Mary Modern

by Camille DeAngelis

Lucy Morrigan, a young genetic researcher, lives with her boyfriend, Gray, and an odd collection of tenants in her crumbling family mansion. Surrounded by four generations of clothes, photographs, furniture, and other remnants of past lives, Lucy and Gray’s home life is strangely out of touch with the modern world—except for Lucy’s high-tech lab in the basement.

Frustrated by her unsuccessful attempts to attain motherhood or tenure, Lucy takes drastic measures to achieve both. Using a bloodstained scrap of an apron found in the attic, Lucy successfully clones her grandmother Mary. But rather than conjuring a new baby, Lucy brings to life a twenty-two-year-old Mary, who is confused and disoriented when she finds herself trapped in the strangest sort of déjà vu: alive in a home that is no longer her own, surrounded by reminders of a life she has already lived but doesn’t remember.

A remarkable debut novel, Mary Modern turns an unflinching eye on the joyous, heartbreaking, and utterly unexpected consequences of human desire.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Book Club

350 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 2007

About the author

I'm the author of three fantasy novels for adults—Immaculate Heart, Mary Modern, and Petty Magic. My young adult novel, Bones & All, won an Alex Award from YALSA and the American Library Association in 2016 (thank you, librarians!!) This little teen-cannibal road trip novel has been adapted into a film directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Mark Rylance, and a bunch more stunningly talented actors. David Kajganich wrote the script, and I often say (0% kidding) that if I could go back in time I'd novelize the screenplay and put both our names on the cover. (Well, his name *is* on the cover of the spiffy new movie tie-in edition, but you know what I mean.)

Anywho, back to the bio! My favorite of my novels is my middle-grade debut, The Boy From Tomorrow. I've also written two books of practical philosophy: Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People and A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation. I also researched and wrote the first, second, and third editions of Moon Ireland.

I love reading and writing about the supernatural: my second children's novel (forthcoming!) is a ghost story, as is my first published short story, "The Coroner's Bride," now available from iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon. "The Coroner's Bride" originally appeared in Exotic Gothic 5, edited by Danel Olson.

CURRENT PROJECT: a retro-futurist screwball comedy. For updates, you can sign up for my (not too frequent) newsletter: http://bit.ly/cometparty

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me instead of using Goodreads messaging—I'm not on here often enough to give you a prompt reply! Thanks for understanding.**

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

my emotional development stopped at the "tell me a story" phase, and that's all i expect from a book. i don't need it to change my life, i don't need it to answer every one of my questions, i don't need it to teach me about any historical atrocity.

this is not a perfect book, but it is a deeply entertaining book. it's true that the characters are largely unlikable, but that's also true of Wuthering Heights and Jude the Obscure, two of my all-time favorites. if it's the idea of cloning that is upsetting the more delicately religious/political folks, just power through - pretend it's like a unicorn in a fantasy novel or the spontaneous combustion in Bleak House - it is something that is happening just to drive plot - it isn't reeeeealll!! it is just genuine fun in the vein of liz jensen or when jonathan coe is being funny.

do.

come to my blog!

[Josephine (Jo) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to do something that I hate and that is to abandon a book half way through. I just could not get on with this one at all. The story was an excellent concept and it had potential to be really entertaining but for me it just didn’t seem to be credible enough.

I think because we are actually so near managing to clone the human body it is no longer in realms of science fiction. There is maybe some mad scientist out there who is illegally doing so at this very moment so that half of the story is not all that farfetched. The other half however is too way out to make any sense, the items hidden away in the basement that belonged to Lucy’s father and grandfather are antiquated and almost silly in their antiquity and come far too close to Frankenstein’s laboratory to be plausible in this century. I found the idea of the whole pregnancy a little bit gross.

It is probably due to my limited imagination that I find it impossible to go with this idea but I was just not enjoying the book and had to give it up.

[Mir · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only thing I liked in this book was the description of the house the characters lived in. Otherwise I thought they were all unlikeable and found their relationships, feelings, posited intellectual brilliance etc completely unbelievable.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is really like one and a half star -worthy. The premise was so interesting: a biogenetic researcher who finds out she can't have children clones her own grandmother from blood she finds on an apron in the house her family has lived in for four generations. The grandmother is "born" at age 22, with all her memories intact up to that time.

But the plot gets convoluted, and the characters become whiny and annoying at best. The choppy writing and constant moving through time leaves the reader confused. This book did not live up to its promise

[Jaymie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually did not finish this book but after 160 pages or so I just figured there were better books on my list than this. I really wanted to like it. The idea was interesting. A scientist clones her dead grandmother who comes to life as a 20 year old. I guess this is the reason I don't read science fiction. I just could not get over the fact that it was so improbable. And the characters who roomed with the main character were just creepy and unbelievable. I would never have let them live in my house.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. The concept was great - a biologist who can't conceive clones her grandmother, who suddenly turns into a 20 year old woman with vague memories of who she was.
Then I started reading. The book is written in present tense. And is completely non-sequitor. Conversations don't flow naturally, and when they do, I have no idea what they're talking about. The author obviously knows a lot about art history and history in general, but since none of it was actually relevant to the story, parts felt more like a lecture between two people that are far smarter than me than a conversation between two lovers. Rather than being drawn in, I just felt really dumb.
I stuck with it for a while, hoping that I would get used to her style, but then events that would normally be considered plot were just tossed in as gossip from random characters, and I gave up. I tossed it onto the backseat of the car and decided to just enjoy the 5 hour drive back to Maryland rather than force myself to work through this book.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done! I was intrigued by the premise of the novel, and not sure what to expect from other reviews. But I was very satisfied. The book tackles not only biology and ethical issues, but politics, history, family, belonging, and the list goes on. It could be construed as a "mishmash" of styles and tones, but I found the mixture to be brilliantly and carefully executed. There are parts that could be slightly horror-style (see the comparisons to Frankenstein); some are distinctly quirky and just an odd twist on reality -- surreal, in fact. Some passages are straightforward in their analysis of human nature and feelings. I saw what I might term the main "twist" coming, but I was still very curious as to how it happened. I love books and movies that get me thinking about logistics -- puzzling through the plot. This one did it. It all fits and leads to an interesting conclusion. Thought-provoking on many levels, and just a satisfying page-turner.

Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/mary-modern-bo...

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite bizarre. It's also surprising, suspenseful, enchanting, and entertaining. It's really hard to categorize, but it definitely has some science fiction elements with a little love thrown in for good measure.

My only complaint: Deangelis breaks up the story into short one page chapters that start with a time and place. This is rather annoying because the story doesn't really flow all that well, but I guess that's the appeal. All of the chunks eventually piece together to form an unusual story about the repercussions of cloning.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are put off by science fiction, that is not what this book is about. Its premise is only a device for view how we relate to others and what changes when we are out of our conventional frame of reference.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this tale that was part historical fiction, part scifi, part contemporary novel. The writing is simple but effective. The novel is centered around Lucy Morrigan, a scientific researcher at her local North Eastern US University. Lucy follows a long line of scientists in her family, the secrets of which are hinted throughout but confirmed at the end of the book. Lucy makes a crazy decision to clone her grandmother to be her child when after many failed attempts she can't become pregnant. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out the way she wanted - I don't want to include spoilers - and her actions cause a snowball of legal, moral, historical and personal problems.

There were a couple of parts I found were a bit far fetched and I started to think, "oh boy here we go, the story is going south." But it didn't, they were a mere blip. Camille DeAngelis alters the rules of genetic cloning for the purpose of her story, but in the afterword she explains her reasoning and explains the reality of cloning.

I was intrigued by how and why Camille created her novel; based on a photo of her great grandparents and how she would love to clone them so she could meet them. Cloning is a controversial topic in our time, and it isn't going away. Although demonized for being used for the production of designer babies. However, it can also be used to cure diseases and save lives. Regardless of where you stand on the subject, Mary Modern is an interesting book that I was still thinking of several days after I finished.

[Laurie]

This will have spoilers in it, so read to something else if you do not want to know,trust me you DO want to read and be surprised.
This is not my normal read! It came highly recommended. After seeing some of the reviews,I was sure i would hate it and give up. Not so! This is a most unique and interesting read! It is not a page turner,but it had me reading very late into the night, every night. Very creative, a bit gothic, a bit sci-fi, creepy.Romance supposedly. I wanted Gray to leave Lucy,throughout the book, she did not deserve him. His character is the best in this book,in my opinion. I loved the relationship between Mary and Gray,tho! I do wish Mary and Lucy had more of a familial relationship,but it became obvious why they didn't, at the end of the book.Theirs was just a "business' relationship for obvious reasons.There were some parts that seemed a little incredulous - she seemed to take to the computer without any hesitation or issues. Impossible but so was Mary,herself. I also felt it ludicrous that fake documents from a SSI employee were so easily had for 2 people that did not exist.This book was confusing and frustrating at times. There were many details & "times" to keep track of, as well as "suggestive comments. The one thing I disliked was the jumps in times from section to section in one chapter. Concentration was necessary for the ancestral and DNA aspect. Didn't need the time jumps to make it more confusing. All in all a MOST unique and creative read. Not my usual genre or interests,but well worth my time and late nights reading>I cannot remember the last time I stayed up late with a book.I really did not expect to like this book at all. I do recommend it,even if it is not your normal read,there is nothing normal abt this book! Well written aside from the time jumps.I am a genealogist and this book intrigued me.Some of us think what if it were possible to bring an ancestor back to this day and age. I can now say,not a good idea if it were possible for those of us that are not scientifically inclined.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this one, because I liked a different book by the author, and I LOVED the premise for this one. It sounded so perfect for me.

And it did start out perfect, because I do like how this author writes. She opens with the most lovely description of a house - and it could be my dream house. Unfortunately, she then peoples it with the most annoying, trivial lot of characters I've ever read grouped into one book. I hated everyone. (And it didn't help that she used them as mouthpieces to promote her views on politics, religion, and political-correctness. It's fine if characters have a different viewpoint than mine - but not when it's clear the *only* reason those little spews pop-up is just so the author can 'educate' her audience. No thanks.)

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book was extremely entertaining, but I was distracted by the heavy anti-religion, anti-Bush, anti-conservative, anti-anything against cloning language. The story would have flowed much more smoothly if it weren't for the jarring rants against the government; I think the book would have been much better as just a story, not an attempt at politically bashing the other side of the debate. I liked the story itself, and thought that the characters were fairly well-developed. There were so many story lines that were left unfinished or unexplained, but I suppose that was the purpose. Everything about cloning is a mystery.

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In which there is time travel via cloning, basically. This starts out slow; I didn’t really get into it until Mary is (re)born. Then Lucy, Mary’s granddaughter whose biogenetics research has given her life, is moved more into the background—a relief, as she’s a rather unsympathetic character. Also, Grey, Lucy’s long-suffering boyfriend, finally comes alive. I loved Grey and Mary’s complex interactions, and while the novel’s final “twist” is—intentionally?—telegraphed from the very beginning, I enjoyed how the story played out.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This modern day version of Frankenstein was a page-turner- the concept of bringing one's own grandmother back into a future that completely bewilders her was well-written. Ultimately I found the book possibly a bit wordier than it needed to be but still interesting.I felt I got to know the character of Gray, Lucy's boyfriend and Mary, her grandmother better than I did Lucy, herself. Her motivations were not entirely clear unless it was just a compulsion to see if she could actually clone someone...

[Bobbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the concept of this book - cloning a dead relative, but I think I would have written it differently. It needed more motive, characterization, and better dialog. I knew that the story would come full circle somehow, so the ending wasn't that much of a surprise. I did feel that it needed more of a climax though. I think what I enjoyed the most about the book was the setting, an old, decrepit house with dusty relics of past generations and secret passageways.

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very strange and interesting book. Quite different from some of the other choices of our bookclub, this novel had a lot of creepy ideas, like cloning your grandmother and dealing with her as a young woman. I thought the writing was sometime over the top, and she used the novel as a vehicle for spouting her political views, which sometimes got in the way of the narrative. Somebody didn't do a good job in editing this, but all in all, a very different story.

[Shayla Perreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent retelling of Frankenstein with a modern twist which is centred on ethics and cloning. For a literary work it was refreshing to find a focus on plot and despite being a retelling, there were many surprising twists and turns. The characters were well developed and complex. I loved Mary. The setting too was spot on alternating between charm and creepiness. With Halloween coming up, this is the perfect read you've been looking for!

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Mary Modern, particularly the house, which reminded me of Little, Big where the house itself is a character.

[MaryAlice · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise for Mary Modern intrigued me ~ a women reborn in a different time. Author, Camille DeAngelis, takes her own sweet time getting to the part where Mary is reborn.

The novel starts with Lucy taking a guy on a tour of her house, alluding to how the pair met. I am not one for reading long descriptions of houses and surroundings in books. I do not need to know minute descriptions of highboy carvings. Nor how a former owner came to purchase it. What do those things have to do with Mary being reborn into a modern life.

I skipped over many chapters, missing Mary's rebirth. The long, long chapters about modern Mary were more interesting, but often confusing. Why is she wearing month ball smelling roaring twenty clothes; why go to a vintage clothing shop, rather than getting her modern clothes?

Mary is reading a book about life in the twenty-first-century. It was confusing; turn a page and without warning there is a chapter from the book. Also, in between chapters there are lists of what looked to be gibberish. Hard to tell on a Kindle, not sure how to enlarge the lists.

This should have been a fun read; it was tedious.

[Kim Fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this unusual book because I was interested in the author's agent; as I began reading, the story drew me in without my realizing it. The telling is sporadic, jumping forward (and sometimes backward) in time in an uneven way - but I really liked that. And I liked how DeAngelis omitted just as much as she included in the story of Lucy Morrigan, a genetic researcher, who commits an ethically questionable act: She clones her own grandmother. Lucy is a cold character, and there are times when it's hard to stick with her, but there are reasons for this. It's hard to say more without giving the twists and turns away. And while twists and turns may make it sound as if this book is a page-turner, it's not. It's a story that unspools slowly. It's a story that requires patience and attention. Again, these are all elements I like in a novel.

[Cititoare Calatoare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un roman science fiction cu clone dar si o poveste de dragoste.
Lucy, folosind o picatura de sange de pe o batista gasita in podul casei, reuseste s-o cloneze pe bunica ei Mary. Dar in loc sa obtina un copil, Lucy aduce la viata o Mary de 22 de ani. Aceasta se trezeste intr-un fel de deja-vu: intr-o casa care nu mai este a ei, inconjurata de obiecte care i-au apartinut intr-o viata pe care deja a trait-o, dar pe care nu si-o mai aminteste. Insa cea mai vie amintire este cea a sotului sau Teddy.

[Jennifer Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange book, but a deeply interesting and compelling one. A meditation on memory, self-hood, family history, and science. In Lucy we get one of the few female characters I've seen who get to join the company of mad-scientists from Victor Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll, un-apologetically pursuing her goals, and having no need for us to like her. I suspect I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Tasula · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unsentimental but heartfelt and wrenching novel about human cloning and the impact on one family and friends. Characters are well drawn (warts and all). One of the main characters, Lucy Morrigan, a geneticist, is single mindedly driven to clone a baby, because she can't have one the normal way. But the plan goes wrong and sucks into the vortex not only her, but also her employer (a friend of her late father), her student tenants, and her boyfriend.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another "random" find from the library's audiobook catalogue. It started off well, with great descriptions and an intriguing plot. I was along for the ride for about the first half of the book, and then started getting confused by all of the time jumping. I enjoyed Gray and Mary's friendship, but found Lucy fairly tedious to endure. By the end, I could see the twist and turns coming from a mile away and so wasn't particularly surprised and pretty ready for the book to end.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankenstein for the 21st century. A few things that jarred - why tell us Lucy drank fair trade coffee EVERY time she had a cup? Mary was outraged that Lucy and Gray were living together but that he was black didn't even merit a mention?

[Christine Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book years ago and it still lingers. I wonder if it qualifies as science fiction? Or something else. I didn’t read the reviews so the read was even more enjoyable not knowing what to expect. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Lynette Lark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story about cloning human beings and the interference of the church.

Even though this book was written in 2007, the author seemed to write about the "Trump Effect" in asides she wrote in the story. It was uncanny.

[Donna Gambino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. I should have read it in October for Halloween. It made me think of Frankenstein. Makes you think about cloning though.

[Joan Horkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting. Suspenseful. I really enjoyed it.