Right from the beginning of DAYS OF ALLISON, author Eric Shapiro makes his main character Louis come alive. The reader begins the journey with Louis – by all accounts an isolated loser – telling us by way of his internal dialogue, “My work and my books – that’s all I need.”

And that’s when I was hooked. Each of us has snippets in time when we feel like isolated losers, or at least I do. Louis’ mind continues to wander and explains, “If society ever relieves its inhabitants of the need to make money, then I’ll quite eagerly sign up to be a hermit, eating, sleeping, reading my life away.” I had a love- hate relationship with Louis within the first two pages – not an easy task for an author and Shapiro did it quickly.

Louis has a Norman Bates-esque maternal relationship. His mother wishes Louis had a woman in his life, recognizing her son as a loaner, an introvert. The situation has been made discernibly worse in years past when Mother cajoled a then 13-year-old Louis into taking Little Sally to the school dance, where he promptly wet himself on the dance floor and all over Little Sally’s black patent leather shoes. Louis gives up on girls wholesale until Mother – a woman of financial means – decides to purchase him a female robot.

Louis warms to the idea, as the lifelike female will be safe and non-judgmental. In a God-like manner, he is able to select every facet of her being, including her self-awareness; the robots are so well-made they can be programmed not to know what they are. Louis is benevolent and orders Allison be made truth-aware. As Louis looks forward to delivery of his new toy, Mother surprises him, introducing “Allison” by telling Louis she’s literally in the closest. Thus begins a painful, heart-wrenching journey for both Louis and Allison.

Shapiro grants the reader a humorously dark view on the genesis of robots. The process began with lifelike pets, of course; because they never died, they never left their owners feeling sad at a loss. The RealPets were such a hit that the living, breathing beasts fell out of favor and, without demand, were put to death by the millions. The success of RealPets gives way to RealMates. Louis tells the reader he’s heard of – but, of course, never seen – the robot porn movies and some underground companies have even made robot children. Louis wonders, “if the rumors are true, I hope the kiddy bots are of the truth-aware variety, which would save them from the inevitable pain of aging.”

DAYS OF ALLISON is a fun, fast read with a concluding twist that makes you want to re-read it immediately. Shapiro was able to spin me around like Emmitt Smith on DANCING WITH THE STARS. I hated Louis, loved him, identified with him and felt sorry for him. He goes from a luckless loser to an irregular man, trying to be the hero all the while having to overcome shortcomings instilled in him by Mother. I’ll be looking for more from Shapiro in the future, because I won’t know where he’s taking me next. –Bart Brunscheen

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