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starrysteph 's review for:
The Echo Wife
by Sarah Gailey
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A deeply unsettling domestic thriller with a sci fi twist.
Evelyn's a revolutionary scientist with a rapidly-blossoming career, thanks to her work around human clones. But she wasn't perfect enough for her husband, Nathan - who copied her research to create a new & improved wife. When Nathan winds up dead, Evelyn is forced to forge an uncomfortable alliance with her clone to protect her work.
I've seen The Echo Wife compared to Westworld quite a bit; but for me the ethical tangle of this novel is a bit darker. In Westworld we are looking at robots - incredibly lifelike robots who develop emotional depth and humanity, sure - but creatures made up of technological components. Here, we're getting human clones. Forged in a lab, but fully human. So (at least for me), the fact that everyone is comfortable dismissing them as assets is peculiar.
While the story is a thriller at its core, it has quite a bit of philosophical depth. How are our identities created? Can they be manipulated? What does it mean to be human - where is that invisible line? How are we shaped by cycles of abuse, and is it possible to break free from those cycles?
This is a character-driven work, and although it has moments of rapid intensity, there's a lot of sitting around & talking. If you can't stand slower paced books, you will probably dislike this. There's a lot of stillness for such a short novel (~250 pages).
The other major downfall here was the "science". It was murky and a bit nonsensical and the worldbuilding was lacking. What exactly was the intended use of the clones from Evelyn's research (there are a few scattered examples, but I was left with more questions than answers). Why wasn't she examining the icky ethics of her work - and if not her, why wasn't anyone else questioning it?
The most thoughtful aspect of the book was the portrayal of abuse in its many forms. We get glimpses into Evelyn's past as a child in an abusive household and see how that has shaped her emotionally & behaviorally & ethically.
CW: murder, death, domestic abuse, blood, medical content, infidelity, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, body horror, gaslighting, child abuse, pregnancy
Evelyn's a revolutionary scientist with a rapidly-blossoming career, thanks to her work around human clones. But she wasn't perfect enough for her husband, Nathan - who copied her research to create a new & improved wife. When Nathan winds up dead, Evelyn is forced to forge an uncomfortable alliance with her clone to protect her work.
I've seen The Echo Wife compared to Westworld quite a bit; but for me the ethical tangle of this novel is a bit darker. In Westworld we are looking at robots - incredibly lifelike robots who develop emotional depth and humanity, sure - but creatures made up of technological components. Here, we're getting human clones. Forged in a lab, but fully human. So (at least for me), the fact that everyone is comfortable dismissing them as assets is peculiar.
While the story is a thriller at its core, it has quite a bit of philosophical depth. How are our identities created? Can they be manipulated? What does it mean to be human - where is that invisible line? How are we shaped by cycles of abuse, and is it possible to break free from those cycles?
This is a character-driven work, and although it has moments of rapid intensity, there's a lot of sitting around & talking. If you can't stand slower paced books, you will probably dislike this. There's a lot of stillness for such a short novel (~250 pages).
The other major downfall here was the "science". It was murky and a bit nonsensical and the worldbuilding was lacking. What exactly was the intended use of the clones from Evelyn's research (there are a few scattered examples, but I was left with more questions than answers). Why wasn't she examining the icky ethics of her work - and if not her, why wasn't anyone else questioning it?
The most thoughtful aspect of the book was the portrayal of abuse in its many forms. We get glimpses into Evelyn's past as a child in an abusive household and see how that has shaped her emotionally & behaviorally & ethically.
CW: murder, death, domestic abuse, blood, medical content, infidelity, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, body horror, gaslighting, child abuse, pregnancy