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Artifact
From the author of Scary Old Sex, the story of a gifted young biologist's fight for the life, and the love, that she wants--a novel of sex, drive, and motherhood that crackles with female reality and desire.
From practicing psychiatrist and critically acclaimed author of Scary Old Sex, Artifact is the dazzling, half-century-spanning story of biologist Lottie Kristin. Born in Michigan in the early 1940s to a taciturn mother and embittered father, Lottie is independent from the start, fascinated with the mysteries of nature and the human body. By age sixteen, she and her sweetheart, cheerful high school sports hero Charlie Hart, have been through a devastatingly traumatic pregnancy. When an injury ends Charlie's football career four years later, the two move to Texas hoping for a fresh start.
There, torn between the vitality of the antiwar movement and her family's traditional values, Lottie discovers the joys of motherhood, and reconnects with her interest in biology and experimentation, taking a job as a lab technician. While Charlie's depression pervades their home, Lottie's instinct is toward life; though every step is a struggle, she opts for single motherhood, graduate school, a career, and eventually, a marriage that makes space for all that she is.
Bravely and wisely written, Artifact is an intimate and propulsive portrait of a whole woman, a celebration of her refusal to be defined by others' imaginations, and a meditation on the glorious chaos of biological life.
From practicing psychiatrist and critically acclaimed author of Scary Old Sex, Artifact is the dazzling, half-century-spanning story of biologist Lottie Kristin. Born in Michigan in the early 1940s to a taciturn mother and embittered father, Lottie is independent from the start, fascinated with the mysteries of nature and the human body. By age sixteen, she and her sweetheart, cheerful high school sports hero Charlie Hart, have been through a devastatingly traumatic pregnancy. When an injury ends Charlie's football career four years later, the two move to Texas hoping for a fresh start.
There, torn between the vitality of the antiwar movement and her family's traditional values, Lottie discovers the joys of motherhood, and reconnects with her interest in biology and experimentation, taking a job as a lab technician. While Charlie's depression pervades their home, Lottie's instinct is toward life; though every step is a struggle, she opts for single motherhood, graduate school, a career, and eventually, a marriage that makes space for all that she is.
Bravely and wisely written, Artifact is an intimate and propulsive portrait of a whole woman, a celebration of her refusal to be defined by others' imaginations, and a meditation on the glorious chaos of biological life.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2020
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1846 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 5, 2020
I kept reading to see what would happen but nothing did. We follow Lottie's life from her first relationship at 14 yrs, through school girl pregnancy and finishing when I guess she's late 30s. Other than learning she has sex with men and her work requires her to dissect animals, I learnt nothing about her personality or her relationship with her daughter. The characters seemed devoid of emotions, I didn't feel involved with the characters. There was a rape scene and some graphic descriptions of animal testing where the character unflinchingly dissects live animals. Lottie claimed to care for her daughter but I found the relationship devoid of love and her daughter was left in situations she shouldn't have been. When Lottie eventually meets the man she A depressing read with characters I didn't feel I got to know anything about apart from what they did in bed.
July 7, 2020
2.5 rounded down
Unfortunately this was a case of expectations set from the blurb not living up to the reality of the novel itself. Artifact takes the scientific meaning of the word ("something observed in a scientific investigation or experiment that is not naturally present but occurs as a result of the preparative or investigative procedure") to tell the story of a scientist, Lottie, who is researching salivary glands in rats. We follow her life from birth in 1940s to the 1980s when she has children and is in her second marriage, with Lottie's romantic relationships and motherhood forming the majority of the storyline and the focus being on the messiness and randomness of life.
It was the part of the blurb which states that the novel is "a celebration of her refusal to be defined by others' imaginations" which I felt letdown by. The story is fine and I felt mostly engaged throughout, but there were a few random jumps around in timeline and bits where I felt like the reader had been chucked into the situation and lacking facts as to who characters were or why things were happening. The political climate and Lottie's involvement with this felt shoehorned in and awkward too. Her character didn't feel quite as nuanced as I wanted it to be in later sections of the story, and for a novel of this length there was little character development of any other character except Lottie herself.
I wouldn't wish to discourage others from picking this up if the premise sounds appealing, but Artifact just had one too many problems to prevent me from fully enjoying it.
Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately this was a case of expectations set from the blurb not living up to the reality of the novel itself. Artifact takes the scientific meaning of the word ("something observed in a scientific investigation or experiment that is not naturally present but occurs as a result of the preparative or investigative procedure") to tell the story of a scientist, Lottie, who is researching salivary glands in rats. We follow her life from birth in 1940s to the 1980s when she has children and is in her second marriage, with Lottie's romantic relationships and motherhood forming the majority of the storyline and the focus being on the messiness and randomness of life.
It was the part of the blurb which states that the novel is "a celebration of her refusal to be defined by others' imaginations" which I felt letdown by. The story is fine and I felt mostly engaged throughout, but there were a few random jumps around in timeline and bits where I felt like the reader had been chucked into the situation and lacking facts as to who characters were or why things were happening. The political climate and Lottie's involvement with this felt shoehorned in and awkward too. Her character didn't feel quite as nuanced as I wanted it to be in later sections of the story, and for a novel of this length there was little character development of any other character except Lottie herself.
I wouldn't wish to discourage others from picking this up if the premise sounds appealing, but Artifact just had one too many problems to prevent me from fully enjoying it.
Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.
February 22, 2020
I loved this novel about motherhood and the mayhem that can follow, showcasing a young woman who gets pregnant by the football hero, and when his career is way-sided, their fresh start in Texas. Intimately told and deeply moving, which sentences so gorgeous, I was stopping to savor them. I truly love this book.
December 16, 2020
(3.5) Lottie’s story is a case study of the feminist project to reconcile motherhood and career (in this case, scientific research). In the generic more than the scientific meaning of the word, the novel is indeed about artifacts – as in works by Doris Lessing, Penelope Lively and Carol Shields, the goal is to unearth the traces of a woman’s life. The long chapters are almost like discrete short stories. Heyman follows Lottie through years of schooling and menial jobs, through a broken marriage and a period of single parenthood, and into a new relationship. There were aspects of the writing that didn’t work for me and I found the book as a whole more intellectually noteworthy than engaging as a story. A piercing – if not notably subtle – story of women’s choices and limitations in the latter half of the twentieth century. I’d recommend it to fans of Forty Rooms and The Female Persuasion.
See my full review at Shiny New Books.
See my full review at Shiny New Books.
December 15, 2020
Disjointed melodrama propped up by interesting sex scenes and successful lab lady aspect. Women, science, and readers deserve better.
June 16, 2020
This is a striking novel about a woman named Lottie, who is born in Michigan in the 1940s, who becomes a biologist. The writing is sensual and unflinching, from descriptions of her work in a hospital laboratory to experimenting on animals and the messiness of human relationships. Lottie is a great character - rough, well-meaning and intelligent - and drawn to both science and motherhood. The book is divided into the different stages of her life and career, into her early forties. Whilst I enjoyed the earlier sections, the final strand felt incomplete and I wanted to read more about her second marriage. The book draws parallels between the idea of an artifact - something observed during a controlled experiment - and the way that Lottie's life is shaped by her gender, family and sexual relationships. Artifact is a visceral novel, about the human body, its capabilities and limits. It is both darkly violent, and bright and celebratory. 3.5 stars.
June 28, 2022
Finally, a book I couldn't put down. A character to care about, fully fleshed out in the smooth kind of well-done writing that lets you race through a book that you don't want to end. Much very graphic sex and some intricate science included, just so you know.
December 31, 2020
A compelling, good read. These strong yet flawed (human and humane) female main characters interest me in a strong way. Lottie is working hard to be the best she can be and what else can you ask for in this world.
October 31, 2020
Artifact is one of a kind, I cannot recommend it enough to the aspiring young scientist. The story of Lottie Hart is the untold story of researchers and scientists who are addicted to the thrill, the illusion sometimes, of discovering new truths. We do so, over many years, oblivious at some level to the risks taken and costs paid in our personal life. The extra work hours, the smell of chemicals which lingers long after you return home, the nomad lifestyle, the perpetual struggle to receive recognition from your colleagues or interest in your work from the general public, are all portrayed realistically in the life of the protagonist, Lottie Hart. This book really hits home – this is how life in science looks like, inside and outside the lab. It is also a story of inextricable personal growth and parenthood. The life of young and impressive Lottie is full with small wins, tragedies and resilience of a strong, and often lonely woman.
May 11, 2020
Artifact is full of life – real life – with its challenges, choices, decisions and, above all, consequences. In her novel, Arlene Heyman reaches deep inside the human psyche to reveal the pain, joy, plans, failures and memorable moments of lives so real you may feel embarrassed to be eavesdropping. It's got love. It's got sex. It's also got all the grit and honesty of work in a modern lab setting and a woman's desire to be the most she can be. In short, this book is for adults. Not only does the narrative burn with truth, but its dialogue sings in the memory. I shall forever be fascinated by Lottie, and by the author's obvious gift for sharing insightful close-ups of her characters and their lives.
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA.
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA.
October 17, 2020
Frank, Real, Honest—Eye-Opening
I lived through much of what Arlene Heyman writes about and the decades the story covers, but I never could have been as honest about my life as Lottie, the protagonist, is to herself about hers. Lottie examines her life, every minute of it. My life wasn’t important enough in those decades to justify this kind of examination. Lottie is SO real, she’s blocked or stymied, picks herself up and moves on to the next obstacle, arrives battered but determined, questions, looks around for validation, and, finding little, supplies it for herself. MORE from Arlene Heyman, please, and SOON!
I lived through much of what Arlene Heyman writes about and the decades the story covers, but I never could have been as honest about my life as Lottie, the protagonist, is to herself about hers. Lottie examines her life, every minute of it. My life wasn’t important enough in those decades to justify this kind of examination. Lottie is SO real, she’s blocked or stymied, picks herself up and moves on to the next obstacle, arrives battered but determined, questions, looks around for validation, and, finding little, supplies it for herself. MORE from Arlene Heyman, please, and SOON!
September 10, 2020
While I appreciated the themes, intent, and pieces of the writing, this just didn’t live up to the hype for me. It was flat and almost boring in parts with too much emphasis on smaller details, and not enough extrapolation of Lottie and the themes I was really hoping for. Particularly, too much focus on the secondary characters and a lot of missed opportunity for a deeper dive into Lottie for me. A lot of potential, but missed the mark for me.
June 9, 2020
I did not finish this book because there was at least one very graphic description of live-animal lab experiments.
I gave it two stars because Hayman wrote a book, found a publisher, and got it published. I only wish the publisher had either taken the descriptions out of the book or put a reader alert about the experiments somewhere we could see it before we began reading.
I gave it two stars because Hayman wrote a book, found a publisher, and got it published. I only wish the publisher had either taken the descriptions out of the book or put a reader alert about the experiments somewhere we could see it before we began reading.
August 16, 2021
Lottie is an independent and confident woman who works as a biologist and has a daughter to take care of. Life for Lottie has always been difficult, starting with teenage pregnancy to misogynistic men taunting her for her interests in science and the nature of one's life. Mind you, Lottie was born in the 1940s, and so you could understand the taboo she is facing, being a single mom of her daughter, juggling between motherhood and being a female scientist.
Artifact for me personally was a celebration of a woman for what she is. She is a daughter, a single mother, a beloved wife, and everything she can be in her profession. I loved how the book acted as a catalyst in Lottie’s life through her experimentation done in her labs. The book also portrayed how even woman can successfully achieve all their dreams, despite having other responsibilities in life. The title of this book also is so apt for Lottie’s life- something she does in her lab, and something that shapes her life through her age, gender, and relationships that she carries.
However, few things didn’t go well with me in this book, especially the graphic description of animal experimentation without any trigger warning. This book also comes with teenage sex, pregnancy loss, sexual abuse, and rape, and I really wished there was a trigger warning to all these at the start of the book so that I could have been more prepared for the things that came up.
I also wished that the narrative concentrated more on Lottie’s life, instead of focusing on all the secondary characters, as that would have made it a more intense read for the topic it is conveying. It was overly detailed where it was not necessary, and that simply dragged the narration further. Overall, I would say that the book has all the potential to impact anybody who reads it but not as much to go and recommend it to somebody else.
Thank you, Bloomsbury India for the gifted copy of this book.
Artifact for me personally was a celebration of a woman for what she is. She is a daughter, a single mother, a beloved wife, and everything she can be in her profession. I loved how the book acted as a catalyst in Lottie’s life through her experimentation done in her labs. The book also portrayed how even woman can successfully achieve all their dreams, despite having other responsibilities in life. The title of this book also is so apt for Lottie’s life- something she does in her lab, and something that shapes her life through her age, gender, and relationships that she carries.
However, few things didn’t go well with me in this book, especially the graphic description of animal experimentation without any trigger warning. This book also comes with teenage sex, pregnancy loss, sexual abuse, and rape, and I really wished there was a trigger warning to all these at the start of the book so that I could have been more prepared for the things that came up.
I also wished that the narrative concentrated more on Lottie’s life, instead of focusing on all the secondary characters, as that would have made it a more intense read for the topic it is conveying. It was overly detailed where it was not necessary, and that simply dragged the narration further. Overall, I would say that the book has all the potential to impact anybody who reads it but not as much to go and recommend it to somebody else.
Thank you, Bloomsbury India for the gifted copy of this book.
April 14, 2020
In this age of MeToo and awareness of pay inequality, Arlene Heyman's first novel offers keen insight into what it's like to be a female scientist. Lottie Hart, PhD, is a researcher. She uses rats to promote her theory that the salivary glands of male rates licking a female rat's vagina causes her to ovulate and conceive. If what you've read so far bothers you, then this book is not for you. There are graphic descriptions of sex acts and a violent rape scene.
That said, this is an unusual and gripping novel that takes place in the sixties and seventies, while beginning and ending in the nineties. Lottie is first a young child with a controlling and angry father and a distant mother who reads and smokes cigarettes. Later, she and her football player boyfriend, whom she marries after college, have a loving and close relationship until they don't and divorce. Lottie gives birth to Evelyn and goes back to school, finally moving away and becoming a single mother. Heyman, a psychiatrist, has keen insights into both relationships, parent-child and husband-wife. She also knows and shares quite a bit about sex.
The story of Lottie, her growth and experience, puts us back in the dark ages before women expected equal treatment. Seen through the lens of today, we begin to understand how this was tolerated and accepted. Ultimately, and this is not a spoiler, Lottie meets and falls in love with a man who seems to be an early feminist.
Moving between academe, laboratory and life, this novel may have taken on too much for just one book. But it was done in a way that made all those factors fit together and I found all of it fascinating reading.
That said, this is an unusual and gripping novel that takes place in the sixties and seventies, while beginning and ending in the nineties. Lottie is first a young child with a controlling and angry father and a distant mother who reads and smokes cigarettes. Later, she and her football player boyfriend, whom she marries after college, have a loving and close relationship until they don't and divorce. Lottie gives birth to Evelyn and goes back to school, finally moving away and becoming a single mother. Heyman, a psychiatrist, has keen insights into both relationships, parent-child and husband-wife. She also knows and shares quite a bit about sex.
The story of Lottie, her growth and experience, puts us back in the dark ages before women expected equal treatment. Seen through the lens of today, we begin to understand how this was tolerated and accepted. Ultimately, and this is not a spoiler, Lottie meets and falls in love with a man who seems to be an early feminist.
Moving between academe, laboratory and life, this novel may have taken on too much for just one book. But it was done in a way that made all those factors fit together and I found all of it fascinating reading.
April 27, 2021
First, the book should have various content warnings: rape, graphic description of animal experimentation (not gory or really gratuitous), pregnancy loss, harm to children (accident not abuse, well abuse was mentioned but off camera, so to speak).
Follows the life of Lottie from the daughter of a former engineer now small town mayor and MA-having mother through her experimentation with her body and her high school boyfriend's through college, job as a lab technician, graduate, post doc, and professorship. I agree with others that the characters aren't well developed but it's almost on purpose as in the narrator is so in her mind and focused on her science that she only sees others in some superficial sense. I don't know.
Oh, there's sex in here. Not like romance novel but not Jackie Collins either? Sorta like Wifey? In fact, this sorta reminds me of Wifey (although it's been decades since I read it).
I wonder why my publib had this on Overdrive?
Follows the life of Lottie from the daughter of a former engineer now small town mayor and MA-having mother through her experimentation with her body and her high school boyfriend's through college, job as a lab technician, graduate, post doc, and professorship. I agree with others that the characters aren't well developed but it's almost on purpose as in the narrator is so in her mind and focused on her science that she only sees others in some superficial sense. I don't know.
Oh, there's sex in here. Not like romance novel but not Jackie Collins either? Sorta like Wifey? In fact, this sorta reminds me of Wifey (although it's been decades since I read it).
I wonder why my publib had this on Overdrive?
July 24, 2020
I think the author did a fantastic job demonstrating the realities of sexism in the lives of women scientists. Her descriptions of lab work and the scientific process are accurately portrayed. I also liked the book’s formatting. It begins in the present, as the protagonist struggles with her academic career and parenthood. Her back story was then told as she began as a bright HS student and progressed through her education and career along with romantic relationships and single parenting while navigating sexism, misogyny, and assault. It ends back in the present day, the day after the first scene. The writing is direct and interesting with fast pacing. I think a few scenes could have been omitted because they didn’t add to the story except for maybe sensationalism. For instance the postdoc part of her life could have been deleted or better fleshed out.
July 30, 2020
Lottie is a bright girl born into a conservative family in a conservative part of the country in the middle of the 20th century. She married her childhood sweetheart and has a daughter but as her marriage falls apart she knows there must be more. Developing as a grad student Lottie experiences the prejudice against women in her field and also suffers a trauma which she struggled to move on from.
There are parts of this book that I loved and parts that I hated! Lottie is sympathetically written but her driving aspect of sex is graphically described and at times far too graphic. I realise that the metaphor of rats is in keeping with the character but there's too much detail. However this doesn't detract from an interesting and slightly addictive novel that is still relatively ' literary'
There are parts of this book that I loved and parts that I hated! Lottie is sympathetically written but her driving aspect of sex is graphically described and at times far too graphic. I realise that the metaphor of rats is in keeping with the character but there's too much detail. However this doesn't detract from an interesting and slightly addictive novel that is still relatively ' literary'
June 29, 2020
An unusual tale of a woman- Lottie- who revels in science and motherhood. And sex. Lottie marries her high school boyfriend Charlie, who is a football player. He becomes depressed when he can no longer play but she finds herself not only as a mom but also in the lab. Know that there's animal experimentation (not pretty btw but realistic). Moving back and forth in time a bit over the period of the 1940s through the 1970s, it reflects how women were viewed and viewed themselves. Heyman has packed a lot into a relatively slim volume but her writing carries the day. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. For fans of literary fiction.
March 9, 2023
Prachtig geschreven. Een intelligente jonge vrouw, word zwanger van haar eerste liefde. Onbegrip bij haar vader, liefdevolle oma en op de achtergrond aanwezige moeder. Het gaat om Lottie en haar struggle door het leven. De keuzes die zij maakt. Loslaten en opnieuw beginnen. Uiteindelijk wetenschapper worden met veel opofferingen en hard werken. Het laatste stuk met het ongeluk had voor mij niet gehoeven. Weet niet wat dit aan het uiteindelijk mooi geschreven tweede liefdesverhaal toevoegt. Behalve dan de worstelingen die een ieder op zijn eigen manier heeft te verwerken en accepteren en verder gaan met je leven.
July 19, 2020
This is a strongly written story about a woman who is determined to fight for satisfaction in her life. She’s happily married to her second husband. Despite the nay-sayers she fought to become a medical lab tech. It is the 1950 and she became pregnant at 16, the father of her child is one of the biggest obstacles in her quest for self-confidence and self-worth. It’s a no-hold barred account and includes a lot about her carnal desires. If you are put off by this, it’s not your book. If you want to root for a woman who is out to get what she wants, you’ll cheer for Lottie.
August 15, 2020
This Author's First Novel is both humorous, gutsy, scientifically enlightening and very well written. An eye opening look into the world of the Female Lab Technician and the yucky experiments they perform on a daily basis to find solutions to the maladies affecting the human body. Their lack of recognition and advancement due to their sex is revealing. The Author will make you blush and perhaps enlighten your understanding of today's educated scientific working woman. I am sure there is a Book Award awaiting this Novel.
April 29, 2020
While I greatly appreciate these types of novel and have enjoyed them in the past, I was not a big fan of Artifact. I think maybe because I didn’t care for Lottie as a character, who was just a product of her upbringing and time. But I do like these deeper, character driven narratives. This one was just a tad depressing and overly detailed for me personally.
I would definitely pick up another book by this author.
I would definitely pick up another book by this author.
October 12, 2020
A complex detailed immersive book. Lottie is not always a sympathetic character, but she is passionate about her work, her enquiring forthright strength is both off-putting and a celebration of assertiveness and strength.
A not always enjoyable but engaging and well written book.
From the end notes the book was gestated over decades. I’m pleased to see it hit the world. There’s even an off cut after the credits which is fun and very Lottie.
Recommended.
A not always enjoyable but engaging and well written book.
From the end notes the book was gestated over decades. I’m pleased to see it hit the world. There’s even an off cut after the credits which is fun and very Lottie.
Recommended.
October 8, 2022
What an odd book. It gets one star because of the graphic descriptions of experiments on live animals. I wouldn't have bought it if I'd known. But also, Lottie is such an unlikeable character. Her relationship with Charlie was interesting and well written. I'd like to have found out more. But the other characters are pretty poorly written and the book just fizzles out after an incident that I couldn't really see the point of including at such a late stage.
April 1, 2023
Zeer leuk boek - ik heb het in het Nederlands gelezen. Rake beschrijvingen en vooral vanuit de auteur met een rake, nuchtere kijk op de vrouw geschreven, hoewel het niet echt autobiografisch is. Je krijgt een genuanceerd beeld van Amerika vanaf de jaren 50 - grappige maar soms ook wel pijnlijke situaties met vanuit het hoofdpersonage een aanzienlijke zelfrelativering! Ben erg benieuwd naar haar laatste boek.
April 9, 2023
Lent by a friend. Delved into it blindly only because of said friend. Going into it, I knew I was not to expect an interesting one and instead a filler bedside read to cleanse my palette. It served a good chunk of its purpose over one weekend. Very unremarkable as a book, but keeps you in a drowsy afternoon groove, which can be called 'essential bore' as a genre. A middle aged woman talks about her very common life in a very common way. And that's all that there is to it.
Also, hear me out. Nobody, and I mean nobody, calls another 'Dear' while having sex. I could not hold the embarrassment in moments that wrote itself like awkward victorian soft-porn.
Also, hear me out. Nobody, and I mean nobody, calls another 'Dear' while having sex. I could not hold the embarrassment in moments that wrote itself like awkward victorian soft-porn.
January 26, 2021
The author writes believably about a teen love affair which ended tragically. The girl's life seems successful as she goes on to get a PhD, but her personal life suffers. Those who read LAB GIRL will understand her struggles to do research. The novel is lively, sexy and surprising. Three teen age girls are so well depicted that I think the author should write a ya novel.
December 31, 2020
Forgettable year-ender; Lottie is a scientist in a culture that is just growing to accept women in medicine. Comprised mostly of missteps and unfortunate decisions, leading to troubling situations that build her as a flawed lead. Fine, but nothing to recommend to anyone else.
July 24, 2022
I wish again for the half star on this novel. I enjoyed the breadth of Lottie’s story and thought it was quite well written across 4 decades. Lottie is a hero as an early woman in science and I appreciate both her career as a professional and a mother.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews