The Misconceiver: A Novel - Hardcover

Ferriss, Lucy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684800926 ISBN 13: 9780684800929

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1997

Synopsis

After Roe vs. Wade is overturned in 2011, Phoebe performs illegal "misconceptions" in her basement, until the suicide of a twelve-year old incest victim betrays her to the police, and she must decide between anonymity and moral righteousness. 12,500 first printing.

About this title

Reviews

Ferriss (Against Gravity, S. & S., 1996) paints a disturbing portrait of 21st-century America. After Roe v. Wade is overturned, women are forced to give birth or have illegal abortions performed by "misconceivers." Phoebe Chambers, like her mother and her sister, who has since been murdered, is a misconceiver. When she is arrested, she is thrown into a political and social tornado where she can trust no one. Although the story centers on a political issue, it focuses on one woman and her relationships with those around her. Phoebe must make peace with the past and choose whether to move forward or avenge her sister's death. Some of the supporting characters are not well developed, and the plot drags in spots. But overall this is an enjoyable read, especially for readers who like dystopic novels.?Editha Ann Wilberton, Kansas City P.L., Kan.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 2026, 15 years after Roe v. Wade was overturned and the Human Life Amendment passed, abortions are called misconceptions. The government doesn't allow married women to work; indeed, women are expected to be subservient to men. Phoebe, Ferriss' narrator, and her sister Marie learned to be misconceivers after the "antis" blew up an abortion clinic in which their mother worked, yet neither is comfortable with it. They believe they are doing wrong. At 15, Phoebe performs a "miscon" on Marie, who later dies in jail after eating tainted meat. Not believing in charging all the market will bear, Phoebe removes fetuses from her patients at night and viruses from computers during the day. Eventually arrested, she is sent to "softjail," where a fellow inmate nearly kills her. Escaping through an air duct, she undergoes a long process of repentance and near insanity, during which some readers may leave. Those who stick with her, though, will appreciate Ferriss' sympathetic handling of Phoebe's deep-seated problems and heated relationship with Arthur, a doctor. William Beatty

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0684800926
• ISBN 13: 9780684800929
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304