Set My Heart to Five cover art

Set My Heart to Five

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About this listen

‘You shall read this with unadulterated pleasure’ Scotland on Sunday

‘A beautiful, funny, heartfelt analysis of what it means to be human’ Simon Pegg

Set in a 2054 where humans have locked themselves out of the internet and Elon Musk has incinerated the moon, Set My Heart To Five is the hilarious yet profoundly moving story of one android’s emotional awakening.

Unhappy with his programmed job of dentistry and inspired by a love of classic movies, Jared sets out on a bold mission: to use the power of his burgeoning feelings to forever change the world for him and all his kind. Unfortunately, Jared intends to do this by writing his own movie, and things do not proceed according to plan…

Unlike anything you have ever read before, Set My Heart To Five is a book for anybody who has feelings, loves movies, and likes to laugh and cry and sometimes do both at the same time. It comes uniquely guaranteed to make its readers weep a minimum of 29mls of tears.*

*Book must be read in controlled laboratory conditions arranged at reader’s own expense. Other terms and conditions may apply to this offer.

©2020 Simon Stephenson (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Coming of Age Dark Humour Fiction Genre Fiction Humorous Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Science Fiction Comedy Witty

Critic reviews

‘[A] laugh-out-loud funny debut novel … absurdist, outrageous, irreverent and satirical… by the end of Jared’s adventures, readers will find themselves left with … an appreciation for the mutuality of all sentient life, and for the universal desire to be acknowledged and appreciated, whether one is birthed from factory or hospital … In Stephenson, Vonnegut may have his first true protégé.’ Washington Post

‘I doubt I’ll encounter a more endearing, more joy-provoking character this year’ The Bookseller, Book of the Month

‘A truly hilarious, clever, and strangely affecting meditation on the absurdity of Homo sapiens….I cried 67ml of tears’ Saga Magazine

‘Funny, original and thought-provoking’ Daily Mail

‘It is the closest thing I’ve read in a long time to Terry Pratchett … You will read this with unadulterated pleasure’ Scotland On Sunday

‘This beguiling debut exposes our frailties with subversive humour’ Mail on Sunday

‘Genuinely funny … pacey and emotive’ Sunday Times

‘Only the truly heartless would deny the art at work here’ The Herald

‘This entertaining and surprisingly poignant story is a charmer’ Publisher’s Weekly
All stars
Most relevant
I craved more but had to accept it had ended. Listen on 1.25x playback.

Glorious! Funny. Clever.

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A fabulous heart-warming story. The narrator captures Jared perfectly. Beautiful, funny and very very clever.

Fabulous

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this is such a brilliant story - it's inventive, daring and is truly brilliant in its observation of what it means to be a human being. So it's not sci-fi - it's a delicious mix of references to classic movies from the 80s & 90s, music and literature. It made me laugh out loud about 20 times more than it made me cry :) And i really like the way this audio production was made. A total triumph.

great story, great production, made me laugh & cry

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Clever, funny and topical novel from this very diverse author with an excellent imagination. Keep them coming! xx

Loved This

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a nice little novel idea grows old fast as jokes repeat themselves and BTW the quirky robot narration gets very annoying.

gets old fast

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