Artifact

Bloomsbury presents Artifact by Arlene Heyman, read by Stephanie Ellyne.


'A wise, intimate tale that is by turns joyful, sorrowful and explicit' Observer


'The author delves deep into Lottie's psyche, shying away from nothing, to create a rounded and gripping portrait of a woman on the edge of change' Daily Mail


Lottie Kristin is independent from the start. Born in the middle of the century to a middle-class family in the very middle of America, Lottie is set apart by her smarts and sensuality. A girl who'd rather carry out dissections on a snowy back porch than join her family for Christmas dinner is a strange and exotic artifact in the town of Sleeping Bay.


But by her early twenties, Lottie finds herself trapped in a marriage gone stale, with a daughter she adores but whose existence jeopardizes her place in the lab and her dream of becoming a scientist. How can a young woman make her way in a world determined to contain her brilliance, her will, and her longing to live?


Bravely and wisely written, Artifact is an intimate and propulsive portrait of a whole woman, a celebration of her refusal to be defined by others' imaginations, and a meditation on the glorious chaos of biological life.