Look, we knew cloning was messed up after Dolly the Sheep, didn’t we? Okay just kidding, humans never learn, and we’re probably going to do some really messed up stuff like this someday. That’s the thing- The Echo Wife is too eerily plausible. Because yes, humanity will be tempted enough to clone people, and yes, eventually it will be used for evil instead of good. I mean, you’ve met us, right?
And here, we see a startling example of how that day may come to be. Evelyn is smart as they come, considering she’s the person who perfected cloning. But her personal life is kind of in shambles. She’s mid-divorce, and her husband left her for her own clone. Talk about a messy situation. She has no friends, no relationship with her family, and I found her life kind of depressing, despite her professional success. She’s quite cold, but it makes sense given the context of her life thus far.
Enter a pregnant (even though whoopsie, clones are not supposed to be able to reproduce) Martine, who has a real problem on her hands, and doesn’t know who to turn to except Evelyn. Evelyn isn’t exactly tickled at the idea of helping her clone/ex-husband’s mistress, but she feels a sense of duty to Martine. And so, the women enter an unlikely partnership, and learn a lot about themselves in the process.
I loved the commentary about how women in general are treated. Clearly, Nathan was The Worst™. If you want out of a marriage, cool. Making a clone from your ex-wife, only more obedient and less independent? Disgusting. And throughout the divorce, Evelyn bore the responsibility of keeping up appearances, of not speaking ill about Nathan, etc. Because she feared the societal and professional repercussions. And you know what? She’s right. Society looks down on divorced women in a way it does not men. Like Nathan leaving Evelyn for her pregnant clone was somehow Evelyn’s failure, something lacking in her. And while I don’t want to give too much away, you’ll see this concept play out throughout the story, quite brilliantly.
Bottom Line: It’s part mystery, part sci-fi, and wholly thought-provoking.
And here, we see a startling example of how that day may come to be. Evelyn is smart as they come, considering she’s the person who perfected cloning. But her personal life is kind of in shambles. She’s mid-divorce, and her husband left her for her own clone. Talk about a messy situation. She has no friends, no relationship with her family, and I found her life kind of depressing, despite her professional success. She’s quite cold, but it makes sense given the context of her life thus far.
Enter a pregnant (even though whoopsie, clones are not supposed to be able to reproduce) Martine, who has a real problem on her hands, and doesn’t know who to turn to except Evelyn. Evelyn isn’t exactly tickled at the idea of helping her clone/ex-husband’s mistress, but she feels a sense of duty to Martine. And so, the women enter an unlikely partnership, and learn a lot about themselves in the process.
I loved the commentary about how women in general are treated. Clearly, Nathan was The Worst™. If you want out of a marriage, cool. Making a clone from your ex-wife, only more obedient and less independent? Disgusting. And throughout the divorce, Evelyn bore the responsibility of keeping up appearances, of not speaking ill about Nathan, etc. Because she feared the societal and professional repercussions. And you know what? She’s right. Society looks down on divorced women in a way it does not men. Like Nathan leaving Evelyn for her pregnant clone was somehow Evelyn’s failure, something lacking in her. And while I don’t want to give too much away, you’ll see this concept play out throughout the story, quite brilliantly.
Bottom Line: It’s part mystery, part sci-fi, and wholly thought-provoking.