My Mistress, Humanity

by Chuck Rosenthal

Not far in the future, catastrophic weather events have crippled the technological infrastructure of the world and humankind is on the verge of total annihilation. One man knows the secret and only one young woman can save the planet. From Chuck Rosenthal comes an apocalyptic vision of the future in My Mistress, Humanity.

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Chuck Rosenthal, also known as C.P. Rosenthal, is an American novelist, short story writer, and memoirist whose work spans several decades and genres. Since the 1980s, he has authored a rich body of literary fiction, blending philosophical inquiry with imaginative storytelling. A longtime Professor of English at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Rosenthal is also known for his collaborative work with his wife, the poet Gail Wronsky.
Rosenthal’s bibliography includes the acclaimed Loop Trilogy—Loop’s Progress, Experiments in Life and Deaf, and Loop’s End—as well as a wide range of other novels such as Elena of the Stars, inspired by his daughter Marlena Rosenthal, Jack Kerouac’s Avatar Angel: His Last Novel, and The Heart of Mars. His fiction often explores themes of identity, language, and transcendence, sometimes drawing on iconic literary or mythological figures, as seen in You Can Fly: A Sequel to the Peter Pan Tales and The Legend of La Diosa.
In nonfiction, Rosenthal's memoir Never Let Me Go reflects on personal and familial relationships, while West of Eden and Are We Not There Yet? chronicle life in Los Angeles and travels through South Asia, respectively. His literary voice is both cerebral and playful, deeply philosophical yet grounded in the human experience.
Chuck Rosenthal’s body of work also includes The Shortest Farewells Are the Best, a noir flash fiction collection co-authored with Wronsky, and the speculative Tomorrow You’ll Be One of Us: Sci Fi Poems, further demonstrating his versatility and genre-crossing instincts.
A vibrant voice in contemporary American literature, Rosenthal is as dedicated to teaching and literary exploration as he is to writing, continuing to shape readers and writers alike with his thoughtful, inventive prose.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. We have a mad scientist chasing his monster across the ice after losing his family to her. We have her desire for him to conjure a mate for her and the scientists refusal to do so as he fears it will bring about the destruction of the human race. We have the confidant in which the scientist relates his story before his death in madness. We have the monster weeping over the death of her creator, her father and her hated enemy (all the same person).

However, there are two twists. The first is Lisa, a young girl barely into her teens who confronts the Dragon (named Humanity). And through her eyes, we see what becomes of the monster after her creator's death. Rather than leave it open-ended as Shelley did, this story has somewhat of a happy ending.

Of course, as this is written by Chuck Rosenthal, it is full of philosiphical symbolism and deep looks into it's characters pysches. The monster itself was conjured out of the scientist's mind.

I had the pleasure of meeting the author just after he published Loop's End and the advice he gave me on my own writing has stuck with me all these years. So I may be a little biased in my review. I love the man for his writing and have devoured his books over the years. Rosenthal does delve a bit heavily into philosiphy in his writings, but not in an obtrusive way and his stories do not suffer for it. He is a master storyteller and, in my opinion, far too un-prolific. I hope to read much much more of his work in the years to come.

[Zefyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really remember anything about this book now, but here's what I wrote back when I read it:

a decent book, but i think the story could have handled being taken on by a different author---perhaps one not quite so in love with their mind or their words. all too often it turns from a potentially interesting story to a convoluted mess of rosenthal's philosophies about the world, and while characters had different-ish voices at the start, by the end everyone spoke as one---and unfortunately that one is flowery, clichéd, and drivelly more often than not. what drew me in to this book initially was the explanations of dragons; these were definitely fun and the philosophical ramblings do sometimes bear fruit, but the rest of the book tended to leave plenty to be desired. it's an average read with some very interesting ideas thrown in.