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Rating:  - The Diary of Connie
This particular book written by Marge Piercy was definetely worth reading. The book starts off with a Womn by the name of Connie. She is not your average woman, she is considered to be a minority, and has faced several bad times within her life. She also has a niece, by the name of Dolly, who has a job as a prostitute and works for a pimp by the name of Geraldo. One night Dolly got into a fight with her pimp and ended up dragging Connie into the whole ordeal. Geraldo decided to send Connie to a mental Hospital, but Connie wasn't particularly willing. I'm not really sure, but at this point in the story it's all a guess as to whether or not Connie actually crazy or not.
There's another part to this book it's about a woman named Luciente. Connie sincerely believes that Luciente is trying to contact her from the future. Connie ends up interacting with Luciente, and the two of them share the pleasure of visiting each others worlds. After being on the edge of your seat throughout the entire novel, it ends up being that Connie is faced with a very serious decision and she may have to live with for the rest of her life. I'm sure you're wondering what the big decision was, but you'll have to read the book in order to find out.
Rating: - The edge of my seat!
Marge Piercy has written a great novel. The book is about a woman named Connie. She is a minority leaving in America and she faced a lot of hardship growing up. The world she lives in now does not respect and hardly ever notices her. She has a niece, who is a prostitute, by the name of Dolly. Dolly gets Connie involved with her pimp and a fight breaks out. The pimp sends Connie to a mental hospital against her will. This is where the story gets interesting. Connie may or may not actually be crazy. She believes that someone named Luciente, is traveling from the future to speak to her. The story goes about with Connie and Luciente exploring each other worlds. Connie can barely fathom all the simplistic ways of the so-called future. The book ends with a difficult decision that Connie has to make and live with for the rest of her life. This book is a very good read. It does start off to slow but once you get to the more meatier part, you want be able to put the book down.
Rating: - Feminism at its best. Even Men wont be dissapointed.
Woman on the edge of time was a very interesting read to me. It was my first read in the genre of the "future world" and ecotopian societies. You can tell the book was written by a feminist and a "rosy the riveter" type of lady. In this book women are equals and everyone raises babies and does similar tasks. If you are a feminist and believe in equal rights then this is definitely a book for you. Although a lot of the ideas I did not agree with, I did find the book to be inspiring and a unique view of life in the future. If you are into ecotopian views and ways of life (if you like 1985, any Ernest Callenbach's books etc.) then you will find this book as a different view of what the future may be like. If you have enough spare time to read a decent book then definitely read this book. Although it starts off slow I promise as you read on you will not want to put this book down.
Rating:  - Woman On the Edge
Marge Piercy a great writer is responsible for the futuristic science fiction thriller Woman on the edge of time. Which is a story centered around a poor woman living off welfare, and labeled insane by the society she lives in. Connie Ramos the main character in the book has led a troubled life. Out of the few family she has left, her nice is the only one she is close to. However her niece turned on her. Connie tried to save her niece Dolly from her pimp/boyfriend Geraldo. Connie broke Geraldo's nose before Geraldo and his friend beat her up and took her to Belleview hospital claming that Connie attacked dolly and himself and that she was crazy. Dolly was too frightened of Geraldo to tell the truth and no one in the hospital would listen to Connie because this was infact her second time being in an institution.
While in the institution Connie came into contact with a person named Luciente. It turned out that luciente was infact a time traveler from the year 2137, and had chosen to make contact with Connie Ramos. Through out that main part of the book Connie travels to the future and discovers a world of dreams. In the world all people are treated equal as is the earth. There is no social standing based of race, wealth or gender. In this world Mankind is not ruled by machines because the people rarely ever use them. In this world both men and women take on the mother by taking care of and raising their children to be their selves. The people in this world live in three person households and identify themselves as per instead of she or him.
However as Connie soon discovers that the world she has been traveling to is but one of many possible futures. She travels to one to discover an almost opposite world of the one she traveled to with luciente. In this world few rule the many and live long at the expense of the very poor. The people in this world are slaves to the machines they use for they surly cannot live with out them. Connie is discussed by this world. Soon she finds out that it is up to her and her actions to choose what future humanity will live in. She must do something very bad for the good of all. At the end of the book Marge Piercy leaves the reader with a question. Did this really happen to Connie?
Rating: - Woman on The Edge of Time----Excellent Novel
Woman on the Edge of Time is a great novel. Marge Piercy developed the book so uniquely with her writing skills it keeps you in suspense at all times. Marge Piercy did an excellent job creating this type of utopia literature. Her ability to use such wonderful language in this novel makes even more interesting. It tells about a Hispanic woman named Connie (Consuela) who has had a tough life. From being abused by her brother and husbands. She struggles through life to be better than her mother. She wanted to go to college and make something of herself which she did attend a junior college. But the life she was accustomed to and everything she did not want to be soon crept up to her. Her 1st husband left her, the 2nd one killed, and her last lover dead after being used like a guinea pig. Now she is alone with a child longing for Claud her lover.
She eventually turns to the abuse and lost her child after mistreating the girl. Through all of the rough times Connie went through she was sent to a mental hospital and returned home. After an argument between Connie's niece Dolly and her business partner (Geraldo) Connie was forced to protect her niece by whacking him across the head and there was her freedom gone again back to the mental ward. With everyone turning there backs on her Connie begins to interact with a person name Luciente. This is no ordinary character. Luciente is a person from the future. With this contact with the future Connie gains strength, courage, and a better outlook on life. Although she longs to be with her child Connie manages to press on despite her current circumstances.
I believe the big question in this book is can she time travel or is she as crazy as everyone thinks she is? I believe that question can be easily answered because Luciente knew so much about our world that I just don't believe Connie at that time had the knowledge about to make up in her head. Connie gets no help from her family to remove her from this mental hospital even with pleading desperately. Connie tries everything possible to leave. After faking a fight with a friend Connie escaped and with two whole days of freedom, Connie once again returned to the asylum after being caught in the bus station. With Connie failed attempt to escape she was rewarded surgery, a surgery that would implant electrodes in her brain. This was the doctors' way of supposedly controlling their mental patients.
Connie's ability to time travel and learning so much from Luciente's world they helped her learn how to make herself unconscious. Connie made herself go unconscious and would visit Luciente's making the doctors think that the electrodes caused her to become unconscious. Connie had reached her wits end when they removed the electrodes and was going to perform another surgery that would require them to remove a part of her brain. Connie planned out a unique killing for the six doctors. In my opinion she was just saving her last bit of sanity, saving who she was, saving others from being violated by doctors who thinks they know was best for all, and most of all saving the future. I believe Connie gave them a dose of their own medicine. Although Connie lost contact with the futuristic world I believe it is only due to Connie killing the doctors. It was crime that in Luciente's world she would be punished by not having contact with their village.
Marge Piercy did a marvelous job creating Luciente's world. A world where sexes did not matter, sexual preference did not matter, and everyone shared a common goal. Saving Humanity! Although this book was written in the 1970's I could not tell it relates so well to today's society. It makes you wonder will I world become so technological that we will have no food and we eat ham flavored algae or will I society take control over technology and limit how far it can go. Will the old saying, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." become reality? Will everyone take part in daily activities of a city, town, and village? This book really makes you think about how our world is progressing. This novel deserves five stars because it is a wonderful novel that everyone should read.
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