Cloning people is wrong. It’s forbidden by law, isn’t it? No responsible doctor or scientist would dream of it…
But when Sydney gynaecologist Dr Malcolm Gledhill, elegant, rich and clever, is called to the hospital bedside of his only son Simon, in 1997, he makes a sudden and momentous decision. A decision that leads within a few months to the birth of his second son, Stephen. Consequences, foreseen and unforeseen and sometimes hilarious, flow rapidly from Malcolm’s decision and Stephen’s birth. Malcolm himself acquires celebrity as he propagates his message across the planet. But for others in the Gledhill family, the results of Malcolm’s decision are not so positive.
In this fictional but frank account of Sydney’s medical profession, Caroline explores the possibilities, risks and implications of human reproductive cloning, with the reminder that though the techniques may currently be banned, the technology to develop human cloning is already right here – in a lab not far from you.
Praise for The Clone Kid
Who better to craft an intriguing, disturbing and gripping tale about human cloning, woven through with sardonic humour and satire, than one of Australia's most celebrated obstetrician/gynaecologists? This book is a must read. Jane Caro AM, Novelist, journalist and women’s health and rights advocate
A fascinating story that takes aspects of reality and asks what would happen if we took a different path. An absorbing and thought provoking read. Margaret Simons, Author, writer and journalist
Caroline de Costa has delivered a rollicking tale of reproductive technologies run off the rails. It’s a story of sinister celebrity science sure to send a chill down your replicant spine… Steve Robson, Obstetrician and gynaecologist Former president, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
One of the book’s strong points is its acerbic insider’s view of the current human use of reproductive technologies: de Costa’s novel reflects on the people who seek them; it gives a fly-on-the-wall account of the medical professionals who deliver them. Fiona Capp and Cameron Woodhead, The Age