Robodoll

by Gerald Schoenewolf

This romantic science fiction novel follows a neurotic 37-year-old who orders an adanced Robodoll, hoping she will be his new sex object. Instead he discovers a robot who doesn’t look like a robot and is more advanced than he is, including knowing how to love. Along the way Henry not only becomes intimately acquainted with the most technologically advanced orgasm reflex he has ever encountered, but also with a robot that can speak 66 languages, sing opera, dance ballet, cook international cuisine and read people’s minds. A surprisingly funny fantasy adventure with an underlying psychological meaning, it follows Henry as he introduces his robodoll to society and finds out who she is and what she can do. The more he introduces her to society, the more complicated his life becomes. The novel reaches a turning point when she joins a pick-up softball game in Central Park and stuns everybody with her amazing performance, thereby provoking attention from the FBI, Hollywood, the New York Yankees and various others, sending Henry into a meltdown. ROBODOLL is a novel that indirectly probes not only the meaning of love but also the meaning of life, and is reminiscent of classics like Brave New World, 1984 and Gulliver’s Travels.

270 pages, Paperback

Published January 8, 2021

About the author

Gerald Schoenewolf is a licensed psychoanalyst and professor of psychology. He is the author of 22 books, most of which are about clinical psychology and psychotherapy. He has also written six novels, a poetic translation of Chinese Daoist philosophy and an illustrated book of poetry, HOLDING ON AND LETTING GO (revised in 2020). He has also written 20 screenplays and written, directed and produced two feature films. Five of his screenplays have won awards at festivals. He lives with his wife, Julia and his parrot and two cats in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Edith Codrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Schoenewolf’s ROBODOLL, I found myself very much in disagreement with the long, negative review by Matthew, so much so, that I'm compelled to disagree point-by-point. First of all, he admits he only read 50 pages of a book that runs 267 pages, and I don’t think it’s right to write a review without reading the whole book. He complains that the book is mislabeled as a romantic comedy, when it is actually erotic. Yes, It did start out erotic. The protagonist orders an advanced “robodoll” designed to give maximum pleasure, so naturally he tries her out. But this is not standard eroticism, this is a very original and funny take on eroticism, in which the protagonist experiences in great detail all the sounds (school bells during the climax) and smells (butterscotch) and wetness and coldness and humming and grinding of robot sex. I found the detailed sex scenes in the beginning of the book charming and creative and not at all lascivious. If Matthew had read on, he would have discovered that Sally, the robodoll, has a very unique way of looking at things and a very original personality, and she does indeed teach Henry how to love. Matthew labels Henry a misogynist, and I can see how he makes that conclusion, especially by reading only 50 pages. In the beginning, he is mostly fixed on Sally’s body and on her sexual capacity, but as the novel progresses, we get to know how Henry got the way, how his upbringing left him distrustful and fearful of women, so that his capacity to love was stunted and he could only go for the sex. During the course of the story Sally “trains” him to see her in more depth and by the end he goes through an almost complete change. Matthew quotes some extended dialogue from the book (and I believe in doing so he may have violated the copyright), which he cites as “bad,” but again I disagree with that assessment. I found the dialogue lively and at times hilarious. The bottom line is that the book for me was a page-turner that was not only quite original and entertaining, but has some profound things to say about relationships and love. But in order to appreciate it, the reader needs to suspend moral judgment. I highly recommend it.

[Amy Capella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be a funny, sometimes hilarious, often profound, page-turner of a neurotic 37-year-old who buys a Robodoll. He hopes to teach her how to be his dream sex partner and instead she winds up teaching him to love and be loved. She turns out to be a robot who doesn't look like a robot, but looks like a real woman, and she is programmed to have the most technologically advanced orgasm reflex he has ever encountered. She also can speak 66 languages, dance ballet, cook an array of international cuisine and read people’s minds. There are many adventures in the book that are funny and surprising. The author's sense of humor is a bit weird, but it left me in stitches. For example, the robodolls need to pass gas after human meals, which is their way of digesting them, so they end up filling a restaurant with pink clouds. I also found it laugh-out-loud funny when he took her to his company's Christmas party in Manhattan, and she read the mind of a nasty young woman, causing her to faint in the arms of the boss. Another hilarious part was when she hit a softball in a Central Park pick-up game 36 miles. I don't want to give away the ending,
but it was a very happy and satisfactory one to me. I found this not just a very entertaining book, but also a literary story with very smooth and often poetic prose and something to say about society. I am so high on it, I wouldn't be surprised if it became a classic!

[Gerald Schoenewolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always have it as a goal to write the novel that I would love to read. Only if I love to read it will others possibly love to read it as well. In Robodoll I think I have succeeded in this goal. This is a parable about a middle-aged, respressed nerd who orders an advanced female robot. Her name is Sally, and she is so well-designed she doesn't look or act like a robot, and that's what eventually gets Henry in trouble. He orders the robodoll, who speaks 66 languages, cooks international cuisine, sings opera, and can hit a softball 36 miles, thinking he can teach her to be his dream sexpot. Instead, she ends up teaching him how to love. This is a romantic comedy with a social message and may bring to mind works like HER and even GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. I am giving myself 5 stars because I have shown it to friends and they say it's a page-turner.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and funny read