Feminist speculative fiction with a twist of dry British humor. In the title novella, "The TRAVAILS of Jane Saint," an everywoman (or is she, with a last name like Saint?) goes on a great journey to save her daughters and womankind itself from a terrible fate; along the way she is variously aided and hindered by, among others, Simone de Beauvoir, Joan of Arc and a dog named Merleau-Ponty.
In "Gordon's Women," a man living in a world of obedient female automatons gets a nasty surprise.
"The Message" uses an old working-class woman's return from hospital to examine a lifetime's regrets, losses, comforts, and the weight of chances not taken.
"Heads Africa, Tails America" is a postmodern and surreal examination of clinical depression as a woman called Josephine ruminates on the pros and cons of travel, domestic chores, and having the phone disconnected for purposes of hibernation.
Finally, in "The Pollyanna Enzyme," the heralded end of the world prompts everyone to have one last good time.
In "Gordon's Women," a man living in a world of obedient female automatons gets a nasty surprise.
"The Message" uses an old working-class woman's return from hospital to examine a lifetime's regrets, losses, comforts, and the weight of chances not taken.
"Heads Africa, Tails America" is a postmodern and surreal examination of clinical depression as a woman called Josephine ruminates on the pros and cons of travel, domestic chores, and having the phone disconnected for purposes of hibernation.
Finally, in "The Pollyanna Enzyme," the heralded end of the world prompts everyone to have one last good time.
