Review: Hank Green clings to hope in moving sequel 'A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor'
“A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” (Dutton, 464 pp., ★★★½ out of four) by Hank Green follows the critically acclaimed “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” where it left off.
“An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” is an account of April May and her journey of fame after she discovers the Carls, 10-foot tall alien robots “that popped up in the middle of New York City and all over the world. April and her best friend Andy, her ex-girlfriend Maya and scientist Miranda navigate newfound fame, internet trolls and the mysterious dreams that Carls left for all humanity to solve a quest together.
Unfortunately, “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” ends in April’s untimely death at the hands of internet trolls inspired by the conservative pundit Peter Petrawicki. At the same time, all the Carls disappear from the face of the earth, and the captivating dreams that connected billions of people in a single task vanish.
However, Green left a glimmer of hope for April fans: Her body is not discovered, and Andy receives a mysterious text message from her phone number.
In “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor,” the world grieves the loss of April, the Carls and the dreams. Without the common goal of the dreams and the curiosity of the Carls, the economy starts to crash. Meanwhile, Petrawicki avoids responsibility in April’s death by building a mysterious offshore research company that becomes valued over a billion dollars overnight.
Green makes the smart decision of allowing Maya, Andy and Miranda to follow their own adventures and have their own respective chapters. Each of the characters grieves the death of April individually while also believing that she and the Carls are still alive.
Andy picks up on April’s fame and preaches positivity as he quietly goes into a depression until he finds a mysterious book that predicts the future and leads him to believe that April might be alive. Maya follows a string of mysteries that she is convinced is connected to the Carls and Miranda bravely infiltrates Petrawicki’s company.
Their adventures quickly become connected to one another. Green masterfully shows the strengths of each character through his or her own adventure while demonstrating their weaknesses when they are apart from one another.
It underlines Green’s main point: No one completes anything alone. And in the age of social media, cancel culture and internet fame, we need each other more than ever. What looms ahead is a new technology that promises what the Carls' dreams provided for the world, but instead of connecting, it drives people apart.
Green is clearly inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and internet culture – inspirations he uses to build a world so vividly grounded in reality it’s sometimes hard to forget that Green wrote this before the pandemic and not during. While there are many parallels to our current climate, “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” is a hopeful read that provides a "Black Mirror"-like warning of new technology without the heavy feeling of dread.
Green gives nuance to the privileges of escapism with humor and grace through main characters taking a chance on hope, even if it is beautifully foolish.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Review: Hank Green clings to hope in 'A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor'
