(no subject)

Okay, first let's establish my shallowness credentials here: I've been meaning to try out Cory Doctorow for a long time now after learning of his reputation as The Great Anti-Copyright Jedi, Champion of Creative Commons And Internet For All, and I picked Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town to start with because it has the prettiest picture on the front. Who said there was anything wrong with judging books by their cover?

Having read it, I think I like Cory Doctorow's writing! That said, Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town is a weird, WEIRD book. Let us start with the protagonist's family - his father is a mountain, his mother is a washing machine, and his brothers are respectively a psychic, a set of Russian nesting dolls, a small island, and a psychotic zombie child. How all this is possible is never exactly explained, but it is described in enough detail and with enough realism to make me buy it anyways, which is fairly impressive! The three main plotlines involve the protagonist's involvement with, respectively, his brothers, his colleged-age neighbors - each harboring various weirdnesses of their own - and a middle-aged punk dumpster diver's scheme to cover Toronto with free internet.

(It's Cory Doctorow. Of course there is a plotline about free internet.)

So: I'm reading the book, the writing is compelling, the story is extremely weird and interesting, but from the second chapter on I have a problem with the protagonist. In this second chapter, Our Middle-Aged Hero goes over to introduce himself to the college-aged kids next door. At 8 AM. This is bad enough! BUT THEN:

College-Age Girl #1: mmfzzwhatsitwhoisit?
Our Hero: Hi! I'm your new neighbor! I brought coffee for all of you! I'm going to invite myself into your house now! Call everyone out of bed!
College-Age Girl #1: . . . *wanders fuzzily off to call everyone out of bed*
Our Hero: Hmmmm, she is super-hot but way too trusting. Perhaps I should steal one of her CDs to teach her a lesson! Nah, we are not yet at that stage in our relationship. HI KIDS, I BROUGHT COFFEE FOR EVERYONE. :D!
Becca: STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! DON'T DRINK THE COFFEE!
(They drink the coffee.)
Our Hero: So, one of you guys kept me up late at night with a guitar last night. SO, I have decided to install soundproof fixings in your wall! And I have all these materials here! And I'm going to call the landlord right away and take care of making modifications to your home! Because I think that will be best for all of us!
College-Age Kids: . . . . what.
Becca: Oh my god, he's that guy. The creepy and offputting guy who intrudes on your personal space and never realizes that what he's doing is creepy and offputting! NO, Cory Doctorow, this is NOT acceptable behavior!

And this was coloring my perception of the book for a while, until about midway through the book when another character made a comment and I realized . . . Cory Doctorow knows his protagonist is creepy and offputting. He's writing a book about weirdness and difference; he's doing this deliberately to make a point. Except, after finishing the book, I haven't got any idea what that point is. ( Spoilers here! )

If anyone else has read, I would appreciate thoughts on this, because I find myself somewhat perplexed.