Is the literary device that would ascribe the characteristics of personhood to a lump of cells still called "anthropomorphization" even if the talking zygote in question posesses human DNA? Tough question.

I believe nominating oneself for a Pulitzer Prize is as easy as filling out a form and sending $50.

Dave Pelzer, the guy called it, did the same thing.

Anyone can submit anything to be nominated for pretty much anything. That is not to say the nomination will be ever read or taken seriously but still, you can nominate anything or anyone.

If anyone was wondering, Ms. Pascascio is also the author of two other books, entitled Bag Lady: Abuse, Secrets, Lust, Low Self Esteem and Help Wanted: A Woman's Guide to Strategically Position Men in Her Life

It seems quite natural that a novel about a fetus floating around in a sack of amniotic fluid would be "nominated" for a Pulitzer in the "breath-rough" category.

I mean, YOU try inhaling amniotic fluid for nine months and see how rough YOUR breathing gets.

Vomit.

That book cover is making me hungry for shrimp.

I nominate David Schmader for a Pulitzer.

Ta da! Now you can say it too!

looks like a great candidate for a Lunch Date!

@Napoleon -- again, Sir, you kill me.

More proof of the pathological nature of xtians. Maybe she could put some words in the fetus' mouth about having to face a youth pastor in a few years. Creepy.

Crunchy!

Yeah, not as funny as NapoleonXIV, but it's all I got.

Aliza Shvarts imaginary aborted fetuses should write a rebuttal about how Alethea Pascascios imaginary fetus is full of shit.

Fetus Smackdown 2008

To bad no one gave this book the morning after pill, perhaps then we could have avoided the production of a book that isn't wanted.

Hmmm, so the rhetorical assumption behind this novel is that by writing it, it will somehow provoke people to believing fetuses are basically fully-fledged human beings with God-ordained purposes, simply "unborn." Two things: aren't there novels with conscious rabbits (Watership Down), ghosts, wizards, etc? Using fiction to argue something that simply is unknowable that you want folks to recognize as factual (at an absolute level)seems really rather ridiculous. Also, there is a basic contradiction (inherent in the whole predestination/free will debate). If this fetus is destined by God to do something, isn't admitting that people can thwart God's will somewhat blasphemous? At least, in terms of the omnipotent God most evangelical pro-lifer types claim to believe in?

Aside from the typos in the press release, somebody must have handed her a big basket of commas and told her to "just put them anywhere."

Ya know, you'd think if a zygote could write a novel (how? by transmitting it telepathically? typing on the uterine word processor? dictating it through amniotic fluid signals?), they could try being born with language skills, but NO, the little bastards all pretend they can't even talk when they're born.

They don't have minds, either; almost all of the development of higher brain functions, and the tissue that supports it, comes after birth. Newborn humans have as much "mind" as newborn gerbils.

Ah, but "mind" is not the issue here, Fnarf, it's all about teh soul.

No. It's all about shrimp. Battered, deep fried shrimp. Maybe with some Chinese hot mustard.

Yeah, that'd be good right now.

I agree, looks like shrimp.

Pass the sauce.

I wonder if the book makes some reference to what kinky little bastards fetuses are. Amniotic fluid is mostly fetal piss, which they keep drinking and repissing.

(Aside to #5 - they don't actually breathe the amniotic fluid. While fetuses do "practice" breathing movements, it's a localized lung fluid that gets moved around.)

Here's an excerpt:

"It all happened so fast. One minute I was listening to the final instructions for my journey then the next thing I knew I was competing against millions for a chance at life. Since I was already predestined to win, I'm not even sure why the others showed up. But now that I reflect on it, I know exactly why they were there. They, the multitude of sperm that raced against me, were similar to the type of people you see everyday. Some were 'haters' with ill-intentions, wanting nothing more than to take my place and wreak havoc on the earth. Others were my 'motivators', cheering me on and running interference for me against the opposition. And the rest were mere 'distractions' trying to throw me off course, but not necessarily to assist the 'haters'. No, they had their own agenda. The 'distracters' started out being in it to win it, but when the journey got rough they became too discouraged to continue and tried to put up road blocks to keep me back with them, especially when it became obvious that I was going to be the 1 out of 100 million- who triumphed."

The author believes in a homunculus - the entire being living in the sperm. The woman is just the oven that bakes the bun - contributing nothing. What happened to the other hundreds of millions of homunculi who died - the haters, distracters and motivators - and will she be writing a book from their perspective next?

Do you have any excerpts from her previous book, Bag Lady (an autobiography?)