The Y Chromosome

Kelly L. Green is a free-lance writer living in Ajax, Ontario.

This book represents the quality of fiction we see all too seldom:
innovative, thought-provoking, and so mellifluous that one is tempted to
call it poetry. Like much great fiction, it is difficult to categorize,
being at once science fiction, feminist literature, and a novel of
relationships and manners.

The story is set on a future Earth populated almost entirely by women.
For several hundred years, ever since the mysterious decimation of the
male population by disease and environmentally impaired immune systems,
the human race has reproduced using technology that enables two female
ova to couple and create a new female zygote. The resulting woman-based
civilization is complex and varied. While government is conducted by
consensus, and the environment is protected, the relationships between
the women are not perfect.

Meanwhile, a few males have miraculously survived and are hidden away
on farms, where they are protected and allowed to live very
circumscribed lives. The novel’s tension revolves around one male’s
decision to leave the farm and pursue an education. To do so, he
pretends to be a woman, but a young university professor discovers him.
The conception of a child between them presents problems of ethics and
security for almost every character in the novel.

Beautifully developed, the novel is completely believable and very
moving. It is a companion to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale,
and should become a classic of feminist literature. Gom deserves
recognition for this fine novel.