(SF) Agatha wants a svelte replacement for her plump body, but since she can't get one grown in a reasonable time, she looks into an illegal swap. (5,706 words; Time: 19m)
Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average
Recommended By: GDozois:4 RHorton:4"Secondhand Bodies," by JY Yang [bio] (edited by John Joseph Adams), appeared in Lightspeed Magazine issue 68, published on January 1, 2016.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Pro: The body swap technology sounds interesting, and there's a lot of tension when we suspect this is a ploy to steal Agatha's identity and money. Agatha's attempt to buy Maryam's affections is spurned, as we'd expect, and Agatha ends up getting her comeuppance.
Con: We're never really clear what Cousin Aloysius was supposed to get out of this. Or why Agatha socializes with him at all.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 68)
JY Yang Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Con: We're never really clear what Cousin Aloysius was supposed to get out of this. Or why Agatha socializes with him at all.
Other Reviews: Search Web, Browse Review Sites (Issue 68)
JY Yang Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Interesting look at several issues that are tied together: racism, privilege, class, and especially appearance. The idea that anything that doesn't conform to some unattainable expectation of perfection is hideous. I also liked that it was a woman treating her lover as a rich man might treat a mistress. And she's just as clueless about any problem with that.
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