Prolific novelist Berger (The Feud, Little Big Man)
updates the Pygmalion myth with this witty, dark comedy: instead of a lovely Galatea, the protagonist's manufactured dream girl becomes a Frankenstein's monster through her ambition. Ellery Pierce, a twice-divorced animatronics technician, can't find a woman devoid of sarcasm and opinion, so he builds a companion from synthetic skin, batteries and bolts. But Phyllis, his near-perfect female replica, learns quickly and, absorbing the mass media ideal for beautiful young women, runs off to pursue a career in show business. Rising quickly above a stint as a stripper, a phone sex operator and a smalltown actress, Phyllis evolves into a cinema superstar. But when the action movie–going public tires of Phyllis, and the depressed Ellery comes back into her life, she sets her sights on international fame through another venue: the presidency of the United States. With her alternately colloquial and overly formal diction, and her too-faithful adherence to society's ideals, Phyllis makes for an amusing critique of contemporary American society. In his 23rd novel, Berger skewers modern foibles from reality and daytime television to the cult of celebrity and presidents with voracious sexual appetites. But the brilliance of Berger's critique is in its levity, and his fanciful plot will keep readers laughing throughout. With few weaknesses, such as the unexplained existence of other robots, this book is the literary equivalent of cotton candy: not filling but fun to digest. Agent, Don Congdon
. (May)
