Slow River

An odd book. I liked it, although it took a while to get into, but defintely odd.

The first oddity is the world Griffith bulidt. Obviously advanced in some way, genetically, electronically. But it had a Victorian, northern England feel to it. Not steampunk but like something out George Orwell. Lore, the heroine, works in a sewage plant that is reminiscent of Battersee Power Station. It has computer control, high level genetic engineering but little automation. People do the havardous work.

Then there's the sex. A fair amount of lesbian sex. Obviously homosexuality is not an issue is this world. In fact most people seem to be lesbians or asexual. Lore's first sexual experience is in a sex bar with a woman at age 14. She doesn't experiment, question her sexual preference or even have thoughs about it until she has sex with a woman. Spanner, who rescues her after a horrific abduction is a lesbian. Her boss at the sewage plant who eventually becomes her partner is a lesbian. Lore never has to deal with unwanted male advances even when she indulges in prostitution. Just odd. Make me want to try Ammonite though.