The Secret [Paperback]

Eva Hoffman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2004

Iris Surrey has a secret.

Iris Surrey is a secret.

An only child, Iris lives with her mother in a rambling house in a small midwestern town. Her mother is everything: provider, confidante, friend. But at seventeen, Iris begins to question their nearly symbiotic relationship—and the noticeable lack of others in their sheltered world. Where is Iris’s father? Where are her grandparents? What is her mother keeping from her? When she stumbles upon the explosive truth, Iris begins a monumental journey of self-discovery—one that will throw everything she has ever known into turmoil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Can a clone contain a new human soul or just a photocopy? Hoffman brilliantly meditates on this mystery in her auspicious fiction debut as she examines the bond between Iris and Elizabeth Surrey, which gives new meaning to the well-worn term "my mother myself." Iris's search for identity begins when the teen discovers her birth in 2005 was achieved via cloning. Iris's single mom, Elizabeth, fled Manhattan to the Midwest to rear Iris after becoming estranged from her parents and sister. They live a quiet, symbiotic life until Iris turns 12 and her mother falls in love with Steven, a professor, who becomes disturbed by the unnatural closeness of the two and leaves. It's not long before Iris, in a tailspin of heart-wrenching confusion, flees home to see if she is more than just an extension of someone who is "not quite a mother and more than one: home, sibling, the larger part of myself, as much me as my limbs or bloodstream." Unraveling the secret of self takes her on a quest not easily ended. The relentless first-person viewpoint showcases the emotional and spiritual ramifications of being a cloned child: "I was her, I was her, I was her... Then who was I, who was she, what had she done? Did she steal my soul, my very self, or did she give me her own, by an unspeakable act of black magic?" Some SF readers may find the philosophical musings old hat, but wiser ones won't.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The time is 2022, the place is Chicago, and Iris Surrey has an unusually close relationship with her chilly mother, Elizabeth. At 17, Iris is wearying of the odd stares she triggers in others, especially when her look-alike mother is with her. Iris wants to learn the identity of her father, which, alas, is not possible; the reader will figure out before Iris does that she is the product of genetic engineering. When Iris uncovers the truth, she goes on an emotional rampage, intent on tracking down any blood relatives in the hope that they will make her feel more authentic. The results are painful, for Iris's kin are unable to embrace what they see as an uncanny freak of science. It is only through a relationship with a sympathetic young man that Iris finds respite. Those who shrug off today's headlines regarding imminent human cloning would be wise to read this thoughtful, philosophical treatment of the devastating effects a wholly fatherless state can trigger. An uneasy look at the potential fallout from biological tampering, this first novel by nonfiction author Hoffman (Shtetl) is ripe for lively book discussion. One minor quibble: British spellings abound, which can be disconcerting, given the setting. Still, very much recommended.
Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345465369
• ISBN-13: 978-0345465368
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,061,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Nature or nurture?, July 31, 2006

By 

J. Marren "jtm497" (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret (Paperback)

Set in the near future of the 2020's, "The Secret" probes the endless question of whether nature or nurture is the driving force behind personhood. Iris Surrey is a clone, but growing up in the isolated world her mother has created for her in a midwest town, it is not until she is in her teens that she discovers the truth about that vague feeling she calls the "weirdness." Iris has a profound bond with her beautiful mother, but as a child has no way of knowing that this is unusual or odd. But as her questions about her father become insistent in her own mind, and the tiny world of their home is disturbed by her mother's lover Stephen, Iris rifles through files and records to find the mystery of her birth.

The informations sends her reeling in a storm of self-doubt, hatred of her mother, and agony over whether she is a real person or just a copy. Iris seeks out her mother's family, and painfully realizes that they're unable to see her as anything other than stark evidence of Elizabeth's shocking act. Only by separating from Elizabeth does she come to know that her unique history and experiences shape her as much as her genes do.

I found the premise of the book fascinating, but sympathize with readers who say it goes on and on--it does. We "know" the secret in the first chapter--it's completely obvious--but Hoffman spends more time than necessary detailing Iris' search for it herself. And it wasn't credible that Iris would not have developed and noticed some traits different from her mother's even given how sheltered she was. Scientific theory swings back and forth on the issue of whether nature or nurture is more important--at the moment the genes seem to be winning. But no matter what side of the issue you're on, no one thinks clones could ever be exact replicas.

In any event, Iris finally comes into her own when she meets a man who knows only her, not her mother, and it's easy to see how for him she is no more unusual than any other woman. And as Iris completes her education in a field completely different from her mother's, her separate self becomes dominant. In the meantime, Elizabeth pays the price for a life of domineering and headstrong behavior, at least as her family saw her, and loses the daughter she tried to hold closer than any child can be.

It is a bit annoying that Iris only finds a unique self when she meets a guy, and as I said earlier, Hoffman does go on and on about Iris' philosophical dilemma. But there's more here than a short story, and I liked "The Secret" a lot.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring incoherent blather, October 26, 2004

By 

Jayelle Silverman (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret (Hardcover)

I was so disapointed in this book. I bought it because the blurb sounded good. I also figured out the plot from about page two on. I also scanned the second half of the book just to finish it. I felt like the author truly believed I was entranced with this novel enough to not know "The Secret" until she reveals it.

The major element wrong here is this is a 10 page short story with a great idea that was stretched out over 200 pages plus with way too much filler. The Sci-fi aspect is well written, however, it it is obvious the writer leaps around in her "future" adaptation without clear, concise direction. I am also distracted by the use of the term "Mummy" for a mother figure when this book is set in the USA.

The format in which this book was written and worded reminds me of a kid writing a 500 word essay using the word "very" 400 times. How many ways can you say Iris Surrey's Secret was a problem? The author knows her way around a Thesaurus. I won't buy anything else by her, or see "Lost in Translation".

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars the secret is to figure out why anyone reads this book, August 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret (Hardcover)

i will be honest and tell you i couldn't finish the book. and it's not long - it just was not worth it. the "secret" is obvious from the first page and it is pure drivel as you plod through the first half of the book with the heroine as she tries to figure it out.

so maybe there is another gem of a secret in the second half of the book that i don't find out because i never finished it. but given the first half of the book, i can't imagine there is enough to create a multi-layered secret.

the philosophic premise of the book is so flawed from the outset (that clones are EXACT replicas - physically, emotionally, intelligently, etc. to the point that they essentially repeat "history") that it makes the rest of the book predictable and boring. it is too bad because the premise and the original question have great potential to be fascinating.