The Divide

by Robert Charles Wilson

The author depicts the plight of John Shaw, a gene-engineered superman, and his alter ego Benjamin. John is the cold genius and Benjamin the engaging "normal" man fighting to survive. This book comes from the author of "Gypsies" and "Memory Wire".

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

I've been writing science fiction professionally since my first novel A Hidden Place was published in 1986. My books include Darwinia, Blind Lake, and the Hugo Award-winning Spin. My newest novel is The Affinities (April 2015).

Reviews

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another character driven story. The main one is a combination between Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and Charlie Gordon, albeit with a surprising twist at the end.

It's not an action story, nor a cheerful one, but it's written with warmth, like all the others. His characters seem so real, and manage to evoke in the reader all sorts of emotions.

It's not one of his best, but it doesn't matter; his writing always soothes me, no matter how gloomy the tale is. Afterall, RCW is one of my soul's writers.

[Heath Alberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all of Wilson's works that I've read to date, this one is the weakest. It didn't even feel like the same author. Still, this is one of his extremely early works and, like a fine wine, his stock has grown finer, more pronounced, and more appreciable with age. Not a bad read, just not something I could recommend.

We follow the tail end of a life of a genetically modified individual, who is struggling to pinpoint precisely who - or what - he is. I'd like to sum it up more florally, but this about covers it.

[MisterLiberry Head · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never able to find in my public library this Robert Charles Wilson (big fan!!)title first published 1989, I was glad to see the affordable 2016 Kindle edition on Amazon. Less a true sci-fi novel than a morality tale in the manner of Robert Louis Stevenson’s STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE, Wilson’s THE DIVIDE explores the question of what truly makes someone “human.” The divide, in this case, is between the provably superior individual and the rest of humanity – and also the split within a scientifically enhanced individual’s own psyche between his otherness and his unconscious yearning to experience a “normal” existence and to sample the benefits of love.

Augmented by biochemically tampered-with neocortical tissue (importantly, this is not gene manipulation), John Shaw has immeasurable intellectual abilities and other gifts. His powers make him into an alien who also is human, just as another character in the novel is a monster who only appears human. Both “Jekyll” and “Hyde” were shaped in utero by advanced biochemistry combined with irresponsible parenting. John is infected with “a cold, radiant confidence in his own supremacy” (p25). His actions, he feels, are “as irrelevant to ethical considerations as the shearing of a sheep” (p70). Nevertheless, as his own biology begins to fail, he reaches out to a young woman who offers him the best image of himself. For the purposes of drama, John also has an alter ego named Benjamin and a murderously violent, psychotic enemy named Roch. Ultimately, THE DIVIDE’s theme seems to be: “When it comes down to it, what matters is what you do… not what you are” (p241).

[Jonathan Appleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an early work of RCW and is not what he normally writes.
The "universes" in this story are actually in the John Shaw's head.
It is a littler rougher (mechanically) than most of his other stuff, but I found it very enjoyable.

[Earl Truss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been the weakest of the half dozen of his books that I've read. I still liked it, just not as much as the others. It reminded me of Flowers for Algernon.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read The Divide because I compulsively have to read everything Wilson has written, but it's probably not his best. Even so, it includes typical Wilsonesque aspects, such as a strong sense of place and the ability to express ideas through characters who feel real. This one takes place mostly in Toronto though none of the main characters is from there, so they live in their city as foreigners (and one of the characters is pretty foreign to humankind too). This adds to the density of Wilson's message. He's able to put the reader in the place by nondirect and sensory means, such as putting you in a hospital by describing its vending machine coffee, or in the city in winter through the crunch of snow beneath a character's feet. The ending is satisfactory without being pat.

[Steve Scanlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Shaw was experimented on while still growing in his mother's womb. As a result, he has abilities beyond those of humanity. To blend in with society, he learned as a child to become someone else who was less threatening. This was how Benjamin came to be.

As an adult, John/Benjamin has reached a point where he is struggling for the possession of his body. Dr. Kyriakides, the man responsible for the initial experiments, his assistant Susan and Benjamin's girlfriend, Amelie, attempt to help John cope with his sickness.

More fiction than science fiction I'm afraid. This story pales alongside Wilson's later works, MYSTERIUM and DARWINIA. I only persisted out of loyalty and thankfully it was only 250 pages long.

[Marko · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s ok, but not very interesting. Following Jon and what he’s able to do with his superpowers is the highlight, but only a small part of the story.