In a footnote to the first section title of her novel, ARTIFACT, Arlene Heyman writes, “This is a novel that takes place, for the most part, in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, transitional periods in the lives of women.” She then goes on to explain that we remain in a transitional period for women and men alike.

So what is the purpose of this footnote? For me, at least, it was a reminder right off the bat of how much things have changed in the past half-century --- not only for professional women in general, but for women in the scientific fields particularly. I have several female friends who are research scientists and engineers. Although certainly their fields (like many others) are not immune from sexism and job discrimination, by this point in our history, these women scientists are viewed as competent professionals along with their male colleagues, not as pioneers or trailblazers.

"[Heyman’s] respect and affection for her protagonist is clear even after the book has been pared down to a more reasonable 250 pages. Readers will delight in this portrait of a woman who was both a product of and a challenge to her times."

Contrast this with the story of Lottie, who is at the center of ARTIFACT. Raised in Michigan, she follows her high school sweetheart, the local football star, to college at the University of Michigan, after which she is expected to support his career as a wife and mother even after he experiences a career-ending injury and an associated collapse of any kind of ambition. Lottie has always been smart and inquisitive, but especially after their daughter is born, she finds it hard to imagine pursuing any kind of further education for herself.
 
Only after her marriage becomes increasingly untenable --- with the help of a doctor who sees her potential --- does Lottie begin to imagine a different sort of life for herself and her young daughter. She faces challenges and obstacles at every turn, externally and as she contends with her own self-doubt. In a narrative that travels backward and forward in time, readers have assurances that most things will turn out well for Lottie (despite ongoing questions about her research methods and a tense relationship with her stepdaughter, not to mention a family crisis sparked at least in part by Lottie’s carelessness with her lab materials).
 
Heyman, who is in her 70s and consequently has lived through the eras about which she writes, also frankly explores the reproductive limitations for women before Roe v. Wade. Lottie becomes pregnant as a teenager, with tragic results, and later she is raped by an acquaintance (tellingly, she is most concerned with whether her young daughter witnessed the assault and will consequently be scarred by it). Heyman, whose prior publication was a short story collection, SCARY OLD SEX, includes not only graphic descriptions of the assault but also bold and sometimes humorous accounts of more mundane or joyful sexual encounters. Additionally, it’s worth noting here that Heyman’s detailed and frank descriptions extend to what might be for many readers upsetting depictions of Lottie’s lab research, which involves euthanizing rats.
 
ARTIFACT is a novel that Heyman worked on for decades; at one point, she notes in her acknowledgments, it was an 800-page behemoth. Her respect and affection for her protagonist is clear even after the book has been pared down to a more reasonable 250 pages. Readers will delight in this portrait of a woman who was both a product of and a challenge to her times.