Once in a great while a book comes along which has an indelible effect on you, for reasons that the author may not have intended. Something, either in the way the writer has presented the story, or in the subject matter, strikes a chord that resonates on a multitude of levels. There have been a couple of books written by Marge Piercy that have had that effect on me.
The one that had the deepest impact on me, for a variety of reasons, was the novel He, She and It. Nominally a science-fiction novel, it moves through territory which at that time was unfamiliar to most readers. It may not have been the first book to postulate projecting people into the Internet, but it was the first one I read, and still remains one of the best ones I've read.
He, She and It is so much more than just cyberpunk science-fiction dealing with computers and technological warfare. It's about the things people will do to preserve their way of life, and the consequences that follow. It also raises the question of what, exactly, life is, in the form of two examples of artificial intelligence; one based on science and nano-technology, the other on the mysticism of the Kabalah. (Please try to forget any pop stuff you have heard or read about the Kabalah, because most of it is not relevant to real study of this branch of Jewish mysticism. Unlike what most people who claim affinity for this study would have you believe, belief in all the tenets of Judaism is a mandatory prerequisite. Without that, Kabalah just becomes so many empty words)
In the middle of the twenty-first century we find a world that has just barely survived biological and nuclear warfare. Humans cannot venture into exposed air unprotected. All inhabited areas are covered with protective domes that maintain atmospheric purity. There are no civil governments any more; rather the world is divided into corporate spheres of interest, with multinational corporations ruling their own fiefdoms through out the world.
Scattered little pockets of independence still exist in the form of free towns that barter their freedom with specific services they can sell, and fierce defensive skills that keep the multinationals at bay. Shira Shipman was born in the Jewish free town of Tikva, but ran away to become part of the multinational conglomeration that rules North America, Norika.
Article comments
1 - DrPat
"Yod" is also the first letter in the name of God, traditionally inscribed on the forehead of the Golem, or written on a piece of parchment and placed under its tongue, to animate it.
I would read the name as Shipman's nod to the historical Golem, her self-conscious acceptance of her role of as a futuristic Maharal of Prague in creating Yod -- and perhaps a reminder to herself of the dangers such a creature could present.
2 - Pat Cummings
This book review has been selected for Advance.net. You'll be able to find this and other Blog Critics reviews at such places as Cleveland.com’s Book Reviews column.
3 - Ashok
Hey, Richard. This is a book I'd heard about before, and I'd read Marge Piercy's other novels, and even poetry. But I'm definitely going to look this one up and read it now! Thanks for another well-thought out review that looks at more than just a book.