As She Climbed Across the Table
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Author | Jonathan Lethem |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
Publisher | Doubleday |
Released | February 17, 1997 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 224 pp |
ISBN | ISBN 0-385-48517-4 |
As She Climbed Across the Table is the third novel by the American novelist Jonathan Lethem, first published in 1997. This satirical, science fiction story is set on the campus of fictional Beauchamp University in Northern California. One protagonist, Nuclear Particle Physicist Alice Coombs rooms with Philip Engstrand who is a sociologist researching the conflict between and within disciplines. Their relationship drives the romantic aspect of this story.[1]
The physicists in Coomb's lab become obsessed with an artificially-created, miniature black hole, the Lack, which appears to have its own personality and preferences. Alice, herself develops a personal relationship with the artificial intelligence that they have created.[2]
The novel deals thematically with many of the philosophical issues pertaining to modern quantum physics, as well as human interaction with artificial intelligence.