Hello again

I managed to spend an hour with your book last night. I started reading Chapter 5 after a four-day hiatus.

As characters were re-introduced, I recognized the names from the previous chapters. But my ability to place them in the story was maybe 25 % there. As I was reading more context from Chapter 5, my memory was somewhat refreshed but it still took a bit of mental gymnastics to put things together.

Much of Sophie's gang seemed to be in the same room. But I had trouble following who was speaking in the dialogue.

There was a newscast about three politicians making a grim announcement. The protagonists seemed to understand the story behind the story, and the way the book was written, the reader should also understand. This reader did not understand.

There was also a little story arc about the problem of incompetent government employees (Dawson). While this issue is worthy of discussion, I'm not sure Sophie's gang would be in charge of making this kind of decision.

Then two concepts were brought up in Chapter 5. First was the "data raiders." I could not make the connection from the first four chapters. Then there seemed to a parade/protest happening. I assumed it had something to do with that new political party, but I'm not sure. I was missing big holes in the story.

At this point, I thought I needed to start from the beginning again. This is not the first time I've had to do this in a novel, but this usually happens in the first 5 to 10 pages. According to my Kindle reader, I was 24% the way through the story. I have probably already invested three hours at this point.

I find there is something intriguing about the message you really want to deliver. Given the plethora of characters and plotlines, a quick reread may not bring me to a position where I understand enough to make this story an enjoyable read--and get your message. I decided to stop reading. I don't think I can endorse this book.

I am 62 years old and I know my brain does not work as fast as it used to. This might be part of the problem. But I still recognize that there is something unique to this story. All these social issues are indeed connected to each other.