First Born
By (Author) Maureen Duffy
Orion Publishing Co
Gollancz
10th September 2024
4th July 2024
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Paperback
256
Width 128mm, Height 196mm, Spine 22mm
220g
1981. A different Britain. When Norman Forrester of the Defence Ministry's Experimental Institute effects a successful fertilisation of a female gorilla with human sperm, an infant is born. Gordon, known as Gor, is his son in two senses. But Gor's parentage must remain a secret. He has no legal existence as an individual because his existence has never been divulged to the government data bank. In more than one way, Gor is a 'non-person'.
Operated on so that he is capable of speech, Gor grows through boyhood and adolescence into a strong, intelligent youth. When he discovers his true identity, he is devastated by his outcast destiny. But is there the possibility of a home amongst some of the exiles from a computer-dominated class-oriented society And if Gor can find them, will they accept himMaureen Duffy's novel offers both an enthralling, fast-moving narrative and a vivid parable of the individual's struggle to win acceptance from his fellows and to overcome the forces that seek to destroy human individuality in any age.Born 1933. Novelist, poet and dramatist. Her work reflects her socialism and commitment to animal rights.