Red Pill by Hari Kunzru
NotAnotherBookClub kicked off 2024 by taking the red pill and falling down the rabbit hole! This was a real rollercoaster for me—observing a mid-life crisis and ensuing breakdown from within the head of the main character. I found this story gripping and deeply unsettling.
The main character is an author in search of his voice. He finds this not just elusive, but that his inner dialogue is increasingly running away from him, driven by external events largely out of his control.
As his sense of self is undermined in this way, he comes across the enigmatic figure of Anton. Attracted and intrigued by his success, confidence, and next-level insight into how the world “really” works, he takes the red pill. But there is no “undo” and he finds Anton lodged inside his head.
The book draws parallels between the tactics of Anton (a leader of the alt-right, as it turns out) and those used by the Stasi in Eastern Germany—messing with our sense of who we are by intruding into different and private areas of our lives with provocation, intimidation, gaslighting, and other mind-games. All this is possible on a much larger scale in today’s digital world!
Believing himself to be on a righteous mission, the protagonist gets sucked into playing Anton’s, spiralling into a breakdown. Unlike The Matrix, there is no triumph for the hero. I found I was working hard to make sense of the book and form my conclusions. Which I think is a good thing :-)
There is certainly an invitation to paranoia about the underground forces of evil trying to shape our world, but I refuse to let my life be shaped by conspiracy theories. That’s what Anton wants, and that is perhaps the cautionary tale of this book.
Ultimately, I felt a call to give importance to real conversations that allow us to explore our differences, understand other points of view, and respectfully embrace differences of opinion. Holding such dialogue is a habit that is in decline; it’s much easier to retreat into polarised echo chambers or even a collective apathy—but it is arguably more important than ever if we want our societies to be tolerant, resilient, and supportive of our individual and collective humanity.
I would love to hear your thoughts.
For further exploration: Book reviews: - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/02/red-pill-by-hari-kunzru-review-timely-and-intelligent - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/books/review/hari-kunzru-red-pill.html
Podcast with the author: - https://podtail.com/en/podcast/rival-radio/red-pill-and-conspiracy-culture-with-hari-kunzru-c/
Video with the author: -