An Uncertain Grace
An Uncertain Grace
Some time in the near future, university lecturer Caspar receives a gift from a former student called Liv: a memory stick containing a virtual narrative. Hooked up to a virtual reality bodysuit, he becomes immersed in the experience of their past sexual relationship. But this time it is her experience. What was for him an erotic interlude, resonant with the thrill of seduction, was very different for her - and when he has lived it, he will understand how.
Later…
A convicted paedophile recruited to Liv’s experiment in collective consciousness discovers a way to escape from his own desolation.
A synthetic boy, designed by Liv’s team to ‘love’ men who desire adolescents, begins to question the terms of his existence.
L, in transition to a state beyond gender, befriends Liv, in transition to a state beyond age.
Liv herself has finally transcended the corporeal - but there is still the problem of love.
An Uncertain Grace is a novel in five parts by one of Australia’s most inventive and provocative writers. Moving, thoughtful, sometimes playful, it is about who we are - our best and worst selves, our innermost selves - and who we might become.
Some time in the near future, university lecturer Caspar receives a gift from a former student called Liv: a memory stick containing a virtual narrative. Hooked up to a virtual reality bodysuit, he becomes immersed in the experience of their past sexual relationship. But this time it is her experience. What was for him an erotic interlude, resonant with the thrill of seduction, was very different for her - and when he has lived it, he will understand how.
Later…
A convicted paedophile recruited to Liv’s experiment in collective consciousness discovers a way to escape from his own desolation.
A synthetic boy, designed by Liv’s team to ‘love’ men who desire adolescents, begins to question the terms of his existence.
L, in transition to a state beyond gender, befriends Liv, in transition to a state beyond age.
Liv herself has finally transcended the corporeal - but there is still the problem of love.
An Uncertain Grace is a novel in five parts by one of Australia’s most inventive and provocative writers. Moving, thoughtful, sometimes playful, it is about who we are - our best and worst selves, our innermost selves - and who we might become.
About the Author: Krissy Kneen is the award-winning author of the memoir Affection (Text Publishing Australia 2009 and Seal Press USA 2010) which was shortlisted for the Qld Premier's Literary Award in the non-fiction category, and the 2010 ABIA awards for Biography, Triptych: An Erotic Adventure (Text 2011) and the literary fiction novel Steeplechase (Text 2013). In 2014 she won the prestigious Thomas Shapcott award for poetry for her collection, Eating My Grandmother. Her novel Holly's Incredible Adventures in the Sex Machine will also be published by Text in 2015. She has written and directed short films and broadcast documentaries for SBS and ABC television and has had short stories published in literary journals, books and magazines including Griffith Review, Kill Your Darlings, Nerve.com, The Big Issue, Best Women's Erotica 2014, Women of Letters and The Lifted Brow.
You can hear Krissy Kneen discuss her work at the 'Science (In) Fiction' event, being presented as part of World Science Festival.
This panel will explore the role of fiction in communicating scientific facts—as a means of contextualising ideas, applying them to everyday lives, and reaching more-diverse audiences.
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