"Theory of Bastards" by Audrey Schulman (BR)

[Silvana]

Roll call!

I am now too lazy to search the recruitment threads to find out who agreed to BR this with me but I am pretty sure there are some! ;p

So, yeah, make yourselves known please, thank you ;p

PS: Gosh this book has an awful romance-novel-vibey cover.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Such a bad cover lol

I'm gonna try to join!

[Cheryl]

I'll try. Only one of my libraries has it, so I'm not sure when it'll come in. And I'm not sure I'll like it. But thanks for the heads-up so I can at least place my request!

[E.D.]

I can't remember whether I signed up the first time round (I'm losing track) but I'll give it a go.

[Silvana]

Yay more buddies

[Rachel]

S- The cover is stupid don’t trust it. It’s not super relevant and certainly not of any main characters - never fear!

[Rachel]

I read it last year but it seems like I’m enthusiastic enough to join in discussions!

[Anna]

Rachel wrote: "The cover is stupid don’t trust it. It’s not super relevant and certainly not of any main characters - never fear!"

I don't completely agree, but saying anything more than that would be venturing into spoiler territory. I do agree that the cover is stupid! :D

[Joelle.P.S]

My IRL bookclub will discuss this later in the year, so I'll bookmark this thread & may come back & necropost ;-)

[Rachel]

A- yes my full cover thoughts are a bit more nuanced BUT! Not a romance 😄

[Christopher]

I also loved this one and curious to see what others think...

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Hmm. Three chapters in. The science is cool but I needed to switch to audio because the grammar was driving me up a figurative wall. Little uncomfortable with the term "Bindi," too, as proposed by a white woman who does not, to my knowledge, practice Hinduism or Jainism.

[Silvana]

Starting today. I liked that the MC was kind of a curmudgeon.

Three chapters in too, I was confused on why the author (view spoiler)[used - twice already - the term gender when she described sex. Gender is not a biological trait. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Allison wrote: "Hmm. Three chapters in. The science is cool but I needed to switch to audio because the grammar was driving me up a figurative wall. Little uncomfortable with the term "Bindi," too, as proposed by ..."

I was thinking about that and remembered about Steve Irwin's daughter and found that Bindi as a name means butterfly, taken from Aboriginal Australian language. Maybe the author was referring to that definition?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

It...could be, Silvana! She does like animals, maybe she isn't thinking of the marking on the forehead but the Irwins :) A very generous reading!

[Silvana]

I am in chapter 12 now. Learned soooo much about bonobos, the so-called hippies of the primate world.

I liked the more sedate pace of the book - it made me more focused. As you said Allison, the fact that it's so clinical was good. Being inside the head of Frankie was fascinating.

(view spoiler)[I appreciate the backstory of Frankie. I was misdiagnosed with endometriosis when I was in my early 20s and I remember being scared during my research on that topic.

Her a-ha moment at college was interesting. I wonder how the people with disabilities think about this.

I found myself slightly disagreeing with the notion that sexual attraction is based only on the desire to produce offspring. What about all the non-heterosexual orientations? (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Where are my buddies? :(

I am halfway now, chapter 23. Wow, this book was crazy. In a good, clinical way. I just found out the reason behind the title.

I also love its take on the topic of pain.

Gosh, I hope the ending does not suck since I am enjoying this so much.

Reading this book, also, sometimes it reminds me of a very well-written biography of a scientist.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Yes! Agreed, I thought it was a very different (for genre fiction) approach to the story. I really liked spending time with the researchers and was over the moon with how the author incorporated endo into this story.

[Silvana]

Finished.
I give it 4 stars since I would prefer a better ending. the first 2/3 of the book is more enjoyable.
(view spoiler)[I am not a fan of apocalyptic survival story. I wished the setting was only at the Foundation, there are still more opportunities for tensions and conflicts there, also with the research stuff. Was the result only limited to that females go for Sweetie-like males?

Also, I am not a fan of a hardship-becomes-love stuff. It is still too Hollywood/tropey. (hide spoiler)]

[Joelle.P.S]

Joelle.P.S wrote: "My IRL bookclub will discuss this later in the year, so I'll bookmark this thread & may come back & necropost ;-)"

I'm back to necropost!

My IRL[zoom] bookclub will discuss this tomorrow, so I started it last week at 10% per day. But yesterday I read the final 30% because What'sHappening??? :-)

OMG I think I'll start my review with IGNORE THE COVER, lol. Initially I actively avoided this book because of that cover. Until bookclub deadline loomed.

I found the book quite captivating! Not perfect, but very engaging. Very intriguing how the character's endo was woven in & drove her research throughout her life. Didn't love the ending, but it worked? (I did not expect (view spoiler)[Id [the baby bonobo] (hide spoiler)] to survive!)

I look forward to my bookclub's thoughts tomorrow!

[Silvana]

Glad you enjoyed it, Joelle! It made me also want to read more about these bonobos.