The Cloning of Joanna May

I first read 'The Cloning of Joanna May' over a decade ago, and often find myself revisiting it. Despite many people's criticisms with the book when it first came out - I found it to be an interesting piece on expectations regarding women's identity. Some of the themes are dated (i.e., women's role regarding child-rearing, careers, and age) but there is still a biting edge to the book that resonates. A criticism is that many of the characters are unlikable - but I think that is Weldon's point. Weldon was showing how arbitrary choices can sometimes drastically alter a life - a point proven in the very distinct pathways each of the clones' life took. It was a clever way to explore how identity may not be always pre-determined - but at times can be shaped by happenstance. A good read if you are looking for something that is brief and slightly frothy.

I was surprised by the review below, granting this overlooked masterpiece one star. The characters within the book are brilliantly drawn and startlingly humanistic, and the story unfolds at a gentle but engaging pace. Here we have dazzling insights into the very essence of what makes a person a person (or as Weldon refers to it, the 'I') but there is nothing patronising or overloaded about her conclusions. Rather, the irony of the book is wonderfully funny, with some real laugh out loud moments...all cunningly disguised within insights of amazing originality. I have never read a book like this before. Her prose is to be admired. The differing threads of the clone's lives are a pastiche, a carefully woven tapestry of how one person, one being, given seperate choices (or having those choices predetermined), could be so different from their blueprint. This is illustrated with the use of Tarot within the story, and its interesting asides into the very science of prediction. The central tenet the book proposes is this: if there were four younger 'yous' with radically different circumstances and predicaments, would their basic individuality unite or destroy them? A fascinating look into cloning, but instead of scientific mumbo jumbo, the subject is presented with humour, verve and grace, all wrapped neatly inside an intriguing fiction story. The Times were right to call this book 'a triumph of complex entertainment' upon its release, and I for one, will definately read more of Weldon's work.

A very engaging story which gives insight into what it is to be a woman desired, and what happens when desire is perverted. A refracted life seen through the clones of one woman, this is a novel worth reading and re-reading.