The Secret

by Eva Hoffman

Ballantine, 272 pp, $12.95

This coming of age / identity crisis novel of a teenage clone is the most intensely introspective book I’ve ever read. It’s written from a first person perspective throughout, with the device of a counselor’s occasional comments. The counselor gets forgotten soon enough (by the author) without explanation. The “secret” is of course obvious from the get-go, thus relieving the reader of any suspense. Think Shelley’s Frankenstein but without the violence, social ostracism or gothic sense of vengeance. To top it all off, she’s beautiful, young and rich. Oh the horror, the horror. - Scott Muir