Eva (novel)
First edition
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| Author | Peter Dickinson |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Alun Hood |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel for young adults |
| Publisher | Victor Gollancz Ltd |
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Publication date
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6 Oct 1988 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 207pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 456359343 |
| LC Class | PZ7.D562 Ev 1989 |
Eva is a science fiction novel for young adults by Peter Dickinson, published by Gollancz in 1988. Set in a dystopian future, it features "the hybrid that results when the brain-patterns and memory of a dying girl are transferred into the brain of a chimpanzee." Dickinson researched chimp behavior for the book and he dedicated it to Jane Goodall.
Eva was highly commended for the annual British Carnegie Medal and in 2008 it won the retrospective Phoenix Award. It is one of Dickinson's best known works and by far his most popular in the U.S.
When 13-year-old Eva is badly injured in a car accident, her consciousness is transplanted into the body of a chimpanzee. The novel concerns her efforts to adjust to her unique situation. The setting is a future when urban civilization has spread across the globe, with disastrous effects on other species.
The novel opens as Eva wakes up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Her mother assures her she will be fine, that the doctors will gradually reduce the paralysis. Eva guesses that her face has been badly scarred, but when she looks in a mirror, she sees the face of a chimpanzee. An experimental procedure has been used to transplant Eva's "neuron memory" into Kelly, a young chimp from her father's research facility.
Eva learns to adapt to her new body, using a keyboard to simulate her voice. She has dreams of a forest she has never seen - that Kelly has never seen either - and imagines it comes from the chimpanzee unconscious. She realizes that she must accept the chimpanzee part of herself, which is easier for her as she has grown up with her father's chimps.
The cost of the procedure has been met by a media company in return for broadcast rights. Eva is a big hit with the public and her family has to cope with massive media interest. The power of the 'shaper' companies is immense in a world where many people spend all day at home. 'Shaper' technology is a cross between television and virtual reality.
Eva spends most of her time with humans, even going to school, but also spends time in the Reserve, where she learns to adapt to the chimpanzee social group. Her human understanding helps her to manipulate some of the situations and she becomes accepted by the others. One particularly intelligent chimp, Sniff, is intrigued by her.
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