Line #15 Literature/Eva


1	[[quoteright:261:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eva_7.jpg]]
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3	''Eva'' is a science fiction novel by Creator/PeterDickinson, published in 1988. Eva Adamson went into a coma after a terrible car crash — and awoke eight months later in the body of a chimpanzee. Having spent time with chimpanzees from a young age, it doesn't take her long to adjust, but she becomes a media sensation in an over-populated world.
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6	!!This book contains examples of:
7	* AdamAndOrEve: The protagonist's full name is Eva Adamson; [[https://www.peterdickinson.com/books/eva/ the plot was originally about]] a girl who time-travels to meet various "first women", and was familiar with apes. While the final plot of the book is very different, remnants of this symbolism remain. Early on, Eva watches a cartoon called ''Adam and Eve'', which is very loosely based on the book of Genesis. Just like how Eve was the first woman and lived in a natural paradise, Eva is the first human-in-chimpanzee, [[spoiler:and her ultimate purpose is to guide a troop of chimpanzees in one of the last wild places on Earth.]]
8	* BackToBackPoster: One of the covers (see the page image) shows a girl and chimpanzee back-to-back, representing Eva's past and present selves.
9	* CrapsackWorld: The human population is so high that much of the world is covered in urban sprawl, and there are few wild animals left.
10	* DistantFinale: The last chapter is set 24 years later, [[spoiler:just before Eva dies of old age]].
11	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:At the end, people tell Eva that humanity as a whole has lost the will to live and people are committing mass suicides.]]
12	* EmergencyTransformation: Eva's consciousness was copied into the brain of a chimpanzee using a bleeding-edge medical procedure. Her mom agreed to this in order to save her life. [[spoiler:She eventually chooses to live out her life in the wilds with more conventional chimps.]]
13	* FantasticLegalWeirdness: It's mentioned that despite being a chimp now, Eva is still legally human, so she doesn't belong to anyone -- unlike the chimps used for research. Eva objects to any chimps being considered property.
14	* FirstEpisodeTwist: The premise that Eva's mind was transplanted into a chimp isn't revealed until the second chapter.
15	* GaiasLament: Most of Earth’s wild animals have been wiped out by the growing human population, and [[spoiler: by the end, human civilisation is heading towards its final collapse, with mass suicides occurring]].
16	* MirrorReveal: When Eva is given a remote-controlled mirror to look around her hospital room, she realises something is amiss because they won't let her see the bed. Eventually, she angles it in a way that lets her see her reflection... and a chimpanzee looks back.
17	* RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler:Humanity is on the decline, but Eva believes that chimpanzees will inherit the Earth.]]
18	* RecurringDreams: Eva has recurring dreams about a vast jungle, which turn out to be the lingering instincts of the chimpanzee her memories were copied into.
19	* SuicideBySea: It's mentioned at the end that people are walking into the sea ''en masse'' in some places.
20	* UnusualChapterNumbers: The chapters are all numbered after how much time has passed since Eva awoke from her coma.
21	* {{Zeerust}}: Written in TheEighties, this book takes place in an unspecified future where holograms are commonplace and scientists have just figured out how to copy neurons. The protagonist communicates using a text-to-speech keyboard... which uses samples stored on discs.

Context Literature / Eva