Body of Glass (Hardcover)

by Marge Piercy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A novel set in the past, present and future when the world society has fallen apart and a new order is established. But even here, the Golens are needed - figures who protect the Jews persecuted yet again as they were in 17th century Prague and mid-20th century Europe.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd (April 13, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718135377
• ISBN-13: 978-0718135379
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,465,540 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marge Pierce's writing is now more timely than ever!, March 14, 1997

By A Customer

Marge Piercy thanks a a lot of people in the preface to this book. Clearly there's been much research here. Before we begin reading, we know we will encounter things Jewish and things Cybernbetic! And the novel does, indeed, interweave the Kabbalah's story of the Golem, (alternate chapters, shades of `Kapilan Of Malta'), with the story of the Cyborg/Android, (Shades of `Blade Runner', `Frankenstein',`I Robot', `Player Piano', and `Startrek, The Next Generation'!

But this is no ordinary do-the-housework Cyborg! More akin to Startrek's Data than Shelley's Frankenstein, Yod is just so superior to the ordinary mortal that he's acceptable, though different, (shades of `Guess Who's Coming To Dinner'). Yod is handsome, physically and mentally superior, incredibly strong and brave, yet gentle, sensitive....and ROMANTIC! (Sidney Poitier, eat your heart out...this part was written for REDFORD or NEWMAN!!)

But of course, and this is the crux of the story, Yod, the last of a series of Cyborgs all considered imperfect for one reason or another, (usually a tendency to VIOLENCE), differs from his predecessors in one important facet of his evolution. Though designed and constructed, just as the others, by the cruel Ari, Jewish Cyber-engineer with all the usual male failings, Yod has been handed to WOMEN to be COMPLETED. Thus his `socialization' is accomplished, first, by Mulcah, Jewish Cyberscientist grandmother, and then by Shira, her granddaughter, Cyberscientist also, who has returned to the Kibbutz-style settlement after her marriage has broken down and the giant Cybercorporation which ruled her life has downgraded her work, denied her custody of her son, and transferred her ex-husband and child to another planet.

Now I consider this is quite a SEXIST book..or FEMINIST, if that sounds better. There are no nice men in this book...not one male character we can respect, yet strong, wise women seem to be in plenty! Yod is the superior `male' standard against whom the others are measured, and found wanting...but it is this contradiction of form and function that must ultimately destroy him. Designed by a man to be a weapon which enjoys killing , yet conditioned by women to be gentle, passive and loving.. Yod must, we realise, eventually self-destruct,(an especially timely scenarion given that Australian society is currently questioning whether the emergence of feminism and Equal Opportunuty legislation is directly responsible for what appears to be an alarming rise in the young male suicide rate. )As to the cloning question, Shira has at her disposal the means to accurately recreate Yod. Whether she should, you will be forced to ask yourself; whether she will do so you must read the book to find out!.

And this book is a jolly good read no matter how you decide! It's well crafted, well constructed, well written- with something for everyone. Cybermaniacs will love the Virtual Reality journeys, the Intelligent Houses, the enhanced people and all the computer activity. Sociologists will enjoy the post-nuclear-world scene (yes, it DID blow up in the MIddle East!),the Jewish theology and mythology with descriptions of computer-enhanced communes, the depiction of social classes strictly regimented under Big Business Corporations, (shades of Player Piano), and some new twists to the science-versus-humanities theme. The feminists among us will be interested in the strong female roles throughout the novel, particularly, perhaps, the tribe of genetically enhanced Amazon-types which inhabits the caves of nuclear devastated Old Palestine. Even those of us who have become a trifle addicted to visual and textual violence will not go unsatisfied...there are some GREAT FIGHT SCENES! And if you enjoy crime and spy stories, the form and degree of Industrial Espionage and Big Business Guerilla tactics which Marge Piercy envisions for the next century will keep you reading long past your bedtime !

So, no criticisms at all?
Well, perhaps, just a tiny one....I'd have found the whole moral question on which the book is based a little easier to evaluate had Yod been just a tad less PERFECT...just as Spencer and Katherine might have seen things rather differently had their daughter brought home an unemployed school dropout with drug-running convictions!
Had Yod been UGLY, with his transistors and ball-bearing hanging out all over, would Shira have been so BESOTTED...would Yod have been more, or less, human in that case?
And is the story about HUMANITY or about LIFE? Is it BLADE Runner all over again...or more akin to `Last Of The Mohicans'?(Is Data more alive than Mr Spock?)

Yes, `Body Of Glass' leaves us asking ourselves lots of `"what-if?" questions and making lots of mental notes. Isn't that the test, after all, of a good sci-fi? Robin Knight,

5.0 out of 5 stars loved this book, March 29, 2007

By	L. SAXON - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read little fiction but when I do find a novel that keeps my interest it is always a bit of a thrill - and this has been one of the best. The mixing of the futuristic, post-apocalypse cyborg world with the old Jewish ghetto and Golem story worked very well.
The characters and relationships and the pace of the narrative kept me involved throughout.
This is science fiction/fantasy of the best kind - plenty to think about and still plenty to relate to. Action and intelligence.
Highly recommended.