Family Tree

What if humanity's origins are not what we've been taught? This mid-century novella asks that dangerous question through the story of a man who discovers his chromosomal makeup marks him as something other than human, something greater. The narrative follows his journey of revelation, the fracturing of his identity, and the terrifying question of whether he still belongs among ordinary people. Fontenay uses this speculative premise to interrogate the foundations of social hierarchy, the arrogance of assuming we know our own beginnings, and what truly defines a human being. The story builds toward a conclusion that challenges Darwinian assumptions in ways that would have been controversial at its time of writing. For readers who love their science fiction thoughtful and subversive, this is a compact gem that asks big questions in small, devastating pages.