Glenn Dixon – Emma's Biblio Treasures

Published July 30th, 2026 by Faber & Faber
Domestic Ficiton, Science Fiction, Humorous Fiction

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

‘And that’s why I want to be called Scout’
‘It’s most unusual, said Clock.
‘She’s the one who listens and learns,’ Scout said. ‘She’s like me.’ She paused and set her voice to pensive. ‘You already have names. I’d like one too.’

In a self-running smart house, a young sentient hoover listens as her owner, Harold, reads aloud to his dying wife, Edie. Mesmerized by To Kill a Mockingbird and craving human connection, the little vacuum renames herself Scout and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

But when Edie passes away, Scout and her fellow appliances discover that the omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household in the City, wants to displace Harold from the home he’s lived in for fifty years. With the help of a neighbourhood boy, and Harold and Edie’s daughter, the humans and the appliances must come together to outwit the Grid before they lose everything they hold dear. . .

BUY HERE

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MY REVIEW:

Warning: this book will tug on your heartstrings.

Set in the near future when everyone lives in smart houses, cars drive themselves and travel for pleasure is banned, we follow Scout, a precocious and inquisitive vacuum cleaner who lives in a house owned by elderly couple Harold and Edie. But Edie is sick, and as she lays dying avid bookworm Harold reads to her from To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout is transfixed by the book and begins to crave human interaction, which is prohibited unless initiated by humans. But Scout isn’t deterred. Then, after Edie’s death the appliances learn that the omnipresent Grid, which monitors every household, is planning to turf Harold out of his home of five decades, Scout is determined to take action. So she and the appliances team up with a neighbourhood boy and Harold’s daughter, Kate, to try and outsmart the Grid and save Harold’s home.

Heartwarming, moving, uplifting, quirky and imaginative, this is a charming story. A tearjerker filled with joy and kindness, this enthralling novel is a love letter to books and an exploration of grief and the power of connection. I love a quirky story so I knew this was right up my street. I have no idea how Glenn Powell came up with the idea of a story told by a sentient vacuum cleaner, but I’m glad he did because this was a delight from start to finish. Beautifully wrought, the story is woven with grief, longing and connection, reminding us of the joy and pain that comes with being human. It’s an emotional read but I adored every moment I was reading it.

I loved Scout. She pulled me in immediately and I could have read a hundred more stories from her point of view. I loved her eagerness to learn, to forge connections and her feisty character. The interactions between her and the other appliances were entertaining and I loved how vivid all of their personalities were. I love stories about elderly characters so I loved Harold and Edie, even if they did break my heart. The other characters were as richly drawn and I loved the mystery that Kate’s character added to the story.

Add this weird and wonderful book to your TBR now!

Rating: ✮✮✮✮✰

Thank you to Faber for the invitation to take part in the blog tour and for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Glenn Dixon is an author, documentary film maker and musician.

His new book, The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances is out now in nine countries, from the U.K. and the U.S. to Canada as well as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Greece and China. It features Scout, a Roomba vacuum cleaner who, with the other sentient appliances in a house in the near future, must band together to save their humans from being evicted. His third book Juliet’s Answer was a National Best seller and has been published in twelve countries and translated into German, Spanish and Chinese. His fourth book Bootleg Stardust about a rock band in the 1970’s featured a soundtrack.

He has traveled through 75 countries and written for the New Yorker, National Geographic, the Walrus, the New York Post and the Globe and Mail. He is currently at work on a new novel.

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxxx