All About Emily
Theater legend Claire Havilland fears she might be entering the Sunset Boulevard phase of her career. That is, until her manager arranges a media appearance with her biggest fan--a famous artificial intelligence pioneer's teenage niece. After precocious Emily's backstage visit, Claire decides...
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Theater legend Claire Havilland fears she might be entering the Sunset Boulevard phase of her career. That is, until her manager arranges a media appearance with her biggest fan--a famous artificial intelligence pioneer's teenage niece. After precocious Emily's backstage visit, Claire decides she's in a different classic film altogether. While unnaturally charming Emily swears she harbors no desire for the spotlight, Claire wonders if she hasn't met her very own Eve Harrington from All About Eve. But the story becomes more complex as dreams of fame give way to concerns about choice, free will, and identity.With this long, 17,000 word novelette, acclaimed author Connie Willis combines the glamour of old Hollywood and the eternal allure of Broadway to explore the cutting edge robotics of a richly-imagined near future. All About Emily is sure to join 'The Last of the Winnebagos,' 'Inside Job' and 'All Seated on the Ground' as one of multiple-award-winner Willis' seminal works.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9781596064522 (1596064528)
Publish date: January 31st 2012
Publisher: Subterranean
Pages no: 96
Edition language: English
Anything by Connie Willis is squee-worthy for me. I've found that her novellas are usually just a hint of what she can do with the longer form, but reading her stuff is such a joy. She can take something mundane and make it interesting. She can make you care about her characters in just a few short ...
Not as hilarious as I had hoped it would be--this is the author's SF riff on "All About Eve." Reads like a novel from the 1940s, but with an SF twist.
Claire Havilland is an aging theater actress making a quick costume change for her latest Broadway production, Only Human, when her agent stops by her dressing room. She knows he's working an angle but can't quite decipher his intent when he pitches a couple of interviews. Her artfully referenced ob...
A short novella about an aging actress who meets an android prototype. She fears that Emily the android will replace her, given that the android is beautiful, tireless, and gives flawless performances. But instead of sabotaging the young droid, she gives her the best advice she can, for reasons the...
I love Connie Willis. However, I continue to be slightly befuddled by her passionate love of musical theater/old movies/retro celebrity... that sort of thing. It's just not my thing. It is certainly the thing of the main character in this book, though - an aging actress, who, much against her expect...