Half Known Lives

Lynne Perras teaches communication arts at the University of Calgary.

Based on the startling premise that a man is able to become pregnant and
bear a child, Half Known Lives is a compelling story that explores
feminism, friendship, love, sexuality, and motherhood.

Lucy, a single English professor at a prairie university, is the
narrator. She recounts her early years spent establishing herself in her
new job and neighborhood. Among the most significant events are an
affair with a married man and the development of friendships with women
near her home. These relationships lead to the group decision to kidnap
a pro-life man and impregnate him using new technology. The women’s
dealings with him and each other, and the ramifications of their
actions, constitute the remainder of the novel.

Givner draws the reader in with her superb characterization, her ear
for dialogue, and her ability to create suspense. Lucy is a complex
character, as are the beautiful Julia, the angry Lena, the troubled
Monica, and Simone, the girl whom Lucy mothers. Givner, a former English
professor, captures and describes the academic milieu in which Lucy
works extremely well. And like Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride, the
novel raises fascinating questions about women’s lives since the
advent of feminism. Are friendships among women special, or are they
just as susceptible to petty jealousies and betrayals as male–female
relationships? What does it mean to be a mother? Are men always the
problem, the real enemy? How different are men and women? Can
theoretical ideas about feminism work well in practice? Such are the
questions contemplated in this entertaining and provocative novel.