Very interesting and highly intelligent read, although I did think it ended abruptly and I was not that convinced by Connie's final choice. The exploration of women's bodies as the subjects of science was well done. The distinction between doctors/scientists was particularly apt, I thought, if somewhat wince-inducing at the historically bitter truth of it. Yet my real hatred was reserved for Connie's brother, who didn't do (or plan to do) near the amount of damage as the doctors. Funny how that happens...

Utopian fiction is an interest of mine, and I've got to say that the time Connie travels forward to is perhaps the only example of a utopia that I'd actually want to live in. I think this was because Piercy focused so much on the relationships between people, and on the relationship between people and the environment. It had a sense of holism much attempted by other utopias but never quite achieved, in my reading experience. The society of Luciente and co. is not a sterile thing, it's very inter-connected. Of course it's not perfect, and I don't know if one can actually call a society engaged in sporadic border fighting actually utopic, but it's a good-enough description I think.