What do you think?
Rate this book
An Uncertain Grace
Some time in the near future, university lecturer Caspar receives a gift from a former student called Liv: a memory stick containing a virtual narrative. Hooked up to a virtual reality bodysuit, he becomes immersed in the experience of their past sexual relationship. But this time it is her experience. What was for him an erotic interlude, resonant with the thrill of seduction, was very different for her - and when he has lived it, he will understand how.
Later…
A convicted paedophile recruited to Liv’s experiment in collective consciousness discovers a way to escape from his own desolation.
A synthetic boy, designed by Liv’s team to ‘love’ men who desire adolescents, begins to question the terms of his existence.
L, in transition to a state beyond gender, befriends Liv, in transition to a state beyond age.
Liv herself has finally transcended the corporeal - but there is still the problem of love.
An Uncertain Grace is a novel in five parts by one of Australia’s most inventive and provocative writers. Moving, thoughtful, sometimes playful, it is about who we are - our best and worst selves, our innermost selves - and who we might become.
Later…
A convicted paedophile recruited to Liv’s experiment in collective consciousness discovers a way to escape from his own desolation.
A synthetic boy, designed by Liv’s team to ‘love’ men who desire adolescents, begins to question the terms of his existence.
L, in transition to a state beyond gender, befriends Liv, in transition to a state beyond age.
Liv herself has finally transcended the corporeal - but there is still the problem of love.
An Uncertain Grace is a novel in five parts by one of Australia’s most inventive and provocative writers. Moving, thoughtful, sometimes playful, it is about who we are - our best and worst selves, our innermost selves - and who we might become.
238 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2017
17 people are currently reading
550 people want to read
About the author
Krissy Kneen
26 books73 followersKrissy Kneen has been shortlisted three times for the Queensland Premier's Literary awards. She is founding member of Eatbooks Inc and is the marketing and promotions officer at Avid Reader bookshop. Find out more about Krissy Kneen at www.eatbooks.com and www.avidreader.com.au
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
April 13, 2018
‘An Uncertain Grace imagines a future deeply affected by climate change, where technology and sex collide in new and confronting ways. But at its heart, it is a story about love, intimacy and finding humanity.’
ABC Arts
‘Kneen's adventures in speculative erotica are invariably amusing and playful…In a series of interlinked stories spanning a century from the near present to a post-human future, Kneen explores questions of sex, science and gender…A complex feat of speculative world building.’
Conversation
‘Krissy Kneen’s An Uncertain Grace shows a writer taking transformative bounds in the story she tells—interlinked iterations of the future woven with science and poetry of desire, sentience and, sometimes, jellyfish—and the beauty of its words.’
Ashley Hay, Australian, Books of the Year 2017
‘It’s a rare book that seems to drift like smoke away from the printed page to rewrite the physical world…[Kneen] wants us to strip naked and be transformed.’
Melbourne Review of Books
‘Haunting and wonderful.’
My Cup and Chaucer
‘Innovative and provocative…a virtual reality suit, sex, life, and the technological postponement of death.’
Australian
‘An Uncertain Grace is a highly provocative read that masterfully offers thoughtful speculation on the future of technology, memory and sexuality.’
Books+Publishing
‘Kneen’s descriptive prose is gorgeous; her stories are clever and interesting: her speculation on the future state is, despite the jellyfish, not the least bit whacky, but instead, quite credible…creative, a bit provocative and definitely thought-provoking.’
BookMooch
‘Folding sensitive threads of erotica into mind-bending speculative fiction, Krissy Kneen’s latest novel is an ambitious genre hybrid that addresses both morality and mortality from unique vantage points…She proceeds with sensitivity, sincerity and, most of all, curiosity…With its page-turning clarity, her writing is as compassionate and empowering as it is edgy and provocative. In the end, her characters are striving for the same things that any of us are.’
Australian
‘Such fantastical feats of Kneen’s fertile imagination are not only bedded in a convincing future reality of extreme weather and drastically diminished species but blessed with engagingly lively and varied characters. Their circumstances, typified by the unusual fluidity of the personal pronouns, are often deeply and inventively strange, yet utterly convincing.’
SA Weekend
‘Krissy Kneen is a writer you may not hear mentioned constantly, but she’s one of Australia’s most gifted storytellers. Unflinchingly willing to explore the darker hearts and desires, she’s an often confronting Australian erotica writer with a knack for bypassing the standard titillating fare to get to the heart of human wanting…A reasoned, emotive, and highly compelling exploration of what it means to be human, and the humanity of love, desire, and sex.’
Hush Hush Biz
‘Krissy Kneen’s latest novel, An Uncertain Grace, blew me away. Kneen’s prose is luminescent, and in this book I felt like I was learning so much. This book has elements of speculative fiction and erotica to it. Even though these are two genres in fiction that are generally seen as being acquired tastes, I think this is a book that everybody should read. It is tender, exciting and wildly imaginative.’
The Best Books We’ve Read This Year (So Far) 2017, Readings
‘A layered and complex and beautifully written novel that never flinches from the difficult topics it tackles.’
Hysterical Hamster
‘An Uncertain Grace is a strange, daring and clever novel and Kneen’s openness to connections that many other novelists never dream of making is exhilarating.’
Sydney Review of Books
ABC Arts
‘Kneen's adventures in speculative erotica are invariably amusing and playful…In a series of interlinked stories spanning a century from the near present to a post-human future, Kneen explores questions of sex, science and gender…A complex feat of speculative world building.’
Conversation
‘Krissy Kneen’s An Uncertain Grace shows a writer taking transformative bounds in the story she tells—interlinked iterations of the future woven with science and poetry of desire, sentience and, sometimes, jellyfish—and the beauty of its words.’
Ashley Hay, Australian, Books of the Year 2017
‘It’s a rare book that seems to drift like smoke away from the printed page to rewrite the physical world…[Kneen] wants us to strip naked and be transformed.’
Melbourne Review of Books
‘Haunting and wonderful.’
My Cup and Chaucer
‘Innovative and provocative…a virtual reality suit, sex, life, and the technological postponement of death.’
Australian
‘An Uncertain Grace is a highly provocative read that masterfully offers thoughtful speculation on the future of technology, memory and sexuality.’
Books+Publishing
‘Kneen’s descriptive prose is gorgeous; her stories are clever and interesting: her speculation on the future state is, despite the jellyfish, not the least bit whacky, but instead, quite credible…creative, a bit provocative and definitely thought-provoking.’
BookMooch
‘Folding sensitive threads of erotica into mind-bending speculative fiction, Krissy Kneen’s latest novel is an ambitious genre hybrid that addresses both morality and mortality from unique vantage points…She proceeds with sensitivity, sincerity and, most of all, curiosity…With its page-turning clarity, her writing is as compassionate and empowering as it is edgy and provocative. In the end, her characters are striving for the same things that any of us are.’
Australian
‘Such fantastical feats of Kneen’s fertile imagination are not only bedded in a convincing future reality of extreme weather and drastically diminished species but blessed with engagingly lively and varied characters. Their circumstances, typified by the unusual fluidity of the personal pronouns, are often deeply and inventively strange, yet utterly convincing.’
SA Weekend
‘Krissy Kneen is a writer you may not hear mentioned constantly, but she’s one of Australia’s most gifted storytellers. Unflinchingly willing to explore the darker hearts and desires, she’s an often confronting Australian erotica writer with a knack for bypassing the standard titillating fare to get to the heart of human wanting…A reasoned, emotive, and highly compelling exploration of what it means to be human, and the humanity of love, desire, and sex.’
Hush Hush Biz
‘Krissy Kneen’s latest novel, An Uncertain Grace, blew me away. Kneen’s prose is luminescent, and in this book I felt like I was learning so much. This book has elements of speculative fiction and erotica to it. Even though these are two genres in fiction that are generally seen as being acquired tastes, I think this is a book that everybody should read. It is tender, exciting and wildly imaginative.’
The Best Books We’ve Read This Year (So Far) 2017, Readings
‘A layered and complex and beautifully written novel that never flinches from the difficult topics it tackles.’
Hysterical Hamster
‘An Uncertain Grace is a strange, daring and clever novel and Kneen’s openness to connections that many other novelists never dream of making is exhilarating.’
Sydney Review of Books
February 13, 2017
4.5 ★s
“Time. Something odd has happened to it. It has taken on physical form. Time rubs up against me like an invisible film, like Glad Wrap but the whole roll of it goes on and on forever. There is so much plastic wrap stretching out behind me, and in front of me, an age of it. I feel like I am trapped under an invisible film, staring out, perfectly preserved”
An Uncertain Grace is the sixth book by Australian poet, television director and author, Krissy Kneen. It consists of five separate short stories, each of which is narrated by a different person; all are loosely linked by certain themes and by the last narrator, who has a role in the first four stories. This is erotic fiction, and sex is a prominent feature of each story, so readers should be prepared for explicit descriptions. Advances in technology, medicine and surgery, as well as a flooded state capital, anchor the stories firmly in some future time.
Kneen’s tales are original and very imaginative: a (lecherous) university lecturer whose former student (and lover) sends him a memoir with a difference, one from which he experiences their relationship from her perspective; a sex offender undergoing experimental treatment to change the nature of his desires; an android boy created solely to study paedophile tendencies; a young woman in the process of transforming into an ungendered state; and an old woman whose consciousness is electronically captured when her body finally fails, exploring a new relationship.
Kneen’s descriptive prose is gorgeous; her stories are clever and interesting; her speculation on the future state is, despite the jellyfish, not the least bit whacky, but instead, quite credible. Kneen’s latest oeuvre is creative, a bit provocative and definitely thought-provoking.
“Time. Something odd has happened to it. It has taken on physical form. Time rubs up against me like an invisible film, like Glad Wrap but the whole roll of it goes on and on forever. There is so much plastic wrap stretching out behind me, and in front of me, an age of it. I feel like I am trapped under an invisible film, staring out, perfectly preserved”
An Uncertain Grace is the sixth book by Australian poet, television director and author, Krissy Kneen. It consists of five separate short stories, each of which is narrated by a different person; all are loosely linked by certain themes and by the last narrator, who has a role in the first four stories. This is erotic fiction, and sex is a prominent feature of each story, so readers should be prepared for explicit descriptions. Advances in technology, medicine and surgery, as well as a flooded state capital, anchor the stories firmly in some future time.
Kneen’s tales are original and very imaginative: a (lecherous) university lecturer whose former student (and lover) sends him a memoir with a difference, one from which he experiences their relationship from her perspective; a sex offender undergoing experimental treatment to change the nature of his desires; an android boy created solely to study paedophile tendencies; a young woman in the process of transforming into an ungendered state; and an old woman whose consciousness is electronically captured when her body finally fails, exploring a new relationship.
Kneen’s descriptive prose is gorgeous; her stories are clever and interesting; her speculation on the future state is, despite the jellyfish, not the least bit whacky, but instead, quite credible. Kneen’s latest oeuvre is creative, a bit provocative and definitely thought-provoking.
May 15, 2019
This was a very early birthday present from lovely Zoe, and she basically totally hit the mark with it. I had no real idea what to expect and I was just blown away; it's speculative and literary, confronting and uncomfortable, but beautiful too. There are elements of ecological science fiction (cli-fi?), subtly done, but the focus is on the exploration of sexuality; what it is, what it might look like in the future and how humans handle perceived deviance.
It reads less like a novel and more like interconnected stories - it reminds me of Folk by Zoe Gilbert, except in that the location connects the narrative, and in this it's one woman. Can't wait to read more of Kneen's work.
Definitely one that needs a signal boost.
It reads less like a novel and more like interconnected stories - it reminds me of Folk by Zoe Gilbert, except in that the location connects the narrative, and in this it's one woman. Can't wait to read more of Kneen's work.
Definitely one that needs a signal boost.
March 24, 2017
An Uncertain Grace (Text Publishing 2017) is the latest novel by Brisbane author Krissy Kneen, and as befitting a work by this most adventurous, intelligent and playful writer, the book was nothing I expected, everything I feared and all I dreamt it would be. Krissy is not afraid to look into the abyss, whatever that personal abyss may be for each of us; she is unafraid of peeling back the thin veneer of respectability and prudence, to poke at our sore bits and titillate our sensitive bits. The content of An Uncertain Grace is at times uncomfortable and coarse, it opens up the discussion about areas of sexual diversity that are traditionally no-go zones - but in a good way, because the author is so open, accountable and exploratory in her investigations of sex that we, as readers, are forced to confront our own demons, fears, discriminatory feelings or biases, and to think - really THINK - about how we approach these subjects, how we deal with them, how they sit with us and within our relationships.
And while I had expected that confrontation, what I wasn't prepared for was the quiet beauty of this novel, the gentle and tender romance floating throughout its pages, the thought-provoking and compassionate discourse that imbues every chapter with meaning and daring, and that encourages the reader to engage with the subject matter on an emotional as well as an intellectual level.
The novel is in five parts, with each part connected by the character of Liv, who begins as a young, vulnerable university student and by the end of the book is 129 years old. At different points in her life, she connects with the other four characters and in this way we engage with the totality of her existence. If you are familiar with Krissy's work, you will know that sex in all its forms is an area of great interest to her; this book is no exception, in fact it is a perfect example of just how far Krissy's mind can stretch to incorporate scientific advances and to embrace sexual difference. Some of the ideas explored are shocking; Krissy attacks taboos head-on, dragging them out into the light and demanding that we confront them and attempt to understand them, thereby reducing their power.
In the first section we meet Caspar, the older lecturer to whom Liv loses her virginity. In a world of scientific advances, Liv is able to gift him a virtual reality skin suit - when he slips inside it and connects, he is able to relive every experience they had together - both sexual and otherwise - but from her point of view. His understanding of both what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be 'taken' sexually (in more ways than one) is significantly expanded through this process. The acts of rape and sexual assault and the themes of power and manipulation are explored. In the second section we meet Ronnie, a man imprisoned because of his sexual crimes against children. This is a step up from the previous chapter: here, Liv is working with Ronnie through a pioneering program involving group consciousness and sexual engagement with jellyfish - sounds absurd and yet in Krissy's skilful hands, this sci-fi topic is treated with care, raising a host of fascinating questions around this normally taboo subject. The third section is perhaps the most confronting; certainly I found it the most uncomfortable. Cameron is a robot made to look like an adolescent boy. Under Liv's care, Cameron is used to study illicit desire by catering for the sexual appetites of paedophiles, in order to protect real children from these criminals. When Cameron is himself approached by a young girl with her own developing sexual desire, the whole subject is wide open for discussion: who is victim and who perpetrator? What rights do Artificial Intelligence (AI) robots have? How far would we go, scientifically, to sate ourselves, if it meant the degradation of another species, ie AI? The topic sounds brutal and distasteful, and yet the character of Cameron is written so sensitively, so beautifully, he is drawn with such wit and humour and compassion, that we cannot help but love him, and therefore, to try to understand him. And if we can understand him, it stands to reason that we can therefore at least attempt to understand almost anyone, regardless of their actions. Not to excuse them, but to comprehend their behaviour. The fourth section is devoted to M, an ungendered individual, who is living at a time in the future when slipping seamlessly from one gender to another is fluid, frequent and fun. This chapter encourages a lot of discussion about gender roles and expectations, about passion and sexual appetite versus platonic, romantic love and about the sexual needs of our aging population, and the mores and disapproval around that. The last section is all about Liv and the idea that our consciousness may go on living long after our bodies have given up. The science around this on an intellectual level is thought-provoking. This section also introduces a conversation about sex workers and the parameters of what they do, how they do it, and the repercussions.
An Uncertain Grace is a book about sex. To put it bluntly, there are a lot of people (or entities) in this book thinking about sex, having sex, or dreaming of sex. But that is not what it is all about, not by far. This is also a romantic book, a story about love and desire and passion and commitment and memory. It is a book about scientific advancements, and about what they might mean for the human race. It is an intellectual book that encourages us to consider our discriminations and our taboos and our phobias and our prudish tendencies. It is a poetic book that introduces each character in a sweeping and elegant way, imbuing each with a certain grace. It is testament to Krissy's talent that despite any initial misgivings about how I would react to the themes of this book, and to the characters it presents, I found myself brimming with compassion and empathy for all of them, no matter their behaviour or circumstances. I found myself a little more understanding, a little more accepting, a little more open to confronting ideas. Despite the provocativeness of this novel, Krissy does not condone any specific behaviours, she does not lessen the severity of sexual crimes or treat any serious matter in a light-hearted way, but still she manages to open our minds to difficult and confronting areas of discourse, to encourage discussion of futuristic ideas, and always, always, to promote compassion for those different from ourselves.
And while I had expected that confrontation, what I wasn't prepared for was the quiet beauty of this novel, the gentle and tender romance floating throughout its pages, the thought-provoking and compassionate discourse that imbues every chapter with meaning and daring, and that encourages the reader to engage with the subject matter on an emotional as well as an intellectual level.
The novel is in five parts, with each part connected by the character of Liv, who begins as a young, vulnerable university student and by the end of the book is 129 years old. At different points in her life, she connects with the other four characters and in this way we engage with the totality of her existence. If you are familiar with Krissy's work, you will know that sex in all its forms is an area of great interest to her; this book is no exception, in fact it is a perfect example of just how far Krissy's mind can stretch to incorporate scientific advances and to embrace sexual difference. Some of the ideas explored are shocking; Krissy attacks taboos head-on, dragging them out into the light and demanding that we confront them and attempt to understand them, thereby reducing their power.
In the first section we meet Caspar, the older lecturer to whom Liv loses her virginity. In a world of scientific advances, Liv is able to gift him a virtual reality skin suit - when he slips inside it and connects, he is able to relive every experience they had together - both sexual and otherwise - but from her point of view. His understanding of both what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be 'taken' sexually (in more ways than one) is significantly expanded through this process. The acts of rape and sexual assault and the themes of power and manipulation are explored. In the second section we meet Ronnie, a man imprisoned because of his sexual crimes against children. This is a step up from the previous chapter: here, Liv is working with Ronnie through a pioneering program involving group consciousness and sexual engagement with jellyfish - sounds absurd and yet in Krissy's skilful hands, this sci-fi topic is treated with care, raising a host of fascinating questions around this normally taboo subject. The third section is perhaps the most confronting; certainly I found it the most uncomfortable. Cameron is a robot made to look like an adolescent boy. Under Liv's care, Cameron is used to study illicit desire by catering for the sexual appetites of paedophiles, in order to protect real children from these criminals. When Cameron is himself approached by a young girl with her own developing sexual desire, the whole subject is wide open for discussion: who is victim and who perpetrator? What rights do Artificial Intelligence (AI) robots have? How far would we go, scientifically, to sate ourselves, if it meant the degradation of another species, ie AI? The topic sounds brutal and distasteful, and yet the character of Cameron is written so sensitively, so beautifully, he is drawn with such wit and humour and compassion, that we cannot help but love him, and therefore, to try to understand him. And if we can understand him, it stands to reason that we can therefore at least attempt to understand almost anyone, regardless of their actions. Not to excuse them, but to comprehend their behaviour. The fourth section is devoted to M, an ungendered individual, who is living at a time in the future when slipping seamlessly from one gender to another is fluid, frequent and fun. This chapter encourages a lot of discussion about gender roles and expectations, about passion and sexual appetite versus platonic, romantic love and about the sexual needs of our aging population, and the mores and disapproval around that. The last section is all about Liv and the idea that our consciousness may go on living long after our bodies have given up. The science around this on an intellectual level is thought-provoking. This section also introduces a conversation about sex workers and the parameters of what they do, how they do it, and the repercussions.
An Uncertain Grace is a book about sex. To put it bluntly, there are a lot of people (or entities) in this book thinking about sex, having sex, or dreaming of sex. But that is not what it is all about, not by far. This is also a romantic book, a story about love and desire and passion and commitment and memory. It is a book about scientific advancements, and about what they might mean for the human race. It is an intellectual book that encourages us to consider our discriminations and our taboos and our phobias and our prudish tendencies. It is a poetic book that introduces each character in a sweeping and elegant way, imbuing each with a certain grace. It is testament to Krissy's talent that despite any initial misgivings about how I would react to the themes of this book, and to the characters it presents, I found myself brimming with compassion and empathy for all of them, no matter their behaviour or circumstances. I found myself a little more understanding, a little more accepting, a little more open to confronting ideas. Despite the provocativeness of this novel, Krissy does not condone any specific behaviours, she does not lessen the severity of sexual crimes or treat any serious matter in a light-hearted way, but still she manages to open our minds to difficult and confronting areas of discourse, to encourage discussion of futuristic ideas, and always, always, to promote compassion for those different from ourselves.
August 7, 2017
Rating: 4.5
Full review also on my blog Here
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me the chance to read this.
This story has 5 parts, all connected. In the first part I was very uncomfortable (TW: Rape), in the second I was just confused but then as I read parts 3-5 the story and points to it became clearer. This is a story that I am still processing and thinking about. It's very thought-provoking. It takes on gender, sexuality, body image, sex, aging, and a future with how technology might alter our relationships with ourselves.
The content of this book is sometimes uncomfortable, but for a good reason. It forces us readers to take a look at ourselves, to ask questions we probably don't want to but need to. It makes you think, confront your own demons, biases, feelings, and how you approach and deal with these subjects.
The severity of sexual crimes are not treated in a light-hearted away or condoned in any way. This novel manages to open your mind to difficult areas of discourse, think about futuristic ideas and promoting compassion for people different from ourselves.
It started off slow and confusing for me, but slowly my mind was opened and I began to really think on all the topics and discussions explored within. While I highly recommend this book, I also recommend taking it slow and taking the time to process it all. I think i'm going to need a re-read of this sometime in the future.
Full review also on my blog Here
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me the chance to read this.
This story has 5 parts, all connected. In the first part I was very uncomfortable (TW: Rape), in the second I was just confused but then as I read parts 3-5 the story and points to it became clearer. This is a story that I am still processing and thinking about. It's very thought-provoking. It takes on gender, sexuality, body image, sex, aging, and a future with how technology might alter our relationships with ourselves.
The content of this book is sometimes uncomfortable, but for a good reason. It forces us readers to take a look at ourselves, to ask questions we probably don't want to but need to. It makes you think, confront your own demons, biases, feelings, and how you approach and deal with these subjects.
The severity of sexual crimes are not treated in a light-hearted away or condoned in any way. This novel manages to open your mind to difficult areas of discourse, think about futuristic ideas and promoting compassion for people different from ourselves.
It started off slow and confusing for me, but slowly my mind was opened and I began to really think on all the topics and discussions explored within. While I highly recommend this book, I also recommend taking it slow and taking the time to process it all. I think i'm going to need a re-read of this sometime in the future.
June 5, 2018
‘First person is a very narrow and limiting point of view.’
A five-part novel, with five different narrators. The stories are linked: the last narrator, Liv has a role in each part of the novel. Where to begin? This is erotic literature, and sex is prominent and explicitly described. Each character has a different role, along a spectrum of sexual experience and identity. And it’s that exploration of identity, of the limiting expectations of gender that kept me reading. Caspar, in Part 1, experiences sex from the perspective of Liv, with whom he’d had a sexual relationship. It’s a very different perspective from his own. Each part of the novel introduces a different character: a convicted paedophile; a synthetic boy; L who is in transition to a state beyond gender; and Liv. I kept reading, wondering. Wondering about the role of gender, experiences of sex, and just how fictional the world of this novel is. Wondering about possibility, and what makes me uncomfortable and why.
By the end of this novel, Liv is 129 years old. Somehow, that length of life seems entirely possible in Ms Kneen’s world, as does the medical and scientific possibility she introduces. While I found this novel an uncomfortable read in parts, I admire the way in which Ms Kneen invites the reader to think about aspects of sexuality which we generally do not discuss.
‘Maybe I’m too old for all this after all. I don’t know how to tell anyone’s story without gendered pronouns.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
A five-part novel, with five different narrators. The stories are linked: the last narrator, Liv has a role in each part of the novel. Where to begin? This is erotic literature, and sex is prominent and explicitly described. Each character has a different role, along a spectrum of sexual experience and identity. And it’s that exploration of identity, of the limiting expectations of gender that kept me reading. Caspar, in Part 1, experiences sex from the perspective of Liv, with whom he’d had a sexual relationship. It’s a very different perspective from his own. Each part of the novel introduces a different character: a convicted paedophile; a synthetic boy; L who is in transition to a state beyond gender; and Liv. I kept reading, wondering. Wondering about the role of gender, experiences of sex, and just how fictional the world of this novel is. Wondering about possibility, and what makes me uncomfortable and why.
By the end of this novel, Liv is 129 years old. Somehow, that length of life seems entirely possible in Ms Kneen’s world, as does the medical and scientific possibility she introduces. While I found this novel an uncomfortable read in parts, I admire the way in which Ms Kneen invites the reader to think about aspects of sexuality which we generally do not discuss.
‘Maybe I’m too old for all this after all. I don’t know how to tell anyone’s story without gendered pronouns.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Read
March 27, 2018Wow. What a novel.
At times ethereal and dreamlike. At times gritty and stomach churning.
I stand by my comparison to Kirsty Logan but now I see a darker side as well.
Experimental and challenging theme of memories from different perspectives. What shapes us? Is our memory true?
Not everyones taste but I enjoyed it. A worth Stella Prize short list book.
At times ethereal and dreamlike. At times gritty and stomach churning.
I stand by my comparison to Kirsty Logan but now I see a darker side as well.
Experimental and challenging theme of memories from different perspectives. What shapes us? Is our memory true?
Not everyones taste but I enjoyed it. A worth Stella Prize short list book.
July 24, 2017
This is a thought-provoking look at how technology might alter our relationships with our bodies. The five linked stories in this book follow Liv, a pioneer of a kind of immersive, embodied storytelling that evolves over the course of the book into something much more. Kneen is fascinated by the body and by sex, and she explores all the ways that the self and the body are connected and how they might be disconnected. It's fascinating, smart and beautifully written.
April 13, 2018
An Uncertain Grace is a bold, unique and thought provoking read. Five short stories set in the not too distant future, we first meet a lecturer who is sent a synthetic suit and hardware to live a memoir of a former flame. The reader follows as he experiences their relationship from her point of view. We also meet a synthetic child, a man connecting with jellyfish, a new treatment for gender fluid people and life once our bodies have worn out.
This most certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea but I loved it and raced through each story. Kneen's use of a futuristic setting to explore relevant issues around sexual behaviours, the fluidity of gender, ageing and love is brilliant. Prepare to deal with some uncomfortable themes but it is well worth sticking it out. Kneen develops these intense and compelling stories quickly and expertly.
I loved the imagination demonstrated and the writing that takes on difficult perspectives. The characters are memorable and vivid and I'm incredibly glad this was included in the Stella 2018 shortlist. A great and engaging read that I highly recommend and I'm definitely keen to check out more of Kneen's work in the future. A strong voice that is taking on the challenging stories
This most certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea but I loved it and raced through each story. Kneen's use of a futuristic setting to explore relevant issues around sexual behaviours, the fluidity of gender, ageing and love is brilliant. Prepare to deal with some uncomfortable themes but it is well worth sticking it out. Kneen develops these intense and compelling stories quickly and expertly.
I loved the imagination demonstrated and the writing that takes on difficult perspectives. The characters are memorable and vivid and I'm incredibly glad this was included in the Stella 2018 shortlist. A great and engaging read that I highly recommend and I'm definitely keen to check out more of Kneen's work in the future. A strong voice that is taking on the challenging stories
September 9, 2017
https://anaslair.wordpress.com/2017/0...
It's been quite a while since I so thoroughly enjoyed a collection of short stories. Considering they are classified as erotic, the detail put to speculative fiction was outstanding. These make the reader completely reconsider sexuality as a whole while taking him on her on enthralling experiences. They are all connected by a common denominator and are chronologically order, taking the reader on a trip where we see the world changing, along with the characters.
The first story introduces us to a uni English literature teacher who is presented with a work by a former student. This is not just any work though, it's an interactive narrative where the reader not only does what the author wants but also feels exactly what the author wants him or her to feel. I absolutely loved the way the author transcribed this idea to her story and we get to watch a fairly normal guy coming to terms with the fact that he might just be despicable.
I have a feeling woman and men will have different reactions to this story. Some of the scenes were so raw and yet I felt emotional. This was quite brilliant.
The second story comes from a different place. It is actually a sci-fi experiment.
What if you could merge with other beings?
The way the concept was introduced was quite astounding. You cannot help to relate to this guy, even though he must have done something really bad to have gone to prison for that long. Still, his childhood memories as well as his longing for them make him a person, and one with feelings, and you cannot help to relate.
The third story is about a robot who looks and feels human and was created for a unique purpose - to study hebephiles, people who are attracted to adolescents. Some scenes are difficult to take in as they are quite disturbing - even though you are seeing things through the eyes of Cameron, the robot. You can feel his own struggle to try and understand how a normal 13-year-old would react, so that the data collected during the experiments is as accurate as possible. And yet he cannot help but think of his place in the grand scheme of things.
The fourth story is less about sex and more about gender. It's getting easier and easier to transition between both sexes, and even staying somewhere in the middle. These are the sexual experiences of one such person who wants to transition to centre - neither man or woman -, while trying to deal with her feelings towards her sexuality, her partner, and her mother.
The final story is about a woman who lived well into her one hundreds and still remembers a time when fish weren't practically extinct. This one explores life after that and what you could experience in such a state.
Reading what I wrote above, I cannot help but feel my descriptions of the stories are very diminishing. The fact is I felt enraptured by them. At times disgusted, others excited and always curious to know what came next. I am not too sure about the Liv character, it did not struck me as believable that she is described as a teller of stories and yet we see her in scientific roles. But I do know I enjoyed this immensely and highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
It's been quite a while since I so thoroughly enjoyed a collection of short stories. Considering they are classified as erotic, the detail put to speculative fiction was outstanding. These make the reader completely reconsider sexuality as a whole while taking him on her on enthralling experiences. They are all connected by a common denominator and are chronologically order, taking the reader on a trip where we see the world changing, along with the characters.
The first story introduces us to a uni English literature teacher who is presented with a work by a former student. This is not just any work though, it's an interactive narrative where the reader not only does what the author wants but also feels exactly what the author wants him or her to feel. I absolutely loved the way the author transcribed this idea to her story and we get to watch a fairly normal guy coming to terms with the fact that he might just be despicable.
I have a feeling woman and men will have different reactions to this story. Some of the scenes were so raw and yet I felt emotional. This was quite brilliant.
The second story comes from a different place. It is actually a sci-fi experiment.
What if you could merge with other beings?
The way the concept was introduced was quite astounding. You cannot help to relate to this guy, even though he must have done something really bad to have gone to prison for that long. Still, his childhood memories as well as his longing for them make him a person, and one with feelings, and you cannot help to relate.
The third story is about a robot who looks and feels human and was created for a unique purpose - to study hebephiles, people who are attracted to adolescents. Some scenes are difficult to take in as they are quite disturbing - even though you are seeing things through the eyes of Cameron, the robot. You can feel his own struggle to try and understand how a normal 13-year-old would react, so that the data collected during the experiments is as accurate as possible. And yet he cannot help but think of his place in the grand scheme of things.
The fourth story is less about sex and more about gender. It's getting easier and easier to transition between both sexes, and even staying somewhere in the middle. These are the sexual experiences of one such person who wants to transition to centre - neither man or woman -, while trying to deal with her feelings towards her sexuality, her partner, and her mother.
The final story is about a woman who lived well into her one hundreds and still remembers a time when fish weren't practically extinct. This one explores life after that and what you could experience in such a state.
Reading what I wrote above, I cannot help but feel my descriptions of the stories are very diminishing. The fact is I felt enraptured by them. At times disgusted, others excited and always curious to know what came next. I am not too sure about the Liv character, it did not struck me as believable that she is described as a teller of stories and yet we see her in scientific roles. But I do know I enjoyed this immensely and highly recommend it.
Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
January 10, 2023
a philosophical exploration of existential morality and sexuality through the lens of erotic science fiction. i read this in one sitting. utterly captivating.
December 28, 2017
An undeniably challenging and provocative book but unfortunately so overwritten that it smothers some really interesting narratives. Each character is given an unrelenting depth of interiority that grants them a metaphor for every aspect of every minute interaction of their life. In this way, Kneen’s characters feel almost like rehashings of each other.
January 28, 2018
This book is bananas.
I didn’t ‘like’ it but it’s hard not to be impressed by something that is so incredibly creative and thought-provoking.
But before I go on, it should be noted that Krissy Kneen’s An Uncertain Grace comes with a big bunch of trigger warnings (rape, sex crimes against children, treatment of paedophiles).
An Uncertain Grace is a novel in five parts, each story linked by a single character, Liv, at different stages of her life. Over decades, Liv develops ‘virtual narrative’ technology, which I understand from the story to be a combination of a virtual reality experience and re-writing the sensory and cognitive experience a person has had. Each part of the story reveals more about the technology, beginning with Liv sending her university lecturer (and ex-lover) a memory stick and a virtual reality bodysuit so that he can re-experience their relationship from her perspective.
How do you record a sensation of fear? Is it the heart rate communicated through the tiny receptors in the rubber?…How is this story ‘written’? And what part of it is authored? What percentage comes from the reader?
In the next part of the story, a convicted paedophile is recruited to test the concept of ‘collective consciousness’ and in doing so, find release from his own desolation (does he deserve ‘release’? These are the kinds of questions this book throws at you from every angle).
Next comes the story of Cameron, a synthetic boy designed to test the effects of sexual contact with minors on child-sex offenders.
‘Take your shirt off,’ he says and I won’t. I just won’t. Sometimes I do what they what they ask me to, and I do like the feel of the computer light on my chest, but they have made me unruly by nature. I resist direction. It is because I represent thirteen, full of Hormonal Anarchy.
Cameron, who begins to question his existence, knows that he has a job to do – I am here to protect the real children from this kind of contact. This is my primary function but of course it is still a pleasure. This thing which is bad for them is good for me.
Kneen examines the meaning of gender and the relevance of age in the final parts of the book, and again, offers a different world to what we know –
‘…when I was a kid there were trans people. Transgender. But there wasn’t a centre place. No concept of a twilight. No ungendered box to tick on your passport.’
There’s certainly enough in An Uncertain Grace to suggest a future world – massive climate change, the technology to sync human minds with those of animals, no more mobile phones (you ‘think’ your text messages) and a place where robots can’t be distinguished from humans.
Oxlade Drive is a fast-flowing bend in the river. There certainly isn’t any driving to be done there. But the proud heads and shoulders of a few high-rise apartment blocks still muscle up out of the rushing water to prove that there was once a street below the surface of the river.
But there’s enough in this story that is familiar and real and true to right now and that’s why it’s so frightening. I guess the best dystopian stories work by amplifying the things we fear or don’t understand and putting them in a future world. Kneen’s focus on sex crimes and paedophiles and how they might be treated is both fascinating and chilling.
This book is challenging. I think if you enjoyed Ellen van Neerven’s weird short story, Pearl, or wanted to extend your futuristic reading along lines started by Atwood and continued with books such as The Power and The Natural Way of Things, then An Uncertain Grace would be right up your alley.
4/5 Just to be clear, I didn’t ‘enjoy’ this book but I greatly admire Kneen’s writing and originality.
I didn’t ‘like’ it but it’s hard not to be impressed by something that is so incredibly creative and thought-provoking.
But before I go on, it should be noted that Krissy Kneen’s An Uncertain Grace comes with a big bunch of trigger warnings (rape, sex crimes against children, treatment of paedophiles).
An Uncertain Grace is a novel in five parts, each story linked by a single character, Liv, at different stages of her life. Over decades, Liv develops ‘virtual narrative’ technology, which I understand from the story to be a combination of a virtual reality experience and re-writing the sensory and cognitive experience a person has had. Each part of the story reveals more about the technology, beginning with Liv sending her university lecturer (and ex-lover) a memory stick and a virtual reality bodysuit so that he can re-experience their relationship from her perspective.
How do you record a sensation of fear? Is it the heart rate communicated through the tiny receptors in the rubber?…How is this story ‘written’? And what part of it is authored? What percentage comes from the reader?
In the next part of the story, a convicted paedophile is recruited to test the concept of ‘collective consciousness’ and in doing so, find release from his own desolation (does he deserve ‘release’? These are the kinds of questions this book throws at you from every angle).
Next comes the story of Cameron, a synthetic boy designed to test the effects of sexual contact with minors on child-sex offenders.
‘Take your shirt off,’ he says and I won’t. I just won’t. Sometimes I do what they what they ask me to, and I do like the feel of the computer light on my chest, but they have made me unruly by nature. I resist direction. It is because I represent thirteen, full of Hormonal Anarchy.
Cameron, who begins to question his existence, knows that he has a job to do – I am here to protect the real children from this kind of contact. This is my primary function but of course it is still a pleasure. This thing which is bad for them is good for me.
Kneen examines the meaning of gender and the relevance of age in the final parts of the book, and again, offers a different world to what we know –
‘…when I was a kid there were trans people. Transgender. But there wasn’t a centre place. No concept of a twilight. No ungendered box to tick on your passport.’
There’s certainly enough in An Uncertain Grace to suggest a future world – massive climate change, the technology to sync human minds with those of animals, no more mobile phones (you ‘think’ your text messages) and a place where robots can’t be distinguished from humans.
Oxlade Drive is a fast-flowing bend in the river. There certainly isn’t any driving to be done there. But the proud heads and shoulders of a few high-rise apartment blocks still muscle up out of the rushing water to prove that there was once a street below the surface of the river.
But there’s enough in this story that is familiar and real and true to right now and that’s why it’s so frightening. I guess the best dystopian stories work by amplifying the things we fear or don’t understand and putting them in a future world. Kneen’s focus on sex crimes and paedophiles and how they might be treated is both fascinating and chilling.
This book is challenging. I think if you enjoyed Ellen van Neerven’s weird short story, Pearl, or wanted to extend your futuristic reading along lines started by Atwood and continued with books such as The Power and The Natural Way of Things, then An Uncertain Grace would be right up your alley.
4/5 Just to be clear, I didn’t ‘enjoy’ this book but I greatly admire Kneen’s writing and originality.
May 22, 2018
Provocative, sensual, sensitive, dystopian, uncanny scrutinisings and funny.
I guess you could say I really enjoyed this book and will look out for more works written by this creative author. The book is divided into five parts; Caspar, Ronnie, Cameron, M and Liv. All of whom are personalities but Liv is important to each of the others during different decades of her long life.
I enjoyed the ultimate “what if” sci-fi possibilities that Kneen poses. What is real, what is human, who, when, how and with whom should you have sex? How can you understand what someone is really thinking even if you are monitoring their brains?
The dystopian setting is interesting and fun. The aftermath of sea level rising and squatting in condemned Brisbane buildings that are only accessible by boat – as the seas rise you can always move up a level – but you still have to put up with the rising damp. The acknowledgement that the world as we know it has ceased to exist a long time ago, all living things such as gardens and even sea creatures are extinct but the memory of them is kept alive by simulations. Liv keeps us aware however of the extent of the loss through her memories and sometimes quirky comments for example the quick disappearance of fads like hoverboards that were all the rage and then lost approval.
A book that kept me thinking a long time after I had finished the last chapter
I guess you could say I really enjoyed this book and will look out for more works written by this creative author. The book is divided into five parts; Caspar, Ronnie, Cameron, M and Liv. All of whom are personalities but Liv is important to each of the others during different decades of her long life.
I enjoyed the ultimate “what if” sci-fi possibilities that Kneen poses. What is real, what is human, who, when, how and with whom should you have sex? How can you understand what someone is really thinking even if you are monitoring their brains?
The dystopian setting is interesting and fun. The aftermath of sea level rising and squatting in condemned Brisbane buildings that are only accessible by boat – as the seas rise you can always move up a level – but you still have to put up with the rising damp. The acknowledgement that the world as we know it has ceased to exist a long time ago, all living things such as gardens and even sea creatures are extinct but the memory of them is kept alive by simulations. Liv keeps us aware however of the extent of the loss through her memories and sometimes quirky comments for example the quick disappearance of fads like hoverboards that were all the rage and then lost approval.
A book that kept me thinking a long time after I had finished the last chapter
May 16, 2017
This is an utterly exquisite book, a meditation in five voices on sex and power, love, sexuality and gender, technology, ageing and memory and loss, the act of narration itself, and jellyfish. And that last is not a toss-away line; underlying the steady progress of the narrative into our human future where all kinds of so-far almost unimaginable human connections are now possible, are glimpses of a world almost completely denuded of sea life, of nature itself. While each chapter can be more or less read as stand-alone novellas, the book actually works as a beautiful whole, woven together by the voice and presence of Liv, whose story begins as a university student and ends... well, no spoilers.
I just loved this book so much. Krissy Kneen's deep empathy and compassion for humanity is what attracted me to her work in the first place, and she just keeps getting better and better, revealing aspects of the human experience few contemporary literary writers, in my experience, are willing to take on.
I just loved this book so much. Krissy Kneen's deep empathy and compassion for humanity is what attracted me to her work in the first place, and she just keeps getting better and better, revealing aspects of the human experience few contemporary literary writers, in my experience, are willing to take on.
January 23, 2018
Ever since I read this author's amazing memoir "Affection" (5 stars) and her novel "Triptych" (5 stars), I have been a fan of her writing. This book is about imagining where sexual experiences could go in the future. This book consists of 5 different stories pushing the sexual boundaries. I loved the 3rd story (Cameron) and the last (Liv) but didn't care much for the 2nd and 4th. Her work is explicitly sexual and I can enjoy that when she writes as well as she does.
August 5, 2017
An Uncertain Grace is a fresh, smart and wholly compassionate illustration of humans as sexual beings. Kneen uses science fiction to explore the endless variations of sexual expression. She shows the reader how to see all forms of sexual attraction, including pedophilia, with an open and accepting mind, while still strongly objecting to sexual harm. As others have said, this book is about sex, but it isn't really. It's about humans and how we see each other and what is the same in all of us.
October 20, 2018
The thing with books like this, when they are individual stories brought together by a common theme, is that they are really hard to rate. There are 5 stories in this novel. 2 of them get 5 stars. The others get between 2 and 4. Overall the book gets 3.5.
Krissy Kneen writes beautifully, and frankly reminds me of David Mitchell, my all time favourite author. But sometimes i find her material too full on.
Krissy Kneen writes beautifully, and frankly reminds me of David Mitchell, my all time favourite author. But sometimes i find her material too full on.
February 1, 2022
Gorgeous, disquieting, strange. Krissy writes like she is creating magic.
June 1, 2018
Fuck me there’s a lot of cunt, cock and cum in this one! What a fascinating speculative read; Kneen takes an idea and stretches it in all kinds of directions and it’s fascinating. Brilliant read.
May 26, 2017
Kneen mentions Lidia Yuknavitch early on and her influence on this novel is clear - parts of it reminded me of The Small Backs of Children. This is a provocative read and at times quite challenging. Kneen is an inventive writer and her work always takes me to unexpected and disturbing places.
September 5, 2021
Uneasy ethical dilemmas explored against an erotic, sci-fi backdrop with complex and interesting characters. I was hooked on the writing style so I’m now on the hunt for other novels by Kneen.
May 13, 2018
Each chapter follows the same scenario. You get a futuristic idea, some questions to think about and a character without much of a personality who is just showcasing you this futuristic world and has lots of sex.
April 8, 2018
I found this novel beautifully written, daring, and unsettling. The central character is Liv, although we see her story mainly through other characters. When we first see her she is a writing student, experimenting with new forms of narrative. From this tongue-in-cheek beginning we pitch headfirst into the future. Liv as a student experiments with a kind of VR suit to tell stories, which reproduces all the sensations of someone else's experience. In the first case to show her middle-aged male professor's creepy advances on her through her own eyes. As she ages, she continues to work in this intersection of sex and technology, which evolves dramatically as the novel progresses.
I loved the exploration of the possibilities of technology, particularly around VR. It felt grounded but exciting, and resists both utopia and dystopia in favour of something more pragmatic. Kneen never lets the technology become a gimmick, as each becomes a genuinely-earned turning point in her characters' lives. The sexual politics are even bolder though, from giving a man a taste of 'bad sex' from a woman's perspective, to incorporeal threesomes, to a startlingly erotic encounter between a 129 year old and a 20 year old, both 'ungendered'. The most provocative perspective is that of a 14 year old sex cyborg designed to substitute for real human victims of hebophilia (sexual desire for pubescent children), even if the existential crisis he goes through about whether he is a 'real boy' has been done before. Another section is told from the perspective of a convicted paedophile, but invites sympathy rather than judgement. It is challenging reading, but Kneen perfectly balances black humour and empathy with lovely clear writing.
I loved the exploration of the possibilities of technology, particularly around VR. It felt grounded but exciting, and resists both utopia and dystopia in favour of something more pragmatic. Kneen never lets the technology become a gimmick, as each becomes a genuinely-earned turning point in her characters' lives. The sexual politics are even bolder though, from giving a man a taste of 'bad sex' from a woman's perspective, to incorporeal threesomes, to a startlingly erotic encounter between a 129 year old and a 20 year old, both 'ungendered'. The most provocative perspective is that of a 14 year old sex cyborg designed to substitute for real human victims of hebophilia (sexual desire for pubescent children), even if the existential crisis he goes through about whether he is a 'real boy' has been done before. Another section is told from the perspective of a convicted paedophile, but invites sympathy rather than judgement. It is challenging reading, but Kneen perfectly balances black humour and empathy with lovely clear writing.
May 14, 2017
An Uncertain Grace is a novel made up of five stories, told from the perspective of characters whose lives intersect with Liv. Liv, it seems, is a writer who uses new tech to construct and convey narrative. The five stories are quite disparate, but have in common an exploration of embodiment.
In the first, Caspar experiences his relationship with Liv through her eyes and her body, via a VR skin suit. He experiences not just her physical body but her thoughts and emotions, too, and struggles to re-embody himself when the suit isn't on. The stories go on from there, in the unusual but thoughtful way that Kneen has with stories. The writing is quite beautiful and evocative, and the future that the stories inhabit is very thought-provoking. What will it mean when technology becomes so easily incorporated into our selves that we can pay for things with a flick of the wrist, or can upload our minds to outlive our flesh? What is the self, even?
In the first, Caspar experiences his relationship with Liv through her eyes and her body, via a VR skin suit. He experiences not just her physical body but her thoughts and emotions, too, and struggles to re-embody himself when the suit isn't on. The stories go on from there, in the unusual but thoughtful way that Kneen has with stories. The writing is quite beautiful and evocative, and the future that the stories inhabit is very thought-provoking. What will it mean when technology becomes so easily incorporated into our selves that we can pay for things with a flick of the wrist, or can upload our minds to outlive our flesh? What is the self, even?
July 31, 2019
I was surprised by this book. Sex is well written and outside the gender binary. Sex workers are nicely integrated & treated respectfully, with a nod to correct (self-directed) nomenclature. Future sex looks quite inviting as the writer negotiates the ethical complexities of love when the lover isn’t touching your body, but one you are co-sharing by the paid hour. Sometimes I wanted more connection between the vignettes or for them to last longer. I missed Cameron after he was reborn a thirty-sixth time with increasing self-awareness.
June 8, 2017
What a shame that this book has so few reviews, but how grateful I am to have discovered this little gem! As a fan of relationship-based science fiction, this novel is right in line with my particular set of interests. Kneen's exploration of the evolution of sexuality as it is affected by future technologies is fantastic in that it feels so realistic and visceral, yet she never crosses the boundary into gratuitous sex or pornography. My favorite of the stories was the first, Caspar, as I found the concept of the intermingling of VR technology and life writing/memoir to be fascinating and something I have never read/seen in SF. It's the type of scenario which is ripe for an episode of Black Mirror, so I'm surprised it hasn't been used more. I also enjoyed Kneen's metafictional approach throughout the novel (and especially in Caspar's story), occasionally reflecting on writing and each of the stories being constructs-- e.g. Caspar's own pondering of his life story, "If I could tell this story in third person, past tense, I would foreshadow the delicious transgression of our sexual relationship", and later "How is this story 'written'? And what part of it is authored? What percentage comes from the reader?". I also love that Liv is woven throughout, herself a biographer/biological engineer, analyzing and writing the life stories of AI bots like Cameron, with the final story in the novel being told in her post-mortem POV.
I could go on and on analyzing the experimental storytelling employed by Kneen, but alas, I'll end my review. An Uncertain Grace is a great little book that takes risks and explores interesting themes, which I would highly recommend to fans of relationship-based, soft SF, or fans of feminist literature.
I could go on and on analyzing the experimental storytelling employed by Kneen, but alas, I'll end my review. An Uncertain Grace is a great little book that takes risks and explores interesting themes, which I would highly recommend to fans of relationship-based, soft SF, or fans of feminist literature.
May 21, 2017
I was seduced initially by the sumptuous cover, and then drawn in by the extraordinary writing in this erotic, literary dystopian novella. Structured in five parts, with five point-of-view characters, it reads as distinct stories, linked by the presence of one central character, Liv, and the interwoven themes of sexuality, aging, autonomy, and our impact on the natural world.
Kneen writes with humour and a deft hand to create this intelligent, sexy story. Liv is a writer of fiction in a futuristic world, creating an intimate virtual reality so realistic that the 'reader' can feel what the protagonist feels, see the world from another's perspective. As Kneen demonstrates in An Uncertain Grace, this is also what the skilled author achieves with a story such as this: one which places you into the mind of someone whose life is different from your own and allows you to experience the existence of another, to feel empathy even for those we abhor.
Rather like a good degustation menu, this story challenges and delights in equal measure with each of its distinctly different parts to create a satisfying whole.
Kneen writes with humour and a deft hand to create this intelligent, sexy story. Liv is a writer of fiction in a futuristic world, creating an intimate virtual reality so realistic that the 'reader' can feel what the protagonist feels, see the world from another's perspective. As Kneen demonstrates in An Uncertain Grace, this is also what the skilled author achieves with a story such as this: one which places you into the mind of someone whose life is different from your own and allows you to experience the existence of another, to feel empathy even for those we abhor.
Rather like a good degustation menu, this story challenges and delights in equal measure with each of its distinctly different parts to create a satisfying whole.
Read
July 31, 2017I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The first story was unexpectedly different and engaging. It opens with a professor who has a habit of picking up the female students in his class. As he is eyeing a new girl to add to his harem, he receives a package from a former student with whom he had an ongoing relationship many years prior. She's sent him something that she's developed and wants his opinion. What he gets is a suit that he can put on and experience their entire relationship, but this time through her eyes. He is so submerged in the experience that he feels as if he is actually her. To see himself through her eyes proves to be jarring and disturbing. It was really dark, but a really compelling idea.
After that, it fell apart for me. The second story follows a pedophile who has volunteered for an experiment. Whatever Kneen was going for here, it didn't resonate with me.
And then we move into the boy robots who have been built for men who like young boys and she REALLY lost me.
Just not my sort of book. Simple as that.
The first story was unexpectedly different and engaging. It opens with a professor who has a habit of picking up the female students in his class. As he is eyeing a new girl to add to his harem, he receives a package from a former student with whom he had an ongoing relationship many years prior. She's sent him something that she's developed and wants his opinion. What he gets is a suit that he can put on and experience their entire relationship, but this time through her eyes. He is so submerged in the experience that he feels as if he is actually her. To see himself through her eyes proves to be jarring and disturbing. It was really dark, but a really compelling idea.
After that, it fell apart for me. The second story follows a pedophile who has volunteered for an experiment. Whatever Kneen was going for here, it didn't resonate with me.
And then we move into the boy robots who have been built for men who like young boys and she REALLY lost me.
Just not my sort of book. Simple as that.
July 29, 2021
A collision of science and future, sexual pleasure, the repercussions of the climate crisis on future generations. This was like nothing I have read before, an imagining of our not too distant world.
Each of the five parts is threaded by Liv's story as she gets older. Using edgy and sophisticated science, she manages to have a former relationship of hers experience what she experienced in their imbalanced relationship. Liv is then part of a program to reverse the sexual urges of prisoners convicted of sexualised crimes against children.
Further along, Liv is the researcher narrating the story of a robot built that is also part of resetting the sexualised behaviour of male offenders. The next story explores the treatment program of future gender clinics for people to become ungendered.
Sex and sexuality, are the other running theme, with the Storygraph labelling this erotica. There are vivid, erotic scenes here that are very well written.
Each of the five parts is threaded by Liv's story as she gets older. Using edgy and sophisticated science, she manages to have a former relationship of hers experience what she experienced in their imbalanced relationship. Liv is then part of a program to reverse the sexual urges of prisoners convicted of sexualised crimes against children.
Further along, Liv is the researcher narrating the story of a robot built that is also part of resetting the sexualised behaviour of male offenders. The next story explores the treatment program of future gender clinics for people to become ungendered.
Sex and sexuality, are the other running theme, with the Storygraph labelling this erotica. There are vivid, erotic scenes here that are very well written.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews