A review by theroastedbookery
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 
So, let me begin by saying this is an incredible book. The structure of the story, the pacing, the incredibly intriguing characters...all of it was perfectly executed. Again, much like Aetherbound, the science fiction inherent to the story wasn't the focus of the story and its complexity didn't get in the way of the storytelling. It was simply a means to an end. The science in the story was a tool the author used to explore some incredibly heavy themes.

Speaking of themes...At the heart of this story, is our main character Dr. Evelyn Caldwell. I hesitate to call her "protagonist," but you'll have to RAFO to find out why.  She is an incredibly successful scientist thriving in a world still dominated by misogynistic men. She grapples with the ideas of identity, personhood, gender conformity/non-conformity and personal agency throughout the novel. The questions of consciousness and  nature/nurture, and how trauma informs our lives are central to the story. We're also forced to confront the questions around biases as it relates to scientific advancement. How much of what we take as the natural progression of scientific achievement is tainted by bias and what might the future look like if we confront that bias head on?

**At this point, I feel as though I should offer up a trigger warning. One of the themes with which the characters grapple is grooming. If grooming is something that engenders a negative response for you then please go into this story with your eyes wide open. In terms of the plot, the antagonist's (Evelyn's former husband, its not even close) achieves his primary goal  through grooming. It doesn't go away and the repercussions of his actions are felt in every page of every chapter.**

Her training and habits as a scientist gives her an insight and perspective with which I identified. There were several times throughout the story where I paused and thought, "Well, I do that, too. Should I stop?" Her propensity for self-evaluation and asking herself hard questions is familiar though her refrain, "I'm not a monster," feels more like self-soothing as opposed to the truthful answer to one of those hard questions. Dr. Caldwell judges these things by matters of degrees, and it is deliciously difficult to tell where she might actually draw the line. It is also difficult to tell how her world would be effected if she came to the conclusion that she was, in fact, the monster.

She's seen how monsters are managed.

Grab your copy of The Echo Wife from The Roasted Bookery here or (because we're nearly sold out...again!) from our Bookshop site, here.
 
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