The Two of Them

Book excerpt: A time-traveling heroine vows to rescue a subjugated girl from a fundamentalist society by any means necessary in this “extraordinary novel” (Marge Piercy). Rebelling against her repressive 1950s upbringing in a sexist America, Irene Waskiewicz flees in search of liberation and adventure as a time-and-space-traveling agent of the Trans-Temporal Authority. Her partner is Ernst Neumann—a mentor, father figure, friend, and lover. When the two are assigned to a repressive fundamentalist colony, they meet a twelve-year-old poet whose spirit is being crushed by the harsh restrictions of the society in which she lives. But Irene’s attempt to rescue Zubeydeh doesn’t go as planned—especially when Ernst proves unexpectedly resistant. To follow through on her commitment to the girl, Irene must undertake a drastic course of action—no matter the cost . . . In this fierce and moving speculative science fiction novel of female solidarity, Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author Joanna Russ “digs deep into her anger and comes up with a rich and lively tale” (Ms. Magazine).