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  • He, She and It

  • By: Marge Piercy
  • Narrated by: Lyssa Browne
  • Length: 22 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (24 ratings)
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He, She and It

By: Marge Piercy
Narrated by: Lyssa Browne
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Summary

In the middle of the 21st century, life as we know it has changed for all time. Shira Shipman's marriage has broken up, and her young son has been taken from her by the corporation that runs her zone, so she has returned to Tikva, the Jewish town where she grew up. There, she is welcomed by Malkah, the brilliant grandmother who raised her, and meets an extraordinary man who is not a man at all, but a unique cyborg implanted with intelligence, emotions - and the ability to kill.

From the critically acclaimed author of Woman on the Edge of Time comes another stunning novel of morality and courage. A Pygmallion tale for the modern age, this classic feminist speculative novel won the Arthur C Clark Award.

©2020 Marge Piercy (P)2020 W F Howes

Critic reviews

"Marge Piercy is every bit as imaginative as H. G. Wells or Isaac Asimov or any of the great fantasists, but she is also a fierce and devoted activist who wants us to be more than passive readers." (Gloria Steinem)

"A triumph of the imagination. Rich, complex, impossible to put down. Every new novel by Marge Piercy is cause for celebration" (Alice Hoffman)

"Piercy’s vision of a post-greenhouse-effect, nuclear-blasted world interlaced with the Prague ghetto of 1600, and the efforts of certain people to stay human in both, is threaded with the questions: What is it to be human?... What does 'life' mean?... What are the limits of creativity? As always, Piercy writes with high intelligence, love for the world, ethical passion and innate feminism." (Adrienne Rich) 

What listeners say about He, She and It

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amazing

the Kabul hidden secrets of survival juxtapositioned with humanity chance of freedom to exist in our not to distant future! wow folk law some say stories or what ever seem more rational ideology that give a sense of hope for our destiny. what is right in the moment can be wrong as a whole. Superior and so deserving of the A.C.Clark award. i took my time with this book savoured every chapter before moving on to the next. breath taking. a learning experience for everyone who feels grief, love, loss, lonely, happy, successful or not.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An Incredible story

Beautifully narrated with varying tones of voice for the different characters. The story is a phenomenal feat of imagination and literary expression. Marge Piercy is a fantastic writer and I thoroughly recommend this audiobook.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great apart from a bit if ableist language

This is an interesting exploration of what it is to be human, where the limits of humanity are, and how key our relationships and communities are to our understanding of what makes a person.
The Jewish history and the “story within a story” about a golem are really interesting and engaging. I like the way that Piercy contrasts the past and the future to find the common elements of human behaviour.
Unfortunately, Piercy three times uses the word “autistic” to indicate “subhuman” and devoid of empathy. This is such a shame as it really coloured the book for me as an autistic person. I like to think it can be chalked up to ignorance and is not a reflection of the writers true opinion about autistic folks, since she seems otherwise capable of deep empathy and imagination.

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What a story!!

Completely and utterly loved this book! What a gift Marge Piercy has! Thinking this was published in 1991 makes it even more amazing. What a foresight on technological advances and their ethical implications, to mention just one thing.
The dual overlapping story lines, the depth of the characters, the unexpected twists in the plot, the loveability of even the more annoying players, the obvious deep knowledge of Jewish / Kabbalah traditions and ideology, the power of the females, the psychological insights. I could go on and on!
I loved it and am sad it’s over.
A great entertaining read / listen and as good as Marge Piercy’s classic “Woman on the edge of time”, which I just listened to as well - after reading it in early eighties first.

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