Adventures of the Artificial Woman: A Novel
About this ebook
Twice-divorced engineer Ellery Pierce is done with women. At least, the kind made of flesh and blood. A technician at an animatronics firm, Ellery has everything he needs to build the ideal female. But once Ellery unleashes Phyllis on the world, all his plans for romantic bliss quickly go awry.
As a robot, Phyllis quickly absorbs the worldview of a superlative woman, and it's only a matter of time before she abandons Ellery for Hollywood and becomes a movie star. But when Phyllis sets her sights on the presidency of the United States, Ellery jumps on her campaign, astounded at her antics and wondering if perhaps this time, she will take things too far . . .
"What is the meaning of Adventures of the Artificial Woman if not that perfection is a very dangerous thing to crave?" —Donald E. Westlake, Edgar Grand Master and author of The Ax
"Berger updates the Pygmalion myth with this witty, dark comedy . . . his fanciful plot will keep readers laughing throughout." — Publishers Weekly
Praise for Thomas Berger
"A writer of enormous wit and incisive wisdom." — San Francisco Review of Books
"[Berger is] as brilliant a student of American talk as Nabokov or DeLillo." —Jonathan Lethem, bestselling author of The Fortress of Solitude
"Thomas Berger is a magician . . . he never hits a false note" — Detroit Free Press
"[Berger is] a compelling talespinner in his own right: a Tolkien for the worldly." — The New York Times Book Review
"Humbling, eye-opening, and enormously funny." — Newsweek
"One of America's most important comic artists." — The Boston Globe
About the author
Thomas Berger (1924–2014) was the bestselling author of novels, short stories, and plays, including the Old West classic Little Big Man (1964) and the Pulitzer Prize–nominated novel The Feud (1983). Berger was born in Cincinnati and served with a medical unit in World War II, an experience that provided the inspiration for his first novel, Crazy in Berlin (1958). Berger found widespread success with his third novel, Little Big Man, and maintained a steady output of critically acclaimed work since then. Several of his novels have been adapted into film, including a celebrated version of Little Big Man. His short fiction has appeared in Harper's Magazine, Esquire, and Playboy. Berger lived in New York.
