Reviews

God I really loved this book - the concept is really interesting (like a mix of 1984 and Handmaid’s Tale) and the storytelling and world building was great! I normally struggle with the now and then perspectives in books but this one was so gripping it didn’t cause any problems for me!

preparetodai's review against another edition

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2.0

I think the tag line does this book a disservice, as most of the book was preoccupied with Kit’s complex relationship with her sister. The book alternates between “then” and “now”, with “then” being about the years leading up to the birth of Kit’s daughter, her conflicting feelings over having a child when there is such great social pressure to do so, her meeting her husband, and watching her sister struggle to become a mother. “Now” is told in short bursts, with Kit being separated from Mimi. As such I got very little sense of the bond between mother and child, and was far more interested in the sisters.

alongreader's review against another edition

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4.0

Infertility isn't often thought of as world ending, but it definitely should be. In Dark Lullaby, infertility has risen to over 98%. There are various explanations bandied about, but no one seems sure exactly what's happened. All they know is that for women to give birth, they have to go through a regimen of drugs that are as likely to kill them as help them; if they do fall pregnant, they are supervised literally every step of the way; assuming they make it to birth, their child still might be taken away from them. OSIP, the government body concerned with protecting children, have absolute powers and can take children away at any time for any reason.
This story is set in two timelines, 'now' and 'then'. I'm not very clear on how long the gap between them is; there's no times attached to either of them. All we know is that a child who was a baby 'then' is still a child, probably under ten, 'now'.

I don't really like stories that jump timelines, partly because it's harder to follow and partly because I get involved with one storyline and then have to leave it. However, after a while with this one I didn't have any problem following it. (I was still getting involved with a storyline, but that's probably a good sign.)

The ending was kind of a downer, but that's true of Handmaid's, too, and honestly I'm not sure how else it could have ended. Everything was always going to get to the point it's at.

It's a good, slightly depressing but really interesting read. I'm glad I stuck it out past the initial uncertainty because it really did pick up after a while.

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