The Zygote Chronicles: A Novel

"This is the time of real butter," writes Suzanne Finnamore in The Zygote Chronicles, her fictional journal of pregnancy. In fresh, fed-up language, Finnamore (Otherwise Engaged) captures the universal truths of pregnancy that can seem almost insultingly personal when they happen to you. Finnamore sings the joys of whole cream dairy products, but the blues make themselves heard as well. The narrator, an advertising executive, frets about her credibility at work. "I'm a little worried that I won't have any authority left when I get big and have Pamela Anderson breasts. I may have to compensate in some way. I may have to start carrying a hammer." Women have always been funny about pregnancy, and Finnamore gets all that black humor down on paper. It should be noted, however, that the narrator's grousing can wear a bit thin, given her station in life (she laments giving up her Miata for an SUV). Even so, The Zygote Chronicles should take its place alongside Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions as essential reading for the intelligent breeder. --Claire Dederer