Dystopia, or just a change of circumstances?

I found this to be a refreshing and individual take on the dystopian genre. The 'arrest' of the title refers to the failure of all technology and machines, the bulk of the novel speculating on how people raised in a computerised and electrical world could adapt to a life without these things.

The real triumph here is the prose, which is consistently readable (listenable) and enjoyable, and the characters, who are believable and atypical. Atypical is in fact the most apt word I could use to describe the novel overall, as what stood out were the ways in which it differed from 'standard' dystopian stories. While the inevitable violence and tribalism you would expect are referenced, the focus is on psychology and characterisation, principally via two characters who once worked in Hollywood. How easy would it be for people used to such a lifestyle to alter their expectations and settle into a slower and more basic style of life? It was a pleasure to read and find out, and to engage with the idea that a technological arrest may not be the complete catastrophe we may expect, but simply a moving on to some new form of existence - not necessarily an end, but just a change.

I should mention too Robert Fass's narration, which was excellent - well-paced and full of character, he really added to the nuance of Lethem's prose, and brought the consistently brilliant dialogue to life.

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