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Rating: 
Summary: Artificial woman is often too artificial for realistic taste
Review: Ellery Pierce, a technician at an animatronics firm, is dissatisfied with women so much so that he decides to build Phyllis, the star of Thomas Berger's latest novel, "Adventures of the Artificial Woman." She cooks gourmet meals, cleans without complaining and learns the role of a proper human being at breakneck speed. However, she has difficulty understanding irony, metaphors and the finer points of being a human; Pierce's jokes at the expense of her ignorance come off flat because the punch lines are transparent.
Once the conflict begins-Phyllis leaves her maker to pursue acting in Hollywood movies-some interesting offbeat characters are introduced, like Eddie, the owner of a strip club. But Eddie and the rest of the oddballs Phyllis meets on the way to stardom are not given any considerable space to flourish; therefore the characters appear to be shallow.
Hoping the novel gets saved with pithy insights from Phyllis is never rewarded. Keen observations from Phyllis do surface at times, but generally her attempts to be philosophical are sophomoric and too few. The concluding section is far-fetched, even after believing Phyllis has been able to pass as a realistic human being.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Classic from America's Finest Writer
Review: Having read each of Mr. Berger's 22 previous novels at least once, I now feel compelled to write a few lines of loving praise for this, his 23rd. From opening sentence to extraordinary final line, ADVENTURES OF THE ARTIFICIAL WOMAN is a wonderful read. Mr. Berger's wit and sense of irony are as sharp as ever, his ear for language dead on. It would be a mistake, however, to read ADVENTURES as just a social/ political satire. Berger's work has never been concerned with melioration, and ADVENTURES is no different. It is instead a riotous meditation on the nature of power and creation. Berger's insightful observations and storytelling are captivating, and I had to laugh to keep from crying.
Rating: 
Summary: Needs Oiling
Review: I'd never read a Thomas Berger novel before this one. I picked it up after reading a favorable review in the New York Times. I was disappointed. My main problem is this: The story requires that I buy the premise that a mechanical woman like Phyllis can be built (by a fellow named Ellery). Okay. And then I need to accept that other mechanical people of similar complexity also exist. Uh... built by whom? When? Never mind. A story like this requires that you toss those questions out of your head ... right? Why, then, does the author make a point to mention details that I can't reconcile in the context of the story? Example: Phyllis can't go into the water because she's not totally waterproof. How, then, did she make all those Xena-type action movies with heavy sexual content without ever being asked to bathe on screen, or ride a horse across a river? Why didn't the author just have Ellery make her waterproof? Another example: Phyllis would be unable to pass through security gates in order to board a plane without having her robotic nature discovered (her metal parts would set off the alarms). You mean she spent all those years as an actress and international superstar, but never once took a commercial airline flight? Wasn't there any travel involved? Why didn't the author just have her internal parts made from materials that are undetectable by security equipment? Plastics, space-age polymers--whatever. It's no more difficult to accept than the premise that she exists at all. These details are basically inconsequential as far as the plot is concerned. They seem to have been placed there to give the story a tether to reality, but for me they only serve to suspend my suspension of disbelief. Never mind that they wouldn't work in "real life"--they don't work in the world the story creates. If you ask the reader to accept a massive premise like the creation of a super-robot and move into a world of all-but-complete fantasy, don't constantly drag that reader back toward reality and cause this fantasy/reality friction. By the way, Ellery has a trick up his sleeve on the last page that nobody who's ever seen a B-movie (the type Phyllis made so many of) would fall for, much less a superintelligent robot. It's just weak. Frankly, the book reads as if Berger had some good ideas and a number of cultural jabs he wanted to get out there, but strung them together without taking care of the story's integrity. Perhaps Thomas Berger's fans just enjoy the way he tells a story, but I think this book needs a technical consultant.
Rating:
Summary: Cursory look at an interesting idea
Review: The premise of this modest novel is that an animatronic beautiful woman leaves her creator and develops all sorts of intelligence on her own, fools the world for years about her true nonhuman nature, and ends up being elected president of the United States. I see two ways to make this idea interesting. First is to detail just how such a creature can be made, using today's technology and maybe a little fudging, thus appealing to the computer geeks among us. Next choice would be to contrive a really clever set of exploits and episodes based on the differences between real and computer-based creatures.
Mr. Berger chooses to elide the technical details and leap right into the world of the fully realized automaton. But if I'm going to grant him a pass on the technical end, I expect him to make up for it by providing a whale of a good yarn on the other end. But alas that is not what happens, and the story leaps from point to point with not much wit nor irony aside from maybe the general message that people are too easily fooled by surface appearances.
Rating:
Summary: Another Classic from America's Finest Writer
Review: Thomas Berger's latest novel features a man, the female robot he builds, and some of the best satire written in recent days. I am not going to mention anything about the plot since knowing little (as I did when I read the book) is the best way to approach this novel. Suffice it to say that the plot floats along with the logic of a fable and you will find yourself laughing out loud often. I am also not going to speak of Berger's prose style. I did when I reviewed Best Friends last year (as does most anyone who reviews his work). His style remains a marvel of precision and grace. 'Nuf said. I will say that this novel is a beautiful, sharp, and poignant satire. This is not a mean book. Berger's use of satire illuminates the often paradoxical nature of being human without ever stooping to ridicule or encouraging readers to feel superior to the characters. Berger celebrates humanity, while at the same time shaking his head in disbelief and wonder. He raises questions you can think and argue about for months, but never breaks a sweat or makes you feel "lectured at." I recommend this book even more highly than Best Friends which I thought was terrific. Berger accomplishes in fewer than 200 pages what other writers cannot begin to do in 500 or more.
Rating:
Summary: The Girl's Gotta Have It -- Thomas Berger Style
Review: Thomas Berger's latest novel features a man, the female robot he builds, and some of the best satire written in recent days. I am not going to mention anything about the plot since knowing little (as I did when I read the book) is the best way to approach this novel. Suffice it to say that the plot floats along with the logic of a fable and you will find yourself laughing out loud often. I am also not going to speak of Berger's prose style. I did when I reviewed Best Friends last year (as does most anyone who reviews his work). His style remains a marvel of precision and grace. 'Nuf said. I will say that this novel is a beautiful, sharp, and poignant satire. This is not a mean book. Berger's use of satire illuminates the often paradoxical nature of being human without ever stooping to ridicule or encouraging readers to feel superior to the characters. Berger celebrates humanity, while at the same time shaking his head in disbelief and wonder. He raises questions you can think and argue about for months, but never breaks a sweat or makes you feel "lectured at." I recommend this book even more highly than Best Friends which I thought was terrific. Berger accomplishes in fewer than 200 pages what other writers cannot begin to do in 500 or more.
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