Bellwether was written in 1997 by Connie Willis, but seems very current. It’s considered science fiction, but frankly, I don’t think it really is since everything in it could actually happen. Set in a big corporation called HiTek, it is told from the point of view of Sandra, a researcher trying to discover what causes fads. She is navigating life while interacting with friends and coworkers who are all investigating different things while the company pushes for one of them to win the Niebnitz Grant (similar to MacArthur Grants). Throughout the book, references to the history of real life fads are sprinkled and discussed, such as Barbie, hula hoops, and hair bobbing (Sandra’s main research focus), while fictional fads such as duct tape as fashion accessory or facial brands are taken up and dropped by the different characters.
Frankly, this hit close to home for me since I work in biotech, and a lot of the situations in the novel seemed straight out of my life. I had to go check and see if Connie Willis has worked in biotech. She nailed so much of it. Management dropping promising research in one area because all the other companies are researching something else now – check! Ever changing acronyms that you’re supposed to absorb by osmosis – check! Mind boggling forms just so you can do the work they are paying you to do – check! One person figuring out what phrases management wants to see in progress reports even though it’s not relevant – check! The completely incompetent employee who is lazy, screws up other peoples’ work and yet is seemingly the only employee management listens to, gets higher and higher titles and an assistant – check! (The only difference is that in real life Flip, the management favorite who everyone else knows is incompetent, would be a guy.)
Bellwether is focused on how many people blindly follow fads, making a point about how few people think for themselves. It could have been very depressing yet manages not to be. It made me think about how trends emerge, what is the danger of them (or not), and think about what fads I have followed whether I realize it or not. The book walked a fine line. It is easy to ridicule people following trends that are demonstrably stupid (in the book, wrapping duct tape around ones hair or branding an I on ones forehead), yet the book managed to investigate why and make the comparison to sheep without it seeming insulting. I spent the last few days recommending it to coworkers because I want to discuss it.
