Description
Winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award 2012
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011
Women are dying in their millions.
Some blame scientists, some see the hand of God. As she watches her world collapsing, Jessie Lamb decides she wants to make her life count.
Would you let your daughter die if it would save the human race?
The Testament of Jessie Lamb is the story of one daughter's heroism and one father's love.
Would you fight to save the world your parents have destroyed?
About the Author
Jane Rogers has written eight novels including Her living Image (Somerset Maugham Award), Mr Wroe's Virgins (Guardian Fiction Prize runner-up), Promised Lands (Writers Guild Best Novel Award), Island (Orange long-listed), and The Voyage Home. She has written drama for radio and TV, including an award-winning adaptation of Mr Wroe's Virgins for BBC2. Her radio work includes both original drama and Classic Serial adaptations. She has taught writing at the University of Adelaide, Paris Sorbonne IV, and on a radio-writing project in Eastern Uganda. She is Professor of Writing at Sheffield Hallam University, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Jane lives on the edge of the moors in Lancashire.
Reviews
You'll be blown away by this. * * Independent * *
By far the most moving of all the 138 [Booker] entries. -- Chris Mullin * * Evening Standard * *
A dark, powerful and disturbing story asking difficult questions about science, sex, and survival. * * Michele Roberts * *
Like The Handmaid's Tale colliding with Children Of Men. * * Herald * *
Jane Rogers has captured Jessie's voice brilliantly, alternating a teenager's solipsism with a growing awareness of the wider world . . . The reader is torn between her clear, unequivocal conclusions and the intricate, heartfelt compromises of her parents. * * TLS * *
The scary thing about this novel is that the questions it raises are so close to home . . . The novel does not set up an elaborate apocalypse, but astringently strips away the smears hiding the apocalypses we really face. Like Jessie's, it is a small, calm voice of reason in a nonsensical world. * * Independent * *
Marvellous. * * Daily Mail * *
Based on a premise so terrifyingly plausible you're half-afraid the book might fall into the hands of some ruthless bio-terrorists with the keys to an IVF lab...Rogers brilliantly characterises the self-centred logic of an obstreperous teenager -- Alfred Hickling * * Guardian * *
This is an Atwoodian exploration of new technologies and implications for womankind -- Emma Hagestadt * * Independent * *
Terrifyingly plausible . . . a well-written and thought provoking read . . . This is what good science fiction should be: smart, realistic, engaging * * Curious Book Fans * *
Awards
Long-listed for The Man Booker Prize 2011 (UK).
Book Information
ISBN 9780857864185
Author Jane Rogers
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 215g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 19mm