Honestly, if you're into sci-fi, you've probably heard of Neuromancer. It's the "cool kid" of the cyberpunk world. But there's this other book, written in 1991, that basically predicted our current corporate-hellscape reality while throwing in a healthy dose of Jewish mysticism. I’m talking about He, She and It by Marge Piercy.
In the UK, it was published as Body of Glass. Whatever you call it, the book is a masterpiece. It won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for a reason. While William Gibson was focusing on neon lights and mirror-shades, Piercy was busy asking what happens to our souls when corporations literally own the air we breathe.
What is He, She and It Actually About?
The story follows Shira Shipman. She’s a "psychoengineer" who just lost a brutal custody battle for her son, Ari. Why? Because she lives in a world dominated by "multis"—global megacorporations that function like sovereign nations. Her husband has more "status" within the Y-S (Yakamura-Stichen) corporation, so he gets the kid.
Devastated, Shira retreats to her hometown of Tikva.
Tikva isn’t a corporate dome. It’s a "free town," a Jewish enclave that survives by selling high-end tech and security to the multis. But Tikva is under threat. To protect it, a scientist named Avram has created Yod.
Yod is a cyborg. He’s not just a robot; he’s a fully sentient being with emotions, a sex drive, and a deep-seated identity crisis. He’s also totally illegal.
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The Golem and the Robot
One of the coolest things Piercy does is weave a second narrative throughout the book. Shira’s grandmother, Malkah, tells Yod the story of the Golem of Prague.
In the 1600s, Rabbi Loew supposedly built a man out of clay—Joseph—to protect the Jewish ghetto from pogroms. The parallels are everywhere. Both Yod and Joseph were built for violence. Both were built to protect a marginalized community. And both eventually started wondering, "Hey, am I a person or just a tool?"
It’s meta. It’s deep. It’s kinda heartbreaking.
Why This Book Feels Like 2026
Reading this now feels weirdly prophetic. Piercy did her homework. She researched global warming and AI labs at MIT before writing a single word.
- The Glop: Most of the population lives in "the Glop," a massive, sprawling slum that covers the Eastern Seaboard. It’s hot, it’s polluted, and it’s dangerous. Sound familiar?
- Corporate Feudalism: In the multis, your job is your life. You live in their housing, eat their food, and follow their rules. If you quit, you lose everything.
- The Net/Base: Piercy’s version of the internet is a place where people project their consciousness. It's not just clicking links; it's a 3D landscape where data-pirates can actually kill you.
The world-building is dense. It’s not just "cool tech." It’s a look at how technology reinforces the same old power structures.
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The Character That Steals the Show
Everyone talks about Yod, but Malkah is the real MVP.
She’s an elderly, brilliant programmer who has a complicated love life and zero apologies for who she is. She’s the one who gave Yod his personality. She didn't want a killing machine; she wanted a person.
The relationship between Shira and Yod is also handled with way more nuance than you’d expect from a "woman falls for robot" trope. It’s messy. It’s physical. It’s ethically confusing. Shira is grieving her son, and Yod is trying to figure out if he even has a right to exist outside of his programming.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often label this as "feminist sci-fi" and leave it at that. While it is deeply feminist, it’s also one of the best examples of Jewish speculative fiction ever written.
It explores Tikkun Olam—the Jewish concept of "repairing the world." The characters aren't trying to save the whole planet; they're trying to protect their specific community while maintaining their humanity in a world that wants to turn them into data points.
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There’s also a lot of debate about the ending. Without spoiling it, let’s just say it doesn't take the easy way out. It’s a "bittersweet" that leans heavily on the bitter.
Actionable Insights for Readers
If you’re planning to dive into He, She and It, here’s how to get the most out of it:
- Look up the Prague Golem legend first. Knowing the basic story of Rabbi Loew helps you catch all the little Easter eggs Piercy drops.
- Pay attention to the names. Tikva means "Hope" in Hebrew. Every name in this book is a clue.
- Don't skip the "storytelling" chapters. Some people find the historical Golem interludes distracting, but they are the soul of the book.
- Compare it to modern AI debates. When Yod asks if he has the right to refuse a command, think about our current conversations regarding AI ethics and personhood.
Marge Piercy wrote a book in the 90s that is more relevant today than almost anything on the bestseller list. It’s a story about what we owe to the things we create—and what we owe to ourselves.
Next Step: Go find a copy of He, She and It (or Body of Glass) at your local library. If you've already read it, look into Piercy's other speculative work, Woman on the Edge of Time, for a very different take on the future.