| Author |
Silverberg, Robert, 1935- |
| Illustrator |
Emshwiller, Ed, 1925-1990 |
| Title |
There was an old woman—
|
| Original Publication |
New York, NY: Royal Publications, Inc., 1958.
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 73.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
|
| Credits |
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
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| Summary |
"There Was an Old Woman—" by Robert Silverberg is a thought-provoking science fiction novel written in the late 1950s. The book delves into themes of identity, individuality, and the consequences of extreme parental control through a unique narrative centered on a mother and her thirty-one identical sons. It explores how environmental factors influence personal development, challenging the notion of genetic determinism. The story revolves around Donna Mitchell, a biochemist, who conducts a radical experiment to test her theory that environment shapes personality and profession. By creating thirty-one identical sons through advanced reproductive techniques, she meticulously plans their futures, each assigned a different career path. As they approach adulthood, the sons begin to experience disillusionment, discovering that they are not destined for the lives their mother envisioned. The narrative culminates in a shocking resolution, as the brothers confront their dissatisfaction and take drastic measures to escape their predetermined fates, ultimately leading to their mother's demise. Silverberg crafts a gripping tale that raises ethical questions about parental ambition and the essence of individuality. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
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| Subject |
Science fiction
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| Subject |
Short stories
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| Subject |
Mothers and sons -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Human cloning -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
72082 |
| Release Date |
Nov 9, 2023 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
69 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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