Bubblegum (novel)
Bubblegum is a 2020 science fiction novel by Adam Levin. The novel takes place in Illinois, though in a reality where "curios" — flesh-based robots — are common, and the internet does not exist.[1]
.png.webp) First U.S. edition cover | |
| Author | Adam Levin |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
Publication date | April 14, 2020 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover), e-book, audiobook |
| Pages | 784 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-54496-2 (hardcover) |
| OCLC | 1083180693 |
| 813/.6 | |
| LC Class | PS3612.E92365 B83 2020 |
About the Author
Bubblegum is Adam Levin's third publication, and he teaches about creative writing in Chicago, Illinois. His stories often include dark humor and take place in fictional settings. Bubblegum was released in April 2020 being his most recent publication, and his earliest publication was The Instructions released in 2010. The protagonist, Belt Magnet, in Bubblegum shares similarities with Adam Levin, being that they are both writers and they are both from Chicago. Levin typically writes about himself is his writings or mentions his own features throughout the book.
Background
Levin spent approximately a decade writing the novel.[2] Originally, Levin wrote a short story featuring the protagonist of Bubblegum, Belt Magnet, which he has referred to as "terrible".[3] The story was not published, and Levin later combined some of its elements with an instruction manual for the in-universe curios featured in Bubblegum, producing the earliest versions of the book.
Plot
The sci-fi novel is a first-person narrative through the protagonist, Belt Magnet, or "Billy." The starts with childhood memories in Chicago and develops friendships in school using derogatory family phrases to defend one's honor or to get a laugh from a crowd. Belt's derogatory statements become an instant hit among the kids in school because of Jonboat, the new blonde-haired rich kid in town. It was a hit. The two decided to make t-shirts to distribute while providing a scrupulous explanation of why and how the shirts will look—arguing down to the specific grammar to be used on the shirt or if there would be too much grammar to be added onto the shirt. This back-and-forth of grammatical contemplation is a mild metaphor for the mental insight of Belt's life struggles. He breaks down the thought process of any situation in the story to provide the reader with a firsthand account of his intrinsic thought processes. Belt's father liked fishing with friends and would leave Belt behind because he did not enjoy fishing for days while forgetting to leave money for his son to live on. This is where the reader learns of Belt's smoking of cigarettes (Quills) habit that he justifies as a memorial to his mother. Learning about Belt's childhood and major adulthood events, the reader understands his home life had much to do with how he turned out. Belt Magnet was the author of a book called, No, Please Don’t. It was not a big hit but is mentioned throughout the story. Belt even meets a big fan that reads his book like Belt used to read the books he idolized when he was younger. He is pleasantly shocked to find out someone appreciated his work in any way, even if it wasn't the way he meant it. Belt continues to focus much on life's meditations revolving around family and friendships, and intimate relationships.
Belt makes promises to swing sets to help them when they are suffering. Whether it was to appeal to a crush of his, Stevie, during a party and getting detained by the police or trespassing on an older woman's property to destroy gardening tools on her driveway, Belt would hear voices from inanimate objects, or "inads," telling him to end their misery. The newspapers eventually got word of the swing set "Murders" and ran with a story letting everyone know of Belt's actions. No one ever pressed charges against Belt because he agreed, after having his father talked out a plea with the police, never to do it again and to feel terrible for doing it.
During these events, Belt's mother began having uncontrollable fits of smashing plates or slapping Belt in the car after suspecting he lied to the police officers. His mother later came to understand Belt's feelings as she related them to her childhood, but still made Belt promise never to put any more objects out of their misery. This was all before him, and his dad found out his mother had a tumor growing in her brain. The novel takes a turn to find a solution for Belt's mental issues with hearing voices from non-living objects, where they find a trial study that leads Belt to procure his Curio. The "cure," meant in the literal and metaphorical sense, was a newly engineered pet that would help patients cope with particular disorders. This Curio was a robot made of flesh and bones that most people, besides Belt and few others, believed were not sentient creatures. Belt has a significant attachment to his unique Curio, Blank, and is one of the first in the world to own one. There are times when Belt chooses to show off Blank and other times when he refuses to let anyone see it. The trial doctor asks Belt these questions to find out why he does what he does. There are also hints of times in the past when a bank teller tries to sell Belt on his Curio's independence and other times when a specific author is mentioned about writing a book on how to train your Curio to do what you want them to do. Many people view the curios as entertainment, but the reader already knows Belt does not view them the same way everyone else does. A Fistful of Fists is a series of clips compiled by Triple J from 1988 through 2013, which document many curios being created and distributed to the masses. The clips provide insight into the Curios' intention and brief clips of commercials that imply the help that Curios can do for people. More clips of the Curios being experimented on to make them cuter or do more things such as barking, in which readers get to witness the slow creation of the Painsong and the Overload phenomenon that occurs when people witness their cuteness. Eventually, the clips show the slow turn people have towards Curios. The creatures are now used for torture for the owner's pleasure to hear their painsongs, and everyone who witnesses the painsong doesn't seem at all bothered but instead feels drawn towards the cuteness and wants more. Other clips of experiments explain the different advancements used on Curios to make them better for people to enjoy. There's now a clip of Yachts, who are friends of Jonboat. These men show Triple J how to hold and inflict pain on their Curios to produce their painsong. More clips show the mass production of Curios to be distributed to all who could afford them finally, and everyone gets to enjoy their painsongs. Curios become so mass-produced that charities are held in which Curios are given away for all to enjoy. Curios are also advertised to help prevent people from committing violent acts against other people. More clips show the typical reaction of owners simply pinching the Curios tails and forcing the pain song. Then, the owner, desiring more, eventually bashes the Curios against something and kills it to hear its final painsong.
The Yachts' second charity party provided Curios in a situation where they were pinned against a mirror and a hat. All to force their painsong and when a person would overload one of the Curios, the Yachts would pop up and shout "Compliments of the Yachts!" one of the members wears a Curio pinned onto his pocket square to produce its painsong as he walks around. The next charity event provided Curios to Triple J's classmates as a gift, and immediately the students went into overload, and soon the Curio was killed. In the last clip, a boy confesses his feelings to a girl and shows his Curio in hopes of gaining the girl's affection, but upon failing, the boy kills the Curio.
Belt is awoken to realize he fell asleep reading, Living isn’t Functioning essay by Triple J. Belt is invited to a brunch event with Jonboat, in which they will discuss the video A Fistful of Fists, but unfortunately, Belt was not able to watch it due to losing track of time while staying up reading the Triple J's essay and being distracted in the morning by an awkward conversation between Blet and his father. Belt believes his father is having episodes that indicate he might be suffering from early Alzheimers. However, Belt's father clarifies that he is not having an episode but is skillfully providing a gift for Belt to give to Jonboat as they meet again. The gift is an old t-shirt that Jonboat created using Belts catchphrase, which caused their first dispute. After longer bickering, Belt finally hugs his father for the first time in twenty years. After this, Belt tries to watch more of the video with his father, and after some time, his father leaves and remarks that this sort of video isn't for him. Belt shares the same sentiment but must keep watching to critique. He eventually skips through clips to get a general idea and hurries off to brunch. Upon arrival, Belt witnesses a “Ulysses” in which attendees get to witness an adorable Curio that has been injected with Vampire to make it painsing when the light touches it. Eventually, all the Yachts raise their Curios and squeeze them for as long as possible without overloading, and the last to withstand the overload is declared the winner. This is the first time Belt witnesses an event like this in person. He is escorted to the other room where he meets Fondajane, and they discuss Belt's novel No Please Don’t, in which Belt learns more of the impact that the novel has on Jonboat and Fondajane.
Triple J and Belt Magnet find that they have a lot more in common philosophically when it comes to having more knowledge about others, which allowed Triple J to understand Belt's novel without any effort. It's due to this that Triple J finds his new passion for being a novelist himself. Triple J shows off his new Curio to Belt. The Curio talks to Belt, and Belt learns the Curio is named after him. Instead of being flattered, Belt is weirded out by the idolization. The two finally get to talk and discuss their thoughts on their works and pass the conversation to curios and other idols.
Later, Belt, Trip, and Fonda go to watch the rest of Trip's collage. By the end, Belt is crying and quickly runs away to calm himself and overhears Trip being worried about Belt's feelings. Trip mentions the last clip was Belt when he was younger and full of pain. This led to Trip not understanding Belt's reaction and Fonda becoming angry at Trip's ignorance. We learn the first overload was performed by Belt himself in the last clip of the collage from this interaction. Later, Belt agrees to write the catalog for A Fistful of Fists.
Finally, Jonboat arrives, and Belt gets to hear about his ventures and catch up with each other. We learn that Jonboat was able to explore space but refuses to provide further information. Belt gets to wear Jonboats helmet, and the helmet begs Belt to kill it because it wishes to be in space. Jonboat writes Belt a check of a hundred thousand dollars for the job he will do for Triple J. Later, Triple J enters with Chad-kyle, and there's a long discussion. Eventually, Chad-kyle is making crude jokes and tries taking Jonboat’s Curio, and suddenly Belt grabs the helmet and starts attacking Chad-Kyle with it. Burroughs threatens Belt with a stun gun, and Belt hits himself unconscious and passes out. LAter Chad-Kyle threatens everyone involved, and they recount how Belt is innocent for trying to prevent Chad-Kyle from committing property theft. Eventually, they convince Chad-Kyle not to sue anyone involved.
Belt leaves and goes to the tavern, where he tells his father about the exchange and the check he received. His father and the bartender are all surprised and have a good chat about it. Belt talks to a man named Herb, a private investigator whose real name is Andrew Braintree. Once Belt learns of Herb being an investigator, he considers hiring him to find Lisette, a girl he declared his love to when he was a teenager. Belt finally asks Herb to find Lizette for him as well as Stevie.
Belt finishes writing the transcript for A Fistful of Fists for Triple J in seven weeks. Belt is disgusted with himself because he watches the clips numerous times to write it. Everything about the clips disgusted him. Belt argues with himself for accepting money at the cost of his morality but soon stops complaining. For Belt to calm himself after his day’s work, he would consistently play games with his Curio, Blank. After some time, Belt realizes his thoughts towards Curios are changing. He started considering the impact of certain wounds a Curio could receive and “worth it”. These thoughts force Belt to refrain from any closer contact with his Curio.
Belt gets a call from Herb that Stevie was found. She is married to a novelist and owns seven brothels. Belt chooses to write to her and send a copy of his book. Belt chooses to go shopping for a gift for his Curio and can’t find any gifts and asks the clerk for help. The clerk suggests an “Executioner’s Set,” and Belt clarifies he doesn’t want a toy that’ll harm or kill his Curio. The clerk informs Belt that those items haven’t sold in years, therefore, aren’t available anymore. He suggests that Belt buy a sword set and cover the sword with anything blunt, maybe even bubblegum. The clerk informs Belt of AOL (Auto-Overload), which means the Curio is injected with Independence, and once it sees itself, it attempts to overload itself, which kills it. Belt is very bothered by the idea but is forced to watch it by the clerk. Belt watches some of it but can’t bring himself to fully watch the ending. This reassures Belt that he isn’t fully desensitized, unlike everyone else.
Belt gifts his Curio a new nest, celebrates his achievements with a drink, and plays with Blank, but after some time, Belt realizes Blank is sneezing green goo and rushes Blank to a vet. Blank is filled with guilt and panic as he thinks of the illness his Curio is now suffering with. The vet briefly checks Blank and says all is fine, but Belt insists Blank isn’t and informs the green discharge vet coming from the sneeze. The vet apologizes and says it must be cancer; Belt says it must be in pain, so why hasn’t Blank been painsinging. The vet clarifies that it’s Fearsinging; curios don’t sing when in pain but rather out of fear. The vet informs Belt that Blank could’ve gotten cancer due to the years of second-hand smoke since Curios rely on their strong respiratory system. The vet leaves the room, and Belt stands grieving for Blank as Blank rests itself on Belt’s shoulder and asks Belt to kill it while resting. After some time, Belt tilts his head and ends Blank’s suffering.
Belt’s dad, Clyde, was home for a while due to an injury he received at work while trying to help someone. Clyde thought he died, but he simply suffered a coma. He received a settlement for his injuries that paid all medical expenses and a couple of years' worth of work. Clyde chooses to take a trip around Europe and sends postcards to Belt explaining his ventures where he interacts with Adam Levin. Belt invites Burroughs over to collect the transcript. Burroughs informs Belt that Trip's screening has been canceled because of the release of AOL clips, which threatened Trip’s creativity and caused him to struggle in being innovative to inspire art because technology has finally overcome art.
Herb informed Belt he finally found Lisette and gave the doctor in charge of their study. The doctor provides Belt with information about Lisette desiring to contact Belt immediately after he left. Abed (the doctor) explains the letters he received from Lisette, where she asked to contact Belt, then discussed her substance abuse then she lies about her husband. Belt learns Lisette lives in the Costello House, which is close to Belt.
Lisette and Belt finally meet at a McDonald's, and Belt is disappointed in Lisette’s looks. They introduce each other by different names. They start talking about the gum stains on the floor. Lisette describes them as “pavement melanoma”. Lisette mentions she’s excited to meet Belt and explains their connection and how she wishes to apologize. Belt assures her he probably has. Lisette excuses herself to go into the McDonalds to look for Belt, then sits in a booth and nods at Belt thinking he is Clyde, and Belt simply nods and waves.
Curios
One of the primary beings in this novel is "curios," or friendly flesh-and-bone robots that are very common, comparable to modern-day iPhones. Belt Magnet, the main protagonist, often communicates with curios due to his psychological disorder that allows him to speak with inanimate objects. He is assigned a curio named Blank, made from marble, smells like bubblegum, smart, cute, and required body heat (or hugs) to survive. These curios, or "cures" for short, are very cute and live to connect with their masters and amuse them. Many people become obsessed with cures and see them as disposable pets, and often abuse them for their satisfaction in demented ways. Levin introduces the concept of the owner "overloading," meaning the master is so insanely obsessed with the cure and its cuteness that they go as far as to murder it or squeeze it to death. Curios get cuter as they age, so a new curio is not as cute as one year old. Most curios live up to about a year before their master overloads and kills it, but Belt Magnet's cure is over twenty years old. This shows the love that Magnet can have and how much more humane he is than other people. Others often torture their curios, which causes them to sing in pain, which is pleasurable to most people and owners. This pain song is forced upon the curios, and some people hold parties where the main attraction is having their curios cry out in pain. Some critique the novel for some sickening scenes such as these, while some admire the imagination and dark humor required to create such a unique and baffling concept. Some also bring up ethical issues that the novel has and how it relates to animal abuse. Still, many readers see it as fictitious writing, which Levin does not encourage whatsoever.
Themes and Literary Elements
Theme
Bubblegum is a dark yet comedic novel that has a reoccurring theme of suffering. Belt Magnet suffers from neglect, as his father continually leaves him for days without contacting Belt or leaving him money. His mother also hits Belt, but she eventually dies from a cancerous tumor in her head, leaving the father alone to raise Belt. At a young age, Belt also hears inanimate objects suffering and tries to put them out of their misery. Throughout a large portion of the novel, these curios that can feel pain live a life of misery inflicted upon them by humans. The novel reminds us that no matter what environment surrounds humankind, there will always be people who cause suffering for their gain. Besides the pain of losing his mother, growing up in a single-parent household, and having a psychological disorder, Belt also struggles to fend for himself and still lives with his father at age 38. Social interaction is very painful for him, and he continues to struggle to do things himself. The primary sources of suffering that the readers observe from the novel are either from Belt's negative inner thoughts or the curios receiving massive abuse levels.
Metaphor
The metaphor found within the text of comparing the internet to curios is very prevalent. The Internet does not exist in the world of Belt Magnet, as the obvious substitute are the curios. These curios are addicting, and nearly everyone is using them by the end of the novel. They can be used for good and as a comforting pet, but they can also be abused. It shares similarities with the internet; after being popularized, people quickly found a way to abuse it for morally wrong purposes. The internet can help people communicate, entertain people, and create jobs, but it can also create mass hysteria, help traffic innocents, and scam people for their money. No matter the phenomenon, whether it be curios, the internet, or anything else, people can always twist it and distort it.
References
- Davidson, Willing (24 February 2020). "Adam Levin on Kids and Cuteness". The New Yorker. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- Hallberg, Garth Risk (23 April 2020). "What if, Instead of the Internet, We Had Xenobots?". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- Grisar, PJ (14 April 2020). "Q&A: The 800-page book about cruelty that smells like bubblegum". Forward. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- Levin, Adam. Bubblegum. DoubleDay, April 14th, 2020.