Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

120 reviews

laurareads87's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The plot of The Echo Wife follows Evelyn, a scientist engaged in research on the possibilities of human cloning, and Martine, a clone of Evelyn that, as the plot description for the book notes, is having a relationship with Evelyn's (ex-)husband.  The story is told from Evelyn's point of view; as a character, she is brilliantly written but a very uncomfortable mind for the reader to inhabit: she describes her 'subjects,' the living, breathing, sentient human clones she has created, in such cold terms ('medical waste'), refusing to even acknowledge very real ethical complexities involved in cloning that the reader absolutely cannot avoid facing.  At its heart, though, this book is about dehumanization -- the particular kinds of abuse that involve treating another as an instrument with a function rather than a person, that involve breaking another down with the clear intent of making them subservient rather than independent -- and, also, about survival.  This was a very emotional read.
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banrions's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Well holy shit.

It’s nearly 3:30am and I should def be asleep, but I just plowed through this in (nearly) one sitting. I started it a bit a few days ago but today I picked it up and then didn’t put it back down a few hours ago. I loved so much about this. I hated so much about this. It made me furious at times. I love that it exists. I cannot believe that the author packed so much into this book. I read one of their other books Magic For Liars and remember really enjoying myself for the most part and I loved this one too.

The main character, Evelyn, is hard to like at times, but I always felt for her and wanted things to work out. The relationship between her and Martine was my favorite thing about the book. Some of the prose and the way this dealt with abuse, identity, what we owe each other gosh it was all so good.
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le3713's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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annir's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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rachreads681's review

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Bleh.
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sonik_junk's review

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emptychurches's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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blakethebookeater's review

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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rorikae's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

In 'The Echo Wife,' Sarah Gailey explores abusive relationships, the pressures put on women by society, and female friendship in a science fiction tinged thriller.
The story follows Evelyn Caldwell a revered scientist who has invented a process to clone humans. Despite her acclaimed career, Evelyn's personal life is far from golden. Her husband left her for a clone of herself that he created, minus all of the traits he considers flaws.  But when Martine, Evelyn's clone, calls Evelyn to tell her that her ex-husband is dead, Evelyn's life begins to unravel in ways she never expected.
Sarah Gailey is one of my favorite authors for their ability to create deep, nuanced novels that are near impossible to put down and 'The Echo Wife' is another demonstration of their skill. On the surface, this novel sounds like a domestic thriller with a near future edge, which it is. But this book is also so much more than that. It is a nuanced exploration of familial trauma, emotional abuse, personhood, and gender roles. The relationship between Evelyn and Martine allows Evelyn to explore parts of her past that she has never chosen to address while also creating dialogue about what makes a person. Each character is flawed and not necessarily lovable, but this makes them deeply human in a way that is sometimes painful to read. Gailey also adds in a good helping of twists and turns that pull the story along to a conclusion I found incredibly satisfying. This is a hard book but worth every page. Gailey is already an auto-buy author for me and 'The Echo Wife' cemented why I think everyone needs to be reading their work. 
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trailmixraisins's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A creepy story of a marriage gone very, very wrong. It feels realistic and natural as if it could occur within the next five or ten years. The flaws of humankind are reflected in the science of cloning and its moral implications. So absurd it's almost funny.
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