“I am reading The Girl with All the Gifts, and one line stuck with me. ‘[H]er survival is a side effect of [her] mediocrity.’ [pg. 264] Different context but it reflects a truth about the people leading this country now.”
“Interesting. Although mediocrity would be a step up for this administration. Our executive branch is guided by a deadly mix of evil and incompetence. But I’m curious, what did the Girl use as her coup de grâce? Cheezburger? Confused Winona? Sad Keanu? Crying Dawson? Floating Dumpster Fire?”
“What are you talking about?”
“If the book is ‘The Girl with all the GIFs,’ she would have to deploy a particularly salient yet universal image to deliver a satisfying climax.”
“GIFTS. It is The Girl with All the Gifts. Not Gifs.”
“Oh. Hrmm. So you pronounce it Gif? Not GIF.”
“Yes. Gif.”
“You monster.”
“I can’t help who I am.”
“Anyway, how did you like ‘The Girl with all the GIFs’?”
“GIFTS!”
“Sorry. I can’t unhear that title.”
“Yeah… It’s actually a pretty good title.”
“As long as you pronounce GIF the correct way.”
“Whatever.”
“So how is it?”
“How is what?”
“‘The Girl with all the GIFs.’”
“Gifts. Not bad. It’s one more entry in the post-apocalyptic pileup we have accumulated in our modern culture.”
“It is the porn of the moment.”
“Yep, except in this book, everyone makes such poor decisions, you have to wonder, maybe we need to be wiped out. As in, our extinction is a side effect of our mediocrity.”
