Patrick Flannery's debut novel I Am No One presents a stark reality that we all face today: mass surveillance of ordinary citizens under the guise of national security. The book's protagonist, American-born Jeremy O'Keefe, who has been living in England returns to the United States after being hired by NYU as a professor of German history. However, things take a strange turn when shortly after he is settled, mysterious packages begin arriving at his doorstep containing all of his online activity. O'Keefe is being watched by Big Brother!
I Am No One shows how even the least exciting people who live very ordinary lives and have nothing to do with terrorism whatsoever can become objects of surveillance. The book also shows that surveillance is not limited to totalitarian societies, and can be freely used in Western democracies.
Granted, I found the book to be quite an interesting read. I found the writing to be a bit dry and the plot had little suspense, but these shortcomings were compensated by excellent character development in which the reader gets an introspection into the narrator's mind.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
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