Helen Ruth Schwartz Wing

The Meadowlark Sings  by Helen Ruth Schwartz  Harrington Park Press - Alice Street Editions ISBN: 978-1-56023-575-0 2006   188 pages Review by Mountman/Joe      Well, as you know I do have a proclivity towards Sci-Fi. Ms. Schwartz did a wonderful job creating a world that was so believable.      What would happen when the Big One actually happens? You know, when California falls into the ocean. Sorry guys out there. In Helen’s world California doesn’t fall into the ocean, it just becomes an island off the coast of the United

States . The birth of Cali , a nation built by anyone in the United States that tests positive for the Scarpetti gene. Named after the physician who discovered it as an indicator of homosexuality. There is a group of Religious Right-Wingers known as Olms. Named after their leader James Olmstead. Under his direction, the United States government instituted a law that anyone that tested positive be relocated to Cali .

    The effects such a society being created are developed in a very plausible storyline. In the first exodus, there are many great Americans, including senators, doctors, athletes, and millionaires (who got to keep their money). There are complete blockades between Cali and the U. S. No trade between the two. There is no tourism either. Calian’s are not allowed back in the U. S. All ties are completely severed. When a child in the U. S. is tested by age 3, if they are positive they are deported to Cali . If a child born in Cali tests negative, they are deported to the U. S. If someone in the U. S. tested positive but didn’t want to go they could elect to but under strict guidelines. No longer could they be themselves. They had to live complete heterosexual lifestyle or asexual life.

     Now for the story. There is a international conference on ageing. And Cali has been invited to attend the conference in New York , because of the advancements made in Cali , something that hasn’t happened in eight years. A Calian in the U. S. The Prime Minister of Cali , Miriam Ekstrom sends Cara along with a bodyguard to the conference. Cara is the favorite to be Prime Minister if and when Ms. Ekstrom steps down.

   Cara is recently single. While in New York , Cara has a secret mission to find the Prime Minister’s love, unbeknownst to the Prime Minister. A Dr. that chose to stay in the U. S. because the child they had tested negative for the gene.

     Now I don’t want to give too much away. I would recommend “The Meadowlark Sings” to anyone. Whether you are a Sci-Fi reader, a Gay fiction reader, a fiction reader it doesn’t matter. This thought provoking book is a must read!

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