Is it possible to find love in virtual reality? This is the question that Elaine Castillo, author of America is Not the Heart and How to Read Now, asks in her second novel Moderation.
It follows Girlie, an online moderator who is promoted to a new virtual reality project that feels like a dream – at least it would if she didn’t spend every day in digital paradise banning users for sexual assault.
Or the closest the virtual world allows to such incidents, which mainly consist of avatars repeatedly running into their intended victims, a jarring experience when the tech necessary for the software is so advanced it includes full-body sensors.
But while Girlie’s working days are filled with reminders of the misogyny that runs rife online (and off), there are some upsides to her new job. Mostly the attractive boss that returns her glances and sees beyond the copious walls Girlie has put up.
While many tech-focused novels take a nihilistic tone, at the centre of Castillo’s novel there is hope for Girlie and the boss with whom sparks fly on and offline. Ultimately it encourages those shut off to love that vulnerability and intimacy can be found if we are able to log off.
Unfortunately, Castillo’s novel is so focused on its romantic plotline that the issues of our tech-dominated society and the billionaires that control the market are of little focus, waved off in summarising dialogue with little nuance or further critique.
