Product Description
In Menachem's Seed, Carl Djerassi, world-renowned scientist and inventor of the birth-control pill, brings us a new novel that explores the human--and passionate--side of science.

Melanie Laidlaw and Menachem Dvir meet at a series of international conferences where jet-setting scientists come together to discuss the global implications of their discoveries. Melanie runs a foundation that awards grants for innovations in reproductive technology; Menachem is an infertile nuclear engineer and a married man. Naturally, they fall in love.

What follows is a story of sexual steam, stolen seed, and religious conversion--a very modern romance that hinges on a cutting-edge scientific breakthrough. As Melanie and Menachem discover, what science makes possible, only two hearts can make right.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.0 based on 2 reviews)

Nope...

Carl�s Djerassi�s novel Menachem�s Seed tells a complex story about people who have to face moral dilemmas created by reproductive technology. Carl Djerassi, the creator of the birth control pill, is very familiar with this theme. The fact that the book was written by a biochemist is clear from the beginning. His digressions on scientific matters are sound throughout the whole novel. Djerassi also raises interesting questions about ethics in science and also about ethics in relationships between men and women. His purpose in writing this book was to bring these issues to public attention, but unfortunately his literary talents do not reach the same level as his scientific achievements, and his lack of artistic imagination renders his prose dry and the characters stiff and lifeless. As a result he may lose many of his readers in first chapters of the book.
Menachem�s Seed raises serious ethical questions about human reproduction by weaving them into a love story between an Israeli nuclear physicist, Menachem Dvir, and an American biochemist, Melanie Laidlaw. The protagonists meet at an international scientific conference and fall in love with each other. Melanie�s work allows her to learn about the newest achievements in fertility science. Recently widowed, she decides to use new biotechnology in order to become a mother. But does Menachem have right to know that Melanie is going to use his sperm? Slowly the story becomes a great cooking pot into which the author adds more and more ingredients. If biotechnology is not yet as developed as it is in Djerassi�s novel, it may soon reach that level, and the questions which the author raises will be faced in real life. From this perspective, the book is a great achievement.
Yet if we think of Djerassi as a cook he has definitely ruined the stew. The cooking pot of Menachem�s Seed was a great opportunity for the author to create serious food for thought. The ingredients are quite flavorful: science, politics, history, love, sex, and religion. The basic recipe was good too: a story with an ethical dilemma. Anyone reader who reads such a recipe would feel hungry. However, the disappointment comes after the first bite. Djerassi�s vocabulary is too small and frustratingly repetitive. For example, the word �murmur� appears eight times by page 142, and three times in the same five pages. Finally, the bland character development and insipid eroticism in the sex scenes make this meal unappetizing.
This book may be interesting for those who really care about ethical issues in science and who have enough patience to finish it. In general, I would not recommend this book to anyone. Djerassi�s attempt to draw public attention to an important problem fails completely because of his shortcomings as a writer.
March 17, 2003

A fine read

Djerassi opens a world unseen by most, the world of the scientific elite. This is the first Djerassi book I've read, but it most certainly will not be the last.

This book has a strong female lead with impressive professional drive and a male lead just as passionate about his own beliefs. I found the scientific and cultural digressions much more enjoyable than the political asides. Not that the political asides were all bad, but many of them did supply the book with most of its unappealing aspects and I found the reading became a bit laborious during those segments.

MS is full of moral dilemmas and ethical quandries, and Djerassi displays an impressive ear for dialogue as his characters voice those issues to each other. This book is sort of like an army stew which has many varied ingredients but one undeniable discernible feature. The focus of MS is the world of the elite scientists, engineers, and doctors of the world, but there is enough romance, intrigue, and suspense thrown in to keep you happily chewing along.

All of Djerassi's novels feature compelling plots and I'm eager to read them all.
August 24, 1998

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