The Possibility of an Island

Two timelines alternate. In our own era, Daniel1 is a cruel, cynical stand-up comic known for provocative sketches about touchy subjects. Now in middle age, living on pastis and tranquillizers, he watches his body and his desirability fade, and he loves two women in turn: clever Isabelle, then Esther, a much younger woman who embodies sex. Through him, readers watch a cult called the Elohim rise, offering its members eternal life: when they grow old they leave their DNA and their life story so that a copy can be made. Some two thousand years later, Daniel24 and Daniel25, his remote clones, live isolated, emotionless lives and read and annotate the account Daniel1 left behind. Ageing, desire and the hope of escaping death are its central concerns.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

485 pages in the original

Genres

Speculative, Satire (assigned by AI)

First published

2005 by Fayard

Author's age

49 when first published

ISBN

9782213625478 (original)

9780297851004 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, United Kingdom)

9780307263490 (Alfred A. Knopf, United States)

9780307275219 (Vintage, United States)

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Wikidata