Introducing The Nod Book Club’s first pick: Luminous by Silvia Park. Set in unified Korea, Luminous, paints a dystopian future, one in which robots are an intrinsic part of society. The story follows three estranged siblings—a humanoid cop, Jun; robot designer Morgan; and, you guessed it, a robot named Yoyo. Yoyo is unlike a “normal” robot and was designed as an early prototype by the siblings’ father.
At a time when we, too, are ensnared in the pros and pitfalls of AI, where the gap between reality and dystopia seems to be shrinking at an alarming rate, where engineers are teaching robots choreography, and speaking masks can instantly translate Mandarin into English, Luminous seemed the ideal choice as the first pick for The Nod Book Club.
The novel paints a world of humans and robots and those in the middle, of ‘augmented restaurants’, police precincts with ‘Robot Crimes’ divisions, VR addiction, and botfights, with the added socio-political dimension of being set in a unified Korea. There’s world-building, yes, but also stories of warmth and connection.
Join our Instagram channel to discuss Luminous as we read it. From every-thought-you-had-while-reading to exclusive notes from the author, there’s a lot to unpack here. We’re also super pumped to share that Silvia Park will be in conversation with Rohan Joshi, deep diving into all things Luminous, so make sure you’re caught up on your reading. Click here to join.
