Proximity features as part of Jade's PhD research at The University of Hull for her thesis entitled "Surveillance Culture and the Speculative Imagination: An Analysis of Social Sorting in Contemporary Critical Dystopian Fiction".
Proximity by Jem Tugwell
Jem Tugwell, Proximity (Great Britain: Serpentine Books 2019) 352pp. £8.99
Pb. ISBN: 978 19 1602 230 0
Genres: Crime Fiction/Techno-Thriller/Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction
Rating: 5/5
The upgrade began with a slight heat in the back of my neck, then a growing high-frequency vibration. My ears filled with static that I endured for the next thirty seconds. I had my hand on the back of my neck, and my head tipped to one side. People said I looked like a cross between a meerkat and a puzzled dog. Zoe upgraded with the tranquillity and elegance of a meditating Buddhist monk. I scowled as the iMe logo and slogan appeared on my HUD screen: ‘Enabling a better you’.
In his debut novel, Jem Tugwell combines the genres of crime fiction and science fiction in order to explore the relationship between the physical human body and its data double in a future where UK citizens are monitored at all times by the government and a technology company. The disappearance of a woman exposes flaws in the supposedly infallible surveillance technology as DI Clive Lussac and DC Zoe Jordan resort to using “old-school” policing methods to solve the case. Throughout the investigation, the novel causes us to question the value of having privacy and autonomy over our lives and how far we are willing to relinquish this for safety and security.
Furthermore, the novel forces us to recognise the importance of our data and the potential implications of sharing our data. What happens when you share your biometric data with the state for security purposes and this data is then shared with other companies and is used to monitor your health? What happens when a technology that is invented for security purposes is then used to make people “model citizens,” who are supposed to strive to be the healthiest, fittest and best version of themselves? Over the course of the novel, Tugwell is able to show the connections between different surveillant practices and surveillant organisations that on first glance appear to be unrelated. The novel, therefore, acts as a warning to a generation of people, like myself, who have become accustomed to, and who actively participate in, being monitored on a daily basis.
As I am researching surveillance and identity in contemporary critical dystopian novels for my PhD thesis, I was naturally drawn to the subject matter in this novel and I was not disappointed. The combination of crime fiction and science fiction works extremely well and it reminded me of another favourite novel of mine, China Mieville’s The City and The City. Proximity is, however, located much more in the real world than Mieville’s novel as it is very specifically set in post-Brexit Britain and the surveillance practices are also more advanced, which makes this novel feel not too far from our current reality. The novel is also highly accessible and is not filled with technological terms or jargon so, although I would still categorise this as a techno-crime thriller, I do not think that you need to be a fan of crime fiction or science fiction to enjoy it. The satirical tone and witty dialogue made this a very enjoyable and very quick read. I look forward to reading more of Jem Tugwell’s fiction in the future.