"iAnna" by Will Self

"iAnna" by Will Self  (2011)

Stories in Best British Short Stories  2012 I have read so far

"Alice in Time and Space and Various Major Cities" by HP Tinker-no post-fun story
"The Heart of Dennis Noble" by Alison Macleod-very good work

Will Self (London, UK, 1961) is the author of nine novels and five collections of short stories.  His most recent novel, Umbrella,  has been short listed for this years Man Booker Prize.   I have been provided a copy of Umbrella by the publisher and hope to read it soon.    I was really glad to see one of his short stories included in the anthology, Best British Short Stories 2012.   

"iAnna" is a very clever, very creative story centering on the psychiatric care of a woman in her early twenties who thinks she is an Ipad.   I really like my own Ipad so this story really meant a lot to me.   Besides Anna, there are two other people in the story, one the staff psychiatrist at small run down hospital in Middlesex in the UK and the other a retired  psychiatrist he calls in to consult with on the treatment of Anna.

The story is a brilliant satire of how gadgets are taking over our lives.   It totally captures the Ipad experience.

Anna sees the world before her as if it were on the screen of her Ipad.  She cannot experience direct human contact.  Self does a wonderful job of showing how Anna sees the world and he does this just perfectly.   If the doctor wants to communicate with her he presses his own head as if he were tapping on the Ipad screen.

The idea behind this story is great.   It is really a lot of fun to read and gadgets are taking over our lives, for better or worse.   "iAnna" from the title on is just a lot of fun to read.   I hope to read Umbrella this year and will post on it.

"just call me iCarmilla"

I offer my thanks to Max u for giving me a gift card that allowed me to read this story.

Mel u