19. Silver Robot Lover by Tanith Lee

(written dec 24, 2015 catching up)

Some Google+ pals of mine do a monthly book club.  I keep trying to participate, but ultimately just do not have the time.  They chose Tanith Lee recently and that inspired me as I am always looking for more women writers of the kind of books I like and she has an excellent but now neglected reputation.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the specific book they chose so I went with this one and took it on my vacation.  It takes place in a post-scarcity future and is the story of a young woman who rebels by falling in love with the latest model of a companion robot.  His particular skill is music and the two of them become street buskers.  She rejects her snooty upper-class friends, but ultimately gets tracked down by them and the robot company and troubles begin.  It's more about love than about robot consciousness and is a well-paced, interesting story.  The ending was structured a bit like Lolita, oddly enough.  I will read more of Tanith Lee's work.