This latest novel from British writer Jeanette Winterson, part satire, part romance, is the story of a woman, living in a futuristic, dehumanized, environmentally dead planet who is catapulted into the colonization of the distant “Planet Blue”. The main character, Billie Crusoe, works for Enhancement Services, the big brother that runs the planet Orbis. She is disdainful of the world around her and owns one of the last relics of the past “The Farm”, a tiny patch of ground and woods, where trying to live in this “message in a bottle from another time” makes her a terrorism suspect. Among the horrors in Winterson’s future is a citizenry that chooses to be “genetically fixed” to their preferred age (women leaning toward 12, but none over 24, men opting for 33), mindless robots that serve as the police, and the horrors of a futuristic bureaucracy. Interjected into this story is Spike, a robo-sapien, who is evolving to humanness as the humans seem to be de-volving. She is also drop-dead gorgeous and has a thing for Billie.
As we settle in for the tender relationship between Billie and Spike we find ourselves thrown onto Eastern Island in the 18th century. Don’t fear, it all magically fits together, once you give up control and let Winterson take you there. And that is always the delight in reading her. This book should be included in every literature collection (as should ALL of her works).
Reviewed by Morgan Gwenwald
Library Outreach Coordinator
SUNY New Paltz
