Automatic Noodle

This was so different than what I’m used too but I loved reading in the POV of robots trying to find their place in the world.

I just think there is not much substance to this short book. It's short, cozy sci-fi, about a group of robots who try to start a noodle house in post war San Francisco. They are physically diverse but I found their characters to be bland and almost indistinguishable. The allegory for marginalized and traumatized folk is obvious and undeveloped. There is an underlying conflict between robots being given rights but being given minimal rights, but we never learn really anything of the philosophy behind this, legitimate concerns with robots, if any, versus their actual value. the robots are simply portrayed as human beings in different bodies, which ends up making it feel extremely... artificial. I suppose my issue is more with the "cozy" subgenre. The clankers face little conflict, their restaurant is an immediate success, the central problem is easily overcome. I get low stakes is par for the course but it was just dull to me. Some of the world building was interesting, a soft-bodied octopus bot designed for rescue, would be nice to explore. but there isn't space in the length as a novella or I expect in the subgenre as a cozy book. The prose is fine, but feels adolescent, I felt like I was reading a book aimed at 7-year-olds. For example, the food is described with the odd adverb and often the use of the word "perfect" there's no real exploration of the food itself, through imagery or plot. Maybe because the bots can't eat and only one can "taste". I clearly don't like cozy books and have virtually no interest in reading about food in fiction. not sure why it always just ends up boring the socks off me. I've never understood the obsession some people have with noodles. But if you do like cozy fiction and noodles, you may love this.

This was a cute sci-fi story to read between reads. I found it entertaining and funny at times.

This was a fun read. I don't normally read much sci-fi, but this book was recommended to me. I listened to the audio book and enjoyed it.

So cute, big fan of a robot getting top surgery