Bug (novel)

Sartori, Giacomo. Bug (Italian: Baco 2019).[1] Frederika Randall, translator. Brooklyn, NY:[2] Restless Books, 2021.

"A lonely boy befriends a charming but dangerous robot in Giacomo Sartori’s science fiction novel Bug." — Eileen Gonzalez, Foreword Reviews. Except as noted, bibliographical information and review snippet from Google Books website, here.[3]

Mentioned in Rachel Cordasco's The SF in Translation Universe #10 in SFRA Review 51.1 (Winter 2021).[4][5]

From Publishers Weekly on line:

Italian novelist Sartori [...] delivers a witty tale of family resilience and a dangerous, homemade AI bot. After the nameless, deaf 10-year-old narrator’s mother is left in a coma after a car accident, the narrator bites a schoolmate in frustration and is suspended. Now stuck at home, the boy works with a tutor while dealing with his quirky family members: a computer programmer father who seeks help from his 13-year-old computer hacker son, IQ, to fulfill a contract with a U.S. intelligence agency; and a pot-smoking grandfather who studies worms. Added to this ensemble is the narrator’s mysterious new digital friend, BUG, the result of one of IQ’s many computer experiments. The boy enjoys BUG’s company, but as their communications continue, he begins to suspect BUG is interfering with the world around him [...].[6]

RDE, finishing, 5Nov21