Book Review Teaser :: Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham

Specimen Days is a science fiction book shelved in fiction because it's written by a well-known author. Perhaps it will get some literary types, who don't read genre fiction, to unknowingly read some science fiction.

From Aaron Hughes' review of Specimen Days:
"Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days continues the recent trend of respected mainstream writers dabbling in science fiction, even if their works are never published as science fiction."

"Specimen Days is comprised of three novellas, each set in a different time period, each involving characters enthralled by the poetry of Walt Whitman. (The title Specimen Days is taken from Whitman's autobiography.) This structure very closely parallels Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Hours...it combines narratives in different time periods, extending from the past, through the present, into the future. The last of the three novellas in Specimen Days is set well in the future...By my definition, this makes Specimen Days as a whole science fiction, since the science fiction elements are crucial to the story..."

To read the entire review:
Specimen Days