- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (April 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345465369
- ISBN-13: 978-0345465368
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.7 x 21.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,768,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'With a shrewd regard for language and gesture, Hoffman teases out the tell-tale signs of an alienated soul...Generates a modern allegory somewhere between Frankenstein and Bladerunner' Independent on Sunday
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
The Times
‘Hoffman questions the notion of identity and conducts an exploration into the special bonds formed and broken in mother-daughter relationships…Gripping’
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
Of course, I've always had a secret. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Of course, I've always had a secret. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I read this book for an eng lit course on representations of the body. Indeed, the issues raised about cloning are very interesting but, I have to admit, I thought that the great thing about this book was the relationships portrayed. When the protagonist tries to visit her dying grandmother, who mistakes her for her daughter, I was moved to tears. If you are interested in the nature of identity, family, science and the body, then this book will be very interesting. However, if you are just looking for a cracking read, then this book is equally suitable.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This i sone of my favourite books, I really liked the style, the courage and I found it very emotional at the same time.
I recommend it to everyone
I recommend it to everyone
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
the secret is to figure out why anyone reads this book
25 Aug 2003
Format: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.
An Interesting example of social SF
1 May 2012
Format:Paperback
I wanted to read this because it is part of a mini-genre that interests me - social science fiction (I have never seen that phrase anywhere before). These are stories that begin with a sci-fi premise of some kind, and then look at how people might react and live with the new situation. This kind of thing sometimes gets called speculative fiction. To a certain extent, all sci-fi is like this, but in this kind of story, human emotions predominate. This book looks at cloning, and imagines what might happen if a successful, independent woman has herself cloned, and then raises her "child" in an isolated environment.
This book did have a lot of interesting moments, and I read it through to the end. I think it would be a good read for young women, because it deals primarily with the issue of severing the bond between mother and daughter and beginning adulthood. Iris grows up in a small town in Ohio. Her mother keeps aloof from the local community, and tells her nothing about her parentage. She also keeps her away from her grandparents and aunt, all of whom were against the idea of the cloning. She and her mother have a positive, symbiotic relationship for the most part, but when Iris starts getting too curious, then the trouble starts.
Iris turns out to be just as tough and independent as her clone-mother, and eventually turns on her with a vengeance. There are some interesting moments as she goes, unannounced, to visit relatives. There follow scenes of life in New York, with identity shifting clubs, squatters camps, and genetic modifiers. But things are still very grounded in contemporary reality. One of my favorite scenes takes place when Iris goes to visit an organic art workshop.
This was not a great book, but it was an interesting one - not sorry I read it.
This book did have a lot of interesting moments, and I read it through to the end. I think it would be a good read for young women, because it deals primarily with the issue of severing the bond between mother and daughter and beginning adulthood. Iris grows up in a small town in Ohio. Her mother keeps aloof from the local community, and tells her nothing about her parentage. She also keeps her away from her grandparents and aunt, all of whom were against the idea of the cloning. She and her mother have a positive, symbiotic relationship for the most part, but when Iris starts getting too curious, then the trouble starts.
Iris turns out to be just as tough and independent as her clone-mother, and eventually turns on her with a vengeance. There are some interesting moments as she goes, unannounced, to visit relatives. There follow scenes of life in New York, with identity shifting clubs, squatters camps, and genetic modifiers. But things are still very grounded in contemporary reality. One of my favorite scenes takes place when Iris goes to visit an organic art workshop.
This was not a great book, but it was an interesting one - not sorry I read it.
Nature or nurture?
31 July 2006
Format: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.
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.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
