Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy

Connie Ramos has absolutely nothing going for her--she is female, Hispanic, poor, and overweight. She has been declared an unfit mother, and her child has been taken away from her by the state. The only two men she ever loved have both been killed. She has been committed to a mental hospital by her brother to get her out of the way because she has embarrassed the family by attacking her niece's abusive pimp. The hospital staff will not even listen to her explanation of events, instead heavily medicating her. A group of doctors wants to perform an experimental procedure, implanting some sort of device in her brain to improve her "mental health." She feels trapped and powerless, with no way to escape.

Then Luciente comes to her and shows her that a better life is possible if she and others like her are willing to fight for it. However, that utopia exists only in the future--Luciente is a time traveler from 2037. Connie can communicate with Luciente and travel to the future in spirit, so to speak, because her physical body always remains in the hospital even while she experiences idyllic interludes in the future, even making love with a man who reminds her very much of one of her lost loves.

The time travel device can be taken literally--that Connie really experiences the future and sees the solutions that society has evolved to address the economic, social, and racial problems of her time and place. Or the time travel can be taken as an escapist product of Connie's mind, addled by drugs and desperation. Perhaps Luciente is an idealization of Connie, if she could "find the light." Luciente's lovers Jackrabbit and Bee could be stand-ins for Connie's two lost loves. And their daughter Dawn could represent Connie's lost child.

It matters little if the time travel is literal or symbolic, because the purpose of the book is to point out the desperate plight of the disenfranchised--women, minorities, the poor, the different, the less-than-ideal--and to point to a better way of doing things and organizing society.

Connie's life is portrayed as a constant downhill struggle, as her efforts to improve herself are thwarted by one man after another. The two men who don't abuse her are destroyed by the power structure. It seems that the only way for a Hispanic to get ahead is to be male and to pretend to be white. The scenes in the mental hospital are chilling, picturing the humiliation and degradation endured by the powerless at the hands of almost universally non-caring staff.

In contrast, the future is a hippie's dream. Society has adopted a communal, agrarian way of life, each village feeding itself. Everyone is equal, with all taking part in the raising of crops and other labor, giving everyone time, also, to pursue lifelong learning and individual interests and passions. Cultural and racial differences are valued. Both males and females "mother," including breast feeding. Disputes are settled by talking things out. And they drink a little wine and smoke a little grass and practice a good bit of "free love." Who wouldn't want to live there?

Although this book was published in 1976, I had never heard of it until it was recently recommended to me by a friend. I have a feeling it was a cult book back then, perhaps particularly among feminists. I was out of touch at the time, staying home with my baby daughter, so I can't say for sure. It is intriguing, for sure, as to its ideas, but can also be read as an interesting straight-ahead science fiction novel. It is somewhat dated, perhaps, not by the societal problems presented, but by the future solution. Despite some optimism in the late '60s and early '70s, I no longer believe it is possible for people to live communally and unselfishly. Whether because of the fallen nature of man or the fact that man has just devolved into a greedy, self-centered state, I no longer think we can all just get along.

Wow, this is a long review, which means the book give me a lot to think about. That's always a good sign. Recommended.