Promotional Information

A magnificent debut novel from the acclaimed author of Shtetl, Lost in Translation and Exit into History,

About the Author

Eva Hoffman was born in Krakow, Poland, and immigrated to America at the age of thirteen. The recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Whiting Award and an award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and letters, she currently lives in London

Reviews

'With a shrewd regard for language and gesture, Hoffman teases out the tell-tale signs of an alienated soul...Generates a modern allegory somewhere between Frankenstein and Bladerunner' Independent on Sunday

'With a shrewd regard for language and gesture, Hoffman teases out the tell-tale signs of an alienated soul...Generates a modern allegory somewhere between Frankenstein and Bladerunner' Independent on Sunday

Can a clone contain a new human soul or just a photocopy? Hoffman brilliantly meditates on this mystery in her auspicious fiction debut as she examines the bond between Iris and Elizabeth Surrey, which gives new meaning to the well-worn term "my mother myself." Iris's search for identity begins when the teen discovers her birth in 2005 was achieved via cloning. Iris's single mom, Elizabeth, fled Manhattan to the Midwest to rear Iris after becoming estranged from her parents and sister. They live a quiet, symbiotic life until Iris turns 12 and her mother falls in love with Steven, a professor, who becomes disturbed by the unnatural closeness of the two and leaves. It's not long before Iris, in a tailspin of heart-wrenching confusion, flees home to see if she is more than just an extension of someone who is "not quite a mother and more than one: home, sibling, the larger part of myself, as much me as my limbs or bloodstream." Unraveling the secret of self takes her on a quest not easily ended. The relentless first-person viewpoint showcases the emotional and spiritual ramifications of being a cloned child: "I was her, I was her, I was her... Then who was I, who was she, what had she done? Did she steal my soul, my very self, or did she give me her own, by an unspeakable act of black magic?" Some SF readers may find the philosophical musings old hat, but wiser ones won't. (Nov. 5) Forecast: As the author of three books of serious nonfiction, Lost in Translation, Exit into History and Shtetl, Hoffman should find more of a mainstream than a genre audience, despite this novel's SF elements. As the imprint suggests, this is a novel of ideas in the tradition of 1984 and Brave New World. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.