Summary:
In the spirit of Station Eleven and The Age of Miracles, this exciting literary debut novel, AND AGAIN by Jessica Chiarella, imagines the consequences when four ordinary individuals are granted a chance to continue their lives in genetically perfect versions of their former bodies.
Would you live your life differently if you were given a second chance? Hannah, David, Connie, and Linda—four terminally ill patients—have been selected for the SUBlife pilot program, which will grant them brand-new, genetically perfect bodies that are exact copies of their former selves—without a single imperfection. Blemishes, scars, freckles, and wrinkles have all disappeared, their fingerprints are different, their vision is impeccable, and most importantly, their illnesses have been cured.
But the fresh start they’ve been given is anything but perfect. Without their old bodies, their new physical identities have been lost. Hannah, an artistic prodigy, has to relearn how to hold a brush; David, a Congressman, grapples with his old habits; Connie, an actress whose stunning looks are restored after a protracted illness, tries to navigate an industry obsessed with physical beauty; and Linda, who spent eight years paralyzed after a car accident, now struggles to reconnect with a family that seems to have built a new life without her. As each tries to re-enter their previous lives and relationships they are faced with the question: how much of your identity rests not just in your mind, but in your heart, your body?
Review:
What if you were given a second chance on life? Would you take it no matter what it costs you? That’s the idea behind this debut novel about four very different, terminally ill patients who are chosen to live in genetically perfect, cloned bodies. Although they’re physically perfect they are still faced with issues to overcome; an artist has to re-learn how to paint, a politician has to fight with old vices and a former paralyzed woman has to reconnect with her family who moved on without her. Told in first-person accounts from all four protagonists, this book deals with some interesting and thought-provoking issues regarding the way our identity is formed and the balance between mind, body, and soul. Chiarella has written an engaging debut novel that will keep readers turning pages.
AND AGAIN is a January Indie Next Selection.