In a world ruled by technology, where humans have stopped reading and robots sustain civilization… who truly holds on to what makes us human?
In short: a Reading Club session devoted to «Mockingbird», Walter Tevis’s dystopian science-fiction novel — a classic that reflects on memory, reading and freedom in a future dominated by technology.
On February 25 at 7:30 PM, we will hold a new session of our Reading Club at L’Iber (Valencia), devoted to Mockingbird, the most iconic work by American writer Walter Tevis. The session will be led by Toni Zarza, who will guide the conversation and collective analysis of this essential 20th-century science-fiction novel.
Considered a classic of the genre, Mockingbird converses with titles such as Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and Blade Runner, building a powerful reflection on cultural memory, technological progress, and the longing for freedom. In a dystopian future where robots sustain civilization, human beings have given up reading, art, and deep human bonds, taking refuge instead in an artificial, numbing happiness.
In this twilight world emerges Spofforth, an almost-perfect android and dean of New York University, trapped in a very human paradox: he longs to die, but his programming won’t allow it. The arrival of Paul Bentley, a man who has rediscovered reading, and Mary Lou, a nonconformist young woman fascinated by the mechanical creatures of the Brooklyn zoo, opens the possibility of an unexpected rebirth.
Our reading club offers a space for shared dialogue and reflection around a haunting and moving novel that continues to challenge today’s readers with essential questions about progress, freedom, and the future of our species.
