad meditation upon the state of the world in the digital age.'
– Babbling Books
'...looks at the world of online interaction, telling an engaging story while making deeper points about the commodification of identity in the age of social networking.' – Bloggers Recommend
'An engaging, brilliant story capturing the almost impenetrable emotions and issues cropping up in a fairly new digital age.'- The Innocent Flower
'As a portrait of modern love it is quite unsettling, pointing to ever-growing questions about what remains most real and significant in our transient, illusory world.'
– Tales from the Reading Room
'A very talented writer with a supreme gift of bringing his characters to life'– Teresa, LibraryThing
'A great touching story exposing the disconnect between generations'- US blogger Random Thoughts £7.99
Reader Comments
Well-written, chilling and dark
An engaging story that will make you question technology, change and identity in the modern world. Andrew Blackman pitches traditional views of an older generation against the virtual worlds of those absorbed in a dangerous digital world.
An unnerving exploration of identity. Assuming different personae is the norm in the non-virtual world ; it's what we do to survive and succeed at the many roles we play in life as we switch between being child and parent, volunteer in the local community and possibly even CEO of a huge multinational corporation. In the virtual world of Jeff Brennan, each identity provides a complete mask and his life is totally compartmentalised - until it all begins to fall apart with nightmarish consequences. A contemporary morality tale. Gripping.
I really enjoyed this book. A beautifully written novel with believable characters and an unusual twist.
An intriguing modern story told in a fresh and skilfully crafted way.
A really great read - I couldn't put it down. There's not many books that keep my full attention right from page one to the very end but I couldn't leave this alone! Very thought provoking, well written, and a pleasure to read. I will be revisiting this one often.
A great read. Looking forward to more from this Author
Powerful, entertaining, sublimely constructed
A terrific, haunting and very atmospheric read!
Beautiful read especially for our times
Fabulous read - praise especially for Andrew's command of the shifting viewpoints.
Marvellous novel for our times.
Beautiful and thought provoking. Universal. Realistic. Uncompromising. Mutli-layered. Highly recommended
Very much a book of our time, this book explores the impact of the internet on our lives and the advent of virtual lives and the consequent multifarious identities which come about.
Just beautiful. A wonderfully absorbing read.
Beautiful and thought provoking insights into relationships in the internet era.
Brilliant read - and also sad in its own right seeing how we live through social networks etc.
A thoroughly entertaining read - had me gripped but also a little sad to see the way we are living our double lives in the age of social media and the internet.
This thought-provoking and well written novel has stayed with me long after I closed the last page.
An thought-provoking story of modern times
A superbly written 'cautionary tale' about life, love and identity in our internet age.