The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances

The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is set in the near future. What year do you think this might be? There are hints in the book, but what do you think? And, in reality, how far off do you think we are from a future that’s something like this one?

Scout, the Roomba in the book, has taken her name from Scout Finch, the girl in Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird. What might the significance of this be? What personality traits does Scout the Roomba share with Scout Finch in Harper Lee’s famous novel?

In a future like the one in this book, what things do you believe humans will still be able to do better than machines?

In the book, there is an old piano in the front room. It is definitely not sentient, like the other appliances. Why do you think the author made this distinction? How would the story have changed if the piano could think and talk like the others?

Harold collects f irst-edition books in the novel. He claims the first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) might be as valuable as his whole house. Do you think that’s accurate? What do you think would be the most valuable first-edition books today?

Many novels are mentioned in The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances, such as The Little Prince; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and The Hobbit. What were your favorite books growing up? Why do you think favorite childhood books hold such importance for readers?

Three protocols are mentioned for the appliances in the book—not causing pain to Humans, doing your duty, and not speaking to Humans unless you are spoken to first. What might be a more important protocol (or rule) for our current AI?

The Dissidents are a group of people in the book who live quite literally off the Grid. They have chosen to live outside the city and away from most of the technology that has come along with artificial intelligence. What do you think would be the major advantages of this? What would be the major disadvantages?

In this near future, the Human population is dwindling. There are suggestions in the novel that the all-controlling Grid, through its algorithms, is actually accelerating this decline. Do you foresee a time when population numbers will begin to decrease? And how far do you think they will they go down?