Journal Entry 1 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Saturday, August 09, 2008

"Lucy Morrigan, a young genetic researcher, lives with her boyfriend, Gray, and a strange 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 blood stained 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 house 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." 

Journal Entry 2 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Monday, August 11, 2008

This was a wonderful book about humanity and the role of memory. I liked the ethical dilemmas Lucy and Gray go through as well as the struggle Mary has in adjusting to a world 80 years in the future. 

Journal Entry 3 by krin511 at Monthly Exchange, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases on Monday, August 11, 2008

Released 3 yrs ago (8/9/2008 UTC) at Monthly Exchange, BookObsessed Swap -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to msjoanna as a "Ballyswapper" book! 

Journal Entry 4 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Thursday, August 21, 2008

Hooray! Thanks for sharing this one! Looking forward to it. 

Journal Entry 5 by msjoanna at Columbia, Missouri USA on Monday, April 18, 2011

I ended up listening to an audio version of this that I checked out from my local library. I had planned to send this hard copy to someone at Book Obsessed, but I can't seem to lay my hands on it. I'll keep looking...

The book was a lovely examination of a pseudo-scientific idea of cloning. When Lucy discovers that she can't get pregnant, she decides to try cloning her grandmother using DNA retrieved from dried blood on an apron. Instead of a baby, Lucy gets a fully-grown woman, complete with the memories of the 29 year old self who cut her finger.

While none of the characters were particularly sympathetic, the story remained enjoyable and made an effort to walk the line of plot-driven story with examinations of the role of memory and the definition of self. The book could have been better, but I still found it worthwhile. 

Journal Entry 6 by msjoanna at At Wild Release in Columbia, Missouri USA on Friday, June 03, 2011

Released 11 mos ago (6/3/2011 UTC) at At Wild Release in Columbia, Missouri USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I seem to have misplaced my hard copy of this book. I'm not sure if I left it out somewhere or even if it was left in Columbia or elsewhere. Perhaps it will turn up in a finder's hands...

Meanwhile, I bought a replacement copy of this one and passed it on:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/9925634.