Meatspace by Nikesh Shukla

Meatspace

Nikesh Shukla

Two stories for the price of one. Loveable and longing-to-be-hip young writer Kitab and his dashing daredevil brother Aziz discover their doppelgangers in cyberspace. But what's going to happen when they all get together in meatspace? If you, like me, have no idea what this means, you need to read this! It's hilariously funny and very rude - and finally, sad and surprisingly sweet.

Extract
I used to have a guy comment on my Facebook everytime Cara (she of the Skype dinners) and I talked about anything. He would invariably butt in and try to impress her.
E.g.:
Me to Cara: Dinner soon?
Cara to me: Yeah - deffo. lol. aint seen u in ages. Skype?
Me to Cara: NO Real life > Skype.
Cara to me: Fine. When?
Me to Cara: Cool - free next Tuesday. Wanna grab some Thai food in town?
Random man: Dudes, if you're looking for Thai, go to the Sai Thai restaurant. It's dope. I know the owner. Say you're my cousin and he'll give you free drinks. Swear down.
Eventually I asked this guy why he only ever spoke to me when I was conversing with Cara (he was a guy I went to school with years ago who had added me, and out of a perverse sense of nosiness, I accepted so I could see what his life became). He replied: 'Cos ur m8 is BUFF! m8. shes well fit. she got a boyf?'
Language is dead, I thought.
Parallels
  • The Catcher in the Rye by J D Salinger
  • The Social Network - the film
  • Stop Copying Me - the song by Steve Knightley
Borrow this book
Violence
Explicit sexual content