antiloquax

This novel won the Hugo award for 1977. It's another of the well-known Gollanz SF Masterworks series.

For those who do not know, it is set in the near-future. There's a series of disasters which result in massive loss of life and widespread infertility. In one valley, a group of people manage to survive by developing cloning techniques.

The book then imaginativey examines the threat that old-fashioned human individuality poses as the clones become the majority and take over the society.

I enjoyed the book although I am not very fond of books which are in several parts, each of which has a different main character. That's my own issue, however, and I wouldn't want to put anyone off reading this book.

The way a particular subgroup of the female clones (called "Breeders") get treated is particularly chilling and works as critique of patriarchal attitudes to women's bodies (at least for this male reader).