Introduction

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Plot

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Characters

I first heard of "Operators and Things" sometime around 2020. In one of those "American Urban Legends" episodes this thing was mentioned with such an awe, that it just couldn't not interest me. The book presumably "had a significant influence on early internet culture and fueled postmodernists' interest in psychiatric experiences".

The story turned out to be even more fascinating than I expected. Besides, it simply cannot be read avidly; neither the length nor the wording are time-consuming, though. The aesthetic - the pure taste consideration - is what, however, interferes. The plot is revealed in its entirety if it's perceived gradually, so that there's time to witness how hopeless, but also savingly fortunate, the situation is.

Operators and Things was also the first book I combined reading with listening to music. This may seem like a small thing, and it may be one. But for me such an experience was truly unique, as the song remained associated with a book's atmosphere a long time. In particular its anxiety, jumps between fatigue and excitement, paranoia, and the gradual disintegration of memories.