This book is a bit of an acquired taste, and I'm not sure that I acquired it by the end. If you love reading books with horrible main characters you are meant to hate, you'll love this. If not, this is going to be upsetting from start to finish.

I do think this book is relatively successful at what it sets out to do. It explores cycles of abuse, misogyny (both external and internal), and, obviously, the ethics of cloning. Martine's storyline really pulled me in, and every revelation about what her life was like got me more and more invested. The place she ended up in by the end still sticks with me. I wanted to pry the book open, pull her out of it, and weld the door shut after her. That speaks volumes for the effectiveness of Gailey's writing. 

That being said, the main character, Evelyn, is written as a cold, uncaring asshole, and that is done so effectively that it makes the novel hard to read. If you need your main characters to be even remotely likable or empathetic, you will not like this one. I do understand that Evelyn is intended to be this way, but on a personal level, it was just too much. I couldn't stomach a second read of this.

Overall, this is a brutal examination of misogyny, abuse, and personhood. It won't be for everyone, but if you're ready for a tough read, it'll deliver. 

(Cross-posted on Goodreads)