Theory of Bastards

WINNER 2019 Philip K. Dick Award for BEST Science Fiction

Life is finally worth living for Francine. After the years stolen by unbearable, undiagnosed pain, a recent surgery has provided a cure. And her subversive scientific discovery, the “Theory of Bastards,” which has unseated public figures and past presidents, has rewarded her with a generous grant and a prestigious placement at The Foundation. Now she is beginning further research on a group of remarkable animals, bonobos.

She makes steady progress until storms of dry winds sweep out of the abandoned places, and the scientists retreat to safety. Only a select few stay behind, with Francine and the man she has come to love, to weather the storm and protect their simian research subjects. Through the dusty aftermath, the possibility of a new and better world becomes clear.

Not quite sci-fi, not quite dystopian, this superb literary novel defies categorization. Readers will shiver as they keep turning the pages. Audrey Schulman has once again written a spellbinding, original novel that never loses sight of its humanity.