Book Review: XYZ One man, two kids, ten devices and an internet-sized generation gap by William Knight

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this item from Books Go Social via #Netgalley, free of charge, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

The job market isn't the same as it once was.

New generational concepts are taking over, or are they?

This new fictional book looks at just that!

Synopsis:

Jack Cooper is a depressed, analogue throwback; a cynical, alcoholic GenXer whose glory days are behind him. He’s unemployed, his marriage has broken down, he’s addicted to internet hook-ups, and is deeply ashamed of his son Geronimo, who lives life dressed as a bear.

When Jack’s daughter engineers a job for him at totally-lit tech firm Sweet, he’s confronted by a Millennial and Zedder culture he can’t relate to. He loathes every detail – every IM, gif and emoji – apart from Freya, twenty years his junior and addicted to broadcasting her life on social media.

Can Jack evolve to fit in at Sweet, or will he remain a dinosaur stuck in the 1980s? And will he halt his slide into loneliness and repair things with his family?

XYZ is for every Gen-Xer who ever struggled with a device, and for everyone else who loves emojis ... said no one ever.

Review:

You may start this book laughing at Jack and his throw back ways, but pretty soon, you realize the author is spot on with exactly how the current job market is going, and how the much younger generation really does ACT, and think. Part satirical farce, part cynical look at odern life, it also takes the reader on a trail of acceptane and acknowledgement that taking the best parts of all three, just might be the best solution of all! This is a quick read, and if you're dealing with the younger generations, it just might give you needed insight!

About the Author:

William Knight's writing credits include The Guardian, The Financial Times and the BBC, among many others publications, where he has written about the successes and failings of technology.

He currently lives in Wellington, NZ, where he works as an IT consultant and writes blistering content for technology firms.

The Donated, (first published as Generation), is a thriller based on the dangers of experimenting with viral DNA and ignoring science. It features a techno-phobic journo. Other novels, The Fractured and Foretold, may be available "one day" he says.