The Silver Metal Lover
by Tanith Lee
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Book Summary Information
Author: Tanith LeeEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-05-04
ISBN: 0553581279
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Spectra
Book Reviews of The Silver Metal Lover
Book Review: A true work of art!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was more like a work of art than just a mere book...although not as perfectly, flawlessly rendered as a Da Vinci, it was at least as interesting and thought provoking as a Picasso. At times its lines were a little blurred and not entirely pretty, but it was so powerful and compelling and confronting, I just couldn't look away. I was drawn into it, and when I reached the end of the book, I had to admit that it was a masterpiece, and one ahead of its time for that matter.
I don't know what I can say about this book that hasn't already been said by the other reviewers, but I'll try. It's amazing, it's brilliant, it's ultra-realistic (you'll swear the world that Jane and Silver inhabit really exists), it's a heart-wrenching love story, it's an insightful commentary on life and personal relationships, and at the end of it, unless you have a heart of stone, you'll have used up a box of tissues crying and feel like a changed person. There's not many books that make me FEEL the way this one did...it even affected my sleep the night after I read it. I just couldn't get it out of my head. Some books simply entertain. But this one got under my skin and stayed there.
To the author's credit, this book hasn't dated in the quarter of a century since it was written, but still feels fresh and contemporary, as if it were written quite recently. It's a timeless story, and in this case, that's not just a cliche. At the time this book was written, modern gadgets like computers and ATMs were just coming on the scene and a lot of people were worried that machines would take over the jobs and even the lives of people. This book reflects what was a real fear at that time, and perhaps still is today, what with the current trend towards large-scale industrial automation and voice-recognition phone systems et al. It's an ongoing dilemma...can machines really replace people? And as this book asks, can they replace people even in our hearts? I've seen people who are so in love with their computers and the internet that they no longer seem to live in the real world or communicate with real people, so maybe the character of Jane in this book, who falls in love with a robot, isn't such an anomaly after all.
This is the first Tanith Lee book I've read, but I nonetheless have a feeling that this is the beginning of a great love affair between myself and her books...
Summary of The Silver Metal Lover
Love is made of more than mere flesh and blood....Tanith Lee is one of the most thought-provoking and imaginative authors of our time. In this unforgettably poignant novel, Lee has created a classic tale--a beautiful, tragic, erotic, and ultimately triumphant love story of the future.
For sixteen-year-old Jane, life is a mystery she despairs of ever mastering. She and her friends are the idle, pampered children of the privileged class, living in luxury on an Earth remade by natural disaster. Until Jane's life is changed forever by a chance encounter with a robot minstrel with auburn hair and silver skin, whose songs ignite in her a desperate and inexplicable passion.
Jane is certain that Silver is more than just a machine built to please. And she will give up everything to prove it. So she escapes into the city's violent, decaying slums to embrace a love bordering on madness. Or is it something more? Has Jane glimpsed in Silver something no one else has dared to see--not even the robot or his creators? A love so perfect it must be destroyed, for no human could ever compete?
The Silver Metal Lover is a classic tale of transforming love. It's a keeper, a book that gets reread 'til it falls apart. Fans petitioned to get it reprinted, and after 10 years of waiting, here it is. Oddly, the book is seldom mentioned when Tanith Lee's work is discussed, perhaps because Lee's usual milieu is horror, and The Silver Metal Lover is a poignant romance requiring at least two hankies before the end.
Robots have replaced human labor on earth, causing massive unemployment in a world devastated by pollution and natural disasters. Then Electronic Metals releases a new line: performing artists and sexual companions designed to entertain human partners. Jane, a rich, lonely, and insecure 16-year-old, meets one, the minstrel Silver, and falls passionately in love, despite revulsion at the idea of preferring a mechanical man to a human. She gives up everything she has known for him, and discovers herself. Silver becomes more and more "human" in loving her--a clever illusion created by his programming. Or is it? This unstable society can't afford any evidence that some robots might be indistinguishable from humans. Tragedy is inevitable. Read it and weep--and don't forget to put it on the keeper shelf. --Nona Vero
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