Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I dunno, maybe it goes somewhere spectacular by the end? After the dozen or so sexual assaults in the first hundred pages, I wasn’t willing to stick around to find out.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping
Pros:
- references to queerness and transness
- consideration of transness in a gender-centered apocalypse
- polyamory normalization
- the universe itself is quite compelling
Cons:
- the protagonist felt predictable to me throughout the book
- the ending felt rushed somehow?
- at times the references to transness seemed so surface-level they were almost just ornamental; like the author maybe knew some people were wondering how queerness would work in this world and tossed in some crumbs to make us nod and not look too deeply?
That said, I'm interested ENOUGH to take the other two of the trilogy out from the library whenever they get to me and see if anything is expanded on; if so, I will consider coming back and revising the review with the whole series in mind
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Pregnancy, Abandonment
I first read this book a couple of years ago and when browsing my Kindle notebook noticed a highlighted quote from the 3rd book in the Road to Nowhere series and decided to reread the series.
The premise is a virus that sweeps (at least) America that kills 98% of men and 99%+ of women, particularly during childbirth. The US becomes a degenerative hellscape, where the straight men of the world battle for the few women left alive, and generally do horrible things to them.
The main character is assaulted within a handful of pages. There are in depth descriptions of FGM, sexual assault, miscarriage, stillbirth, child death, death during childbirth, child sexual abuse, and general violence against women.
But it's still a deeply interesting book that draws you in. Written in a mix of direct storytelling and frantic journal entries, the 'Unnamed Midwife' is a complex and intriguing character who will do (nearly) anything to survive. We're introduced to concepts expanded on in the next books, the idea of these journals being copied over and over again to preserve both the story and the medical information, the 'wooden belly' that Ina wears, the settlement of Nowhere.
The main character, the 'Unnamed Midwife'- she gives a different name to everyone she meets, and is an experienced midwife- goes through a long and complex journey to find her way to Nowhere, an ex military base. I don't know much about American geography but the people she meets, and the stories that she tells through them, are all incredibly gripping and while they don't always move the story onwards, they move the character onwards and build the new world up (or tear it down just that little bit more).
It's really hard to recommend this book because of how deeply dark the content is. I enjoyed this book in a very complex, rough way, but whether you want to read this needs to be a personal choice, based on whether you can process the content in a safe way. I'd advise taking breaks when you need to, even in a reasonably short book.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Abortion, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Trafficking
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Vomit
For me, this hit hard on what it is to be a woman, what hardships it brings already and what can be further brutalised and used to others' advantage when it becomes rare. I also loved the raw description/addition of Dusty's need, want and lust for stimulation, because it added another level to this type of dystopian ficion novel that many other overlook or focus on male pleasure.
I am thoroughly looking forward to the next two books in this series!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic