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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
A very fresh (I know it's a 40 years-old book, I think the fact that it still feels that way makes it way more impressive) language-based take on science fiction, and an unfortunately not-that-unrealistic-anymore take on dystopia.
The only problems are the very confusing beginning (not because everything is new, but because of the way too frequent jumps in time and place) and the fact that it feels very... book-oneish, as the first half is almost only world building and lacks much plot (even though it makes up for it in the second part)
The only problems are the very confusing beginning (not because everything is new, but because of the way too frequent jumps in time and place) and the fact that it feels very... book-oneish, as the first half is almost only world building and lacks much plot (even though it makes up for it in the second part)
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. It is rather slow to build up, and the main plot doesn't really kick in until past 50% - this is also around when we start getting more insight into the female characters. The setting and atmosphere are well done. I disliked a bit how everyone seemed to fall into their specific archetypes. Every single woman was a pro-sisterhood feminist, and every single man was a pig (not far off from reality, but still. a little hope in fiction is nice). Each camp should get at least one gender traitor!! For example, you cannot ever convince me that not a single woman would ever snitch on Láadan to the men - patriarchy exists partly because certain women see some self-benefits in upholding it. I simply do not believe that every single one of them, and all of the children, would fall in line. It makes sense for the situation, I suppose, but it would have been better and more tense with more nuanced characters. The Handmaid's Tale is an example.
There are several other things that just have to be taken for truth: that every woman is repulsed by men's advances after their first relationship goes down in flames (this is the opposite of what I see women do irl lol), that every single man fully accepts and believes that women that inferior children despite the evidence of their eyes, that every single linguist - despite performing one of the single most important jobs in the galaxy and despite existing perceptions of greed - is fine with their subpar living conditions, and so on. There are plenty of universal statements like this that you have to accept for the book to work but aren't reflective of how people truly work. Regardless, the book was genuinely so interesting and almost cathartic to read. The author laid bare so many of the common attacks men toss at women, and does it so often and so bluntly that it almost blends into the background. I imagine men like that don't hear how they sound either.
I do wish we could've seen more of the sci-fi element. More aliens, more interpretations and cool tech. There was a lot that could've been explored but wasn't in favor of the more cerebral discussion. I'm also a romance hater but there was chemistry between Nazareth and Michaela that I would've loved to see develop further. The book still left me with a lot to think about, though, and I'm glad I read it.
There are several other things that just have to be taken for truth: that every woman is repulsed by men's advances after their first relationship goes down in flames (this is the opposite of what I see women do irl lol), that every single man fully accepts and believes that women that inferior children despite the evidence of their eyes, that every single linguist - despite performing one of the single most important jobs in the galaxy and despite existing perceptions of greed - is fine with their subpar living conditions, and so on. There are plenty of universal statements like this that you have to accept for the book to work but aren't reflective of how people truly work. Regardless, the book was genuinely so interesting and almost cathartic to read. The author laid bare so many of the common attacks men toss at women, and does it so often and so bluntly that it almost blends into the background. I imagine men like that don't hear how they sound either.
I do wish we could've seen more of the sci-fi element. More aliens, more interpretations and cool tech. There was a lot that could've been explored but wasn't in favor of the more cerebral discussion. I'm also a romance hater but there was chemistry between Nazareth and Michaela that I would've loved to see develop further. The book still left me with a lot to think about, though, and I'm glad I read it.
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Si no tens ni idea de lingüística segur que va durissim. Tothom parla de l’evident temàtica feminista pero per que ningú menciona l’automamada increible que és una lingüista escribint una distopia sobre un mon on els lingüistes són una classe brutalment segregada i oprimida tot i la seva importantissima feina.
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fuck the patriarchy.
I first read this back in high school in the 90s right around when I read the Handmaid's Tale. And I didn't really understand it - the construction of the book has a kinship with HT (it's purported to be more of a historical document) but it has a timeline that jumps around a bit so it feels much less linear. (It still takes a bit to understand where we are in time during the book.) I decided to try a re-read with the new editions with the excellent covers from Feminist Press, but had to pause in 2023 because guess what started feeling a little too much like real life.... (yeah, for the people who thought this was an impossibility in the 90s, let me gesture to the current state of the world). I dusted it off while on leave so I could get it off the Bookly carousel.
And it does still hold up. A 4.5 star read. Is it kind of gender essentialist/binary? Yeah, but this is also an established dystopia where we are a century or so beyond the establishment of this version of the USA where women's rights have been decimated through Constitutional amendment. No one alive remembers when women had anything approaching autonomy, it's a fairy tale, a boogeyman. So even if an LGBTQIA+ individual even attempted to exist, they would be even more brutally suppressed than a woman who attempted to step out of line (there is the tiniest hint of a sapphic love/crush between two of the female characters, but that isn't developed in any way). But it is really imaginative with the construction of these linguistic houses who hold so much power in the current intergalactic market - and that is what allows the women to gradually work over a generation or two to develop an unwieldy language, their little hobby project allowed to them by the men, that is cover for the REAL women's language that is being developed and put into practice as preparation for resistance.
I'll probably go ahead and read the other two volumes, which I haven't read before, but not right now. It's still a little nerve wracking to read this one.
I first read this back in high school in the 90s right around when I read the Handmaid's Tale. And I didn't really understand it - the construction of the book has a kinship with HT (it's purported to be more of a historical document) but it has a timeline that jumps around a bit so it feels much less linear. (It still takes a bit to understand where we are in time during the book.) I decided to try a re-read with the new editions with the excellent covers from Feminist Press, but had to pause in 2023 because guess what started feeling a little too much like real life.... (yeah, for the people who thought this was an impossibility in the 90s, let me gesture to the current state of the world). I dusted it off while on leave so I could get it off the Bookly carousel.
And it does still hold up. A 4.5 star read. Is it kind of gender essentialist/binary? Yeah, but this is also an established dystopia where we are a century or so beyond the establishment of this version of the USA where women's rights have been decimated through Constitutional amendment. No one alive remembers when women had anything approaching autonomy, it's a fairy tale, a boogeyman. So even if an LGBTQIA+ individual even attempted to exist, they would be even more brutally suppressed than a woman who attempted to step out of line (there is the tiniest hint of a sapphic love/crush between two of the female characters, but that isn't developed in any way). But it is really imaginative with the construction of these linguistic houses who hold so much power in the current intergalactic market - and that is what allows the women to gradually work over a generation or two to develop an unwieldy language, their little hobby project allowed to them by the men, that is cover for the REAL women's language that is being developed and put into practice as preparation for resistance.
I'll probably go ahead and read the other two volumes, which I haven't read before, but not right now. It's still a little nerve wracking to read this one.
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I could not get into this. The alien languages threw me off, and was confused by what the young girl was creating as far as new language. Maybe will pick it back up again one day.