A story set in a dystopian near-future, where everything is much the same as today but just that bit worse. And there are humanoid robots everywhere (in the US city in which it’s set, at least). For reasons that are never explained they are called ‘Hums’. I’m guessing it’s because ‘hum’ is nearly ‘human’.

They operate autonomously and are helpful, but it’s not clear who owns or controls them. They advertise products both in conversation and by displaying things on screens on their chests.

The main character, May, has lost her job to AI, and the family is struggling to get by on her husband’s gig-work. May volunteers for experimental facial surgery which make changes that are minor, but noticeable by people, and crucially, which prevent facial recognition systems from picking her up. Which causes problems, as well as providing a windfall which she uses to take the family to the ‘Botanical Gardens’, which are a recreation of unspoilt countryside in the middle of the city.

Problems ensue, and stuff happens. Mostly interpersonal conflict between May and her kids. The message it’s sending is ambiguous. The hums seem to be antagonistic, or at least annoying for much of it, but one of them might be their saviour by the end.

The cover boasts ‘Winner of the Climate Fiction prize’, which is odd, because while the climate and damage to it is there as background — not least in the fact that the only way they can experience nature is to go to an artificial zone — it’s not really about that. It’s more about the surveillance state and the ubiquity of advertising, as well as the difficulty of life under late-stage capitalism.

Which are all interlinked, of course. It makes this kind of a depressing read, though the characters are engaging enough.