Baby Zero

by Emer Martin

In an unheard of country, each successive Taliban-like regime turns the year back to zero, as if to begin history again. A woman imprisoned for fighting the fundamentalist government is pregnant. To retain her sanity she tells her unborn child the story of three baby zeros from a family that has been scattered across the globe.

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

About the author

Emer Martin is a Dubliner who has lived in Paris, London, the Middle East, and various places in the U.S. Her first novel Breakfast in Babylon won Book of the Year 1996 in her native Ireland at the prestigious Listowel Writers’ Week. Houghton Mifflin released Breakfast in Babylon in the U.S. in 1997. More Bread Or I’ll Appear, her second novel was published internationally in 1999. Emer studied painting in New York and has had two sell-out solo shows of her paintings at the Origin Gallery in Harcourt St, Dublin. Her third novel Baby Zero, was published in the UK and Ireland March 07, and released in the U.S. 2014. She released her first children's book Why is the Moon Following Me? in 2013. Pooka is her latest book for Children released in 2016 She completed her third short film Unaccompanied. She produced Irvine Welsh’s directorial debut NUTS in 2007. Emer was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000. She now lives between the two clashing worlds of the depths of Silicon Valley, CA and the jungles of Co. Meath, Ireland. Her latest novel is The Cruelty Men

Emer is an experienced public speaker and enjoys talking to book clubs, schools, libraries etc. To book her for an event please contact her at martin_emer@hotmail.com

Reviews

[Heidi Emberling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emer Martin's book, Baby Zero, was a gripping, emotionally-wrenching, always engaging story that made me exhausted and exhilarated all at once. Trapped in a Taliban-like regime with no apparent way out, the main character's voice becomes an internal unfolding of her life story, tracing the choices we make and the randomness of the universe's response to those choices. The mother's decision at the end of the novel was the perfect redemption for both the main character and the reader. A fabulous read.

[Philip Casey]

Baby Zero, Emer Martin's third novel, begins and ends in a Middle-Eastern country called Orap, where successive Taliban-like regimes turn back the year to zero. An Irishwoman, Marguerite, imprisoned for resisting the fundamentalists, tells her unborn child the story of three baby zeros, now living across the globe, including in Ireland and the US.

It is telling that this beautifully written book, full of her trademark empathy, brio and wit, and most probably one of a kind in Anglophone literature, could find no American or British publisher in the post 9/11 paranoia, in the end being published by Brandon, a small and now defunct publisher in Kerry. Satire though it is, I believe it will be seen in years to come as an important cultural link between the Middle East and the United States, as well as being an important work of fiction in its own right.

Emer has now republished Baby Zero with Rameash, so it's a fresh opportunity to support this fine writer.

[Kalin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got the book from a Goodreads giveaway and didn't know what to expect at all. Nevertheless, it managed to surprise me.
Baby Zero features such a vast scope of themes and emotions that I'm still trying to process it all (finished reading literally an hour ago).
The almost perfect balance between intimate contemplation and compelling plot makes for a captivating and thought-provoking storytelling. Though quite bleak at times, it never loses its subtle humour.
The clash of Eastern and Western cultures personified by a variety of memorable characters is at the same time eye-opening, entertaining and touching.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sister was meeting the author, Emer Martin, and we wanted to read one of her works first. This one was her newest and the summary was, what I thought, the most compelling. My first reaction after 5% in was that I regretted spending the $10 I paid for it on Kindle and would possibly have stopped reading it at that point had I not paid so much. The story was written so schizophrenic that initially it was giving me a stomach ache. A lot of imagery but little to no description; all action, no reflection. However, I am glad I stuck with it because about 9% in it does change tones and does get much better. The characters are very strong and consistent all the way through, the concept is a very tight and the message a powerful one that left me thinking. But, and this might just be for the kindle edition, the editing on this story was absolutely horrendous. Examples, a character named "Zolo" was mentioned as "Zo1o" and "Zoio"; there were words were a "u" was written with double "ii" - several times. There were parts where wrong Characters names were inserted. With the dialogue there was quotations that didn't have quotations marks in some parts that made you question if other passages were spoken or not. With the way the story was written, it was like the whole novel was dictated via "Siri" and then went to publishing without any editing. The publisher, author, Amazon should be embarrassed, I'm sure they have some intern that could have read through this and prevented such frequent unexcused errors.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fierce and funny novel that offers insight into three cultures: American, Irish, and a fictional Middle Eastern culture that sounds a lot like Iran. At the very beginning, I though it might be too bleak even for a dark soul like myself, but then it opened up into a kaleidoscopic and richly satisfying tale. I even cried at the end...and books almost never make me cry.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Baby Zero. It was the first of Emer Martin's books i have read but i would definitely read others. The three cultures she writes about are beautifully intertwined throughout the novel creating a rich tale causing me to be swept along as the novel progressed.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

at times shocking, at time funny. Always well crafted. In my top 2 this year.

[Magdalena Zuljevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book stayed with me long after I put it down. Emer Martin is a writer that refuses to be pigeon holed. I’ve read her other two books and each one is very different. This is challenging to the reader but I like that she doesn’t lull you into a sense of security and predictability as a writer but constantly challenges you as a reader. Her books have high literary merit while remaining entertaining. That is hard to achieve in contemporary fiction but she shows it can be done. I would highly recommend this and her other books.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It is clever, well thought through and with some interesting twists and turns. Leila is a fabulous character, although only a child she is wise and interesting. The sections of the book set in the US were particularly interesting seen through the eyes of children from a far away land and a different culture.

Farah, Leila's mother was superbly drawn, full of snobbery and self pity but a level of determination and in some ways courage.

If you are interested in issues affecting women in oppressive states then this is a must read.

[Cherry Ooglepop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dystopian fiction book about a young woman who leaves LA and gets captured by the Islamic state and put in prison. She is pregnant and tells the tale of her life to her unborn baby to stop herself going insane. There is a real plot twist in here, two actually. Won't give it away. But the writing is so beautiful and at times the book is laugh out loud funny. This keeps you going to the brilliant ending.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this, or at least like it, given my strong affection for her previous work. But it seemed like the first draft of something, not a finished work. There were some parts I found extremely annoying, where she indulged in a sort of stream of consciousness. Emer, Emer.....

[Olga Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emer Martin has managed to surprise me. I have found the clash of Eastern and Western cultures extremely eye-opening and exhilarating. Her well-drawn characters explore loneliness and despair and take the reader on a journey filled with thought provoking insights. A must-read for everyone¡

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have some 400 or so books listed on Goodreads and the current rating for Baby Zero is in the top three, higher than Roth, Auster, Pamuk etc., so I had high expectations of this Goodreads Giveaway which perhaps inevitably, could not be fully realised. Nevertheless it is ultimately an engaging, very well-structured account of a Middle Eastern family torn apart by fundamentalist revolution, encompassing three continents and enough themes, some of which are truly bleak and a cast of intriguing characters, for several books.

Emer writes (chapter 15): ‘Millions of years pass in short sentences’ and so do 300 plus pages here, I grew to find them somewhat irritating. It might be interesting to see whether her other novels are written in the same style, just maybe I’ll do that.

It’s probably a 3.5 rather than a 3 but I couldn’t bring myself to equate it to some other novels rated a 4.