'The Only Ones' by Carola Dibbell is a unique and thought-provoking novel set in a post-pandemic world where a poverty-stricken woman, Inez, raises her own clone amidst societal challenges and struggles. The first-person narrative style of Inez provides an engaging and immersive experience for readers, offering a blend of dystopian elements, parenting struggles, and scientific speculation about a near-future world plagued by diseases and pandemics. The book stands out for its inventive storytelling, combining themes of motherhood, mental health, and resilience in a society on the brink of collapse.
The book delves into the complexities of parenting, societal judgments, and the human experience through the lens of a post-apocalyptic setting, painting a vivid picture of a world where survival and hope intertwine in unexpected ways. With a focus on character development, unique narrative voice, and a backdrop of speculative fiction, 'The Only Ones' explores themes of identity, family, and the enduring nature of love in the face of adversity.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for The Only Ones include themes of pandemics, struggles of parenting, and instances of social critique which may be sensitive to some readers.
From The Publisher:
*10 Favorite Books of the Year (2015) -O, The Oprah Magazine
*Best science fiction and fantasy books of 2015 -The Washington Post
*One of the most anticipated books of 2015 -Dazed & Confused, BuzzFeed
Inez wanders a post-pandemic world, strangely immune to disease, making her living by volunteering as a test subject. She is hired to provide genetic material to a grief-stricken, affluent mother, who lost all four of her daughters within four short weeks. This experimental genetic work is policed by a hazy network of governmental Ethics committees, and threatened by the Knights of Life, religious zealots who raze the rural farms where much of this experimentation is done.
When the mother backs out at the last minute, Inez is left responsible for the product, which in this case is a baby girl, Ani. Inez must protect Ani, who is a scientific breakthrough, keeping her alive, dodging authorities and religious fanatics, and trying to provide Ani with the chilldhood tha Inez never had, which means a stable home and an education.
With a stylish voice, The Only Ones is a time-old story, tender and iconic, about how much we love our children, however they come, as well as a sly commentary on class, politics, and the complexities of reproductive technology.
"Breathtaking. [Dibbell has] delivered a debut novel on par with some of the best speculative fiction of the past 30 years; The Only Ones deserves to be shelved alongside Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring,and P. D. James' The Children of Men. It's that good, and that important, and that heartbreakingly beautiful." -NPR
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