Machines Like Me: A Novel

From Ian McEwan, Booker Prize winner and international bestselling author of Atonement and The Children Act

"Moving. . . . Masterly . . . provocative." --The New York Times Book Review

"A feat of literary sorcery." --O, The Oprah Magazine

"[A] carefully constructed comedy of terrors. . . . [McEwan is] one of the most elegant writers alive." --The Washington Post

"Witty and humane . . . a cautionary fable about artificial intelligence, consent, and justice." --The New Yorker

Set in an uncanny alternative 1982 London--where Britain has lost the Falklands War, Margaret Thatcher battles Tony Benn for power, and Alan Turing achieves a breakthrough in artificial intelligence--Machines Like Me powerfully portrays two lovers who will be tested beyond their understanding. Charlie, drifting through life and dodging full-time employment, is in love with Miranda, a bright student who lives with a terrible secret. When Charlie comes into money, he buys Adam, one of the first generation of synthetic humans. With Miranda's assistance, he codesigns Adam's personality. The near-perfect human that emerges is beautiful, strong, and smart--and a love triangle soon forms. Ian McEwan's subversive, gripping novel poses fundamental questions: What makes us human--our outward deeds or our inner lives? Could a machine understand the human heart? This provocative and thrilling tale warns against the power to invent things beyond our control.