The Philosopher’s Apprentice by James Morrow
I was very much looking forward to reading this book when I unpacked it last April. But I know that James Morrow was going to make me stop and think, and that I would need some serious time to read this book and evaluate it fairly. So even though this isn’t really a new release anymore, ask your favourite bookseller. They probably still have a few copies hanging around.
Mason Ambrose is a student of philosophy, his qualification is Ph D (ABD) (all but dissertation). This book opens as Mason is preparing for his oral examination in support of his Ph D dissertation on Ethics from the Earth, a new development of Darwinist philosophy. Unfortunately one of the examiners takes a personal dislike and the interview is a disaster. Immediately after this failure, Mason receives a job offer. Please fly to an island in the Florida Keys in order to offer private tuition in ethics to a young adolescent recovering from injury. Accepting this offer consumes Mason’s life from then on.
This is a book that defies a genre tag. It is science fiction, complete with mad scientists, secret laboratories and human experimentation. It is an adventure novel filled with murder, deception and escape. It is a morality tale that examines closely the social issues of abortion and social justice with a keen and critical eye. And it is also a love story about a man who truly dedicates his life to the woman he knows best. Admittedly that is the best thing about scifi. All that can be done by a master of the genre.
And I was right about needing time to think as you read this book. Be warned this is not a beach read, when you want to simply turn the brain into neutral and let the book entertain. Your values as a human will be questioned, your prejudices will be exposed. Be prepared.
