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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This sounded really intriguing, from the description. A world with women in charge! Can't be much worse than what we've got now, right?
Turns out it's a reverse Handmaid's Tale, with men as the subjugated gender (as in Handmaid's, there's no mention of trans people of any kind.) It's also rather confused; we have two points of view, and each of them bounces back and forth in time, from before the Quickening, to just after, to several years after, and any point inbetween, with no warning or signposting. It's tricky to follow. And having read the whole thing, I'm still not sure how the Quickening came about; there is vague reference to a plague that killed mostly men, and a war that doesn't seem to have affected Britain except that it doesn't trade anything but men away now, but nothing about how it was actually brought into being and enforced. It seems unlikely that men just went along with it.
For those readers who enjoy puzzling out a timeline, this will be a good read. I found it tough to get through in some spots, but overall I enjoyed it well enough. It's an interesting thought exercise, at least - and I did not hate the new laws freeing women from working during their periods!
Turns out it's a reverse Handmaid's Tale, with men as the subjugated gender (as in Handmaid's, there's no mention of trans people of any kind.) It's also rather confused; we have two points of view, and each of them bounces back and forth in time, from before the Quickening, to just after, to several years after, and any point inbetween, with no warning or signposting. It's tricky to follow. And having read the whole thing, I'm still not sure how the Quickening came about; there is vague reference to a plague that killed mostly men, and a war that doesn't seem to have affected Britain except that it doesn't trade anything but men away now, but nothing about how it was actually brought into being and enforced. It seems unlikely that men just went along with it.
For those readers who enjoy puzzling out a timeline, this will be a good read. I found it tough to get through in some spots, but overall I enjoyed it well enough. It's an interesting thought exercise, at least - and I did not hate the new laws freeing women from working during their periods!
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Really couldn't get into this book at all. The characters are all unlikable and I'm just not invested in any of their narrative.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not everyone should be allowed to write books. It’s deeply misogynistic, which is unsurprising given who wrote it. This book completely misunderstands the goal of feminism and is a sexist’s dream.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Years ago, Art loved a woman named Dana. A vibrant, chaotic woman who made him question everything. But that woman is gone now, he thinks.
The Dana now is untouchable - since she published her manifesto, The Quickening, and created a new world order that strives to protect and prioritise women, one with no war or violence, one where women finally take control. But to do that, the men of the world have been stripped of their rights, their identities, their very selves.
Dana has achieved everything she's ever dreamed of, by any means necessary. So how can Art ever really love her, when she has vowed to destroy everything that he is?
"It starts like a love story, but don't be fooled."
The Quickening is a startling warning about the danger of feminine rage and the power of an idea. Hearing from Art gave this story a side that most matriarchal dystopian fiction just lacks, a perspective from a male living through the persecution and pain that women have historically experienced to an extreme - and trying to make sense of the woman who is supposed to love him who has taken everything from him. We don't hear from Dana until quite late in the story, wrapping her in a shroud of mystery, making her untouchable and ethereal like a Goddess.
There was a hidden softness amid the bloodshed and hatred, when we see that Dana still cares for Art, and see some women can still feel empathy about the divide between them which will lead the reader to question, how far is too far? And what would we be willing to do for radical change?
Now, I will always push for a matriarchal society - I love feminist fiction and honestly, it's cathartic sometimes to indulge in a speculative revenge fantasy where women finally seek retribution and reparation from their male counterparts.
That being said, Dana is shown not as a feminist revolutionary, but a hateful dictator who seems to care more about punishing men than elevating women and for me, she didn't translate into a whole character. I just wish for once I could read a speculative novel about female empowerment that shows the leader in a positive light. Now, while her actions are a statement on the treatment women have historically received, comes across sometimes as a power play and showing the concept of matriarchy as something undesirable for all involved.
Get ready for some brutal truths about bodily autonomy, power, politics and role reversal in ways that will make you see our world in a new light and masterful manipulation. The Quickening is full of disquiet horror and violence and will stay with you long after the final page.
The Dana now is untouchable - since she published her manifesto, The Quickening, and created a new world order that strives to protect and prioritise women, one with no war or violence, one where women finally take control. But to do that, the men of the world have been stripped of their rights, their identities, their very selves.
Dana has achieved everything she's ever dreamed of, by any means necessary. So how can Art ever really love her, when she has vowed to destroy everything that he is?
"It starts like a love story, but don't be fooled."
The Quickening is a startling warning about the danger of feminine rage and the power of an idea. Hearing from Art gave this story a side that most matriarchal dystopian fiction just lacks, a perspective from a male living through the persecution and pain that women have historically experienced to an extreme - and trying to make sense of the woman who is supposed to love him who has taken everything from him. We don't hear from Dana until quite late in the story, wrapping her in a shroud of mystery, making her untouchable and ethereal like a Goddess.
There was a hidden softness amid the bloodshed and hatred, when we see that Dana still cares for Art, and see some women can still feel empathy about the divide between them which will lead the reader to question, how far is too far? And what would we be willing to do for radical change?
Now, I will always push for a matriarchal society - I love feminist fiction and honestly, it's cathartic sometimes to indulge in a speculative revenge fantasy where women finally seek retribution and reparation from their male counterparts.
That being said, Dana is shown not as a feminist revolutionary, but a hateful dictator who seems to care more about punishing men than elevating women and for me, she didn't translate into a whole character. I just wish for once I could read a speculative novel about female empowerment that shows the leader in a positive light. Now, while her actions are a statement on the treatment women have historically received, comes across sometimes as a power play and showing the concept of matriarchy as something undesirable for all involved.
Get ready for some brutal truths about bodily autonomy, power, politics and role reversal in ways that will make you see our world in a new light and masterful manipulation. The Quickening is full of disquiet horror and violence and will stay with you long after the final page.
The Quickening is a chilling dystopia set in a future Britain where women are in charge and men are barely tolerated.
While studying at Oxford, Dana Mayer can feel that change is coming and develops a manifesto along with her female friends that they call The Quickening. Thanks to a global pandemic quickly followed by a war (sound familiar anyone?) there is a vacuum in the corridors of power and Dana and her coterie of privileged women are uniquely positioned to fill it.
Anyone who naively thinks that the world would be better off governed by women, take heed. Women aren't intrinsically better or morally superior to men - we are all human, with the same foibles, desires and biases, the same capacity for kindness and cruelty. And these women have no interest in equality - they want revenge.
The story is told in alternating chapters through the eyes of two protagonists, Art and Victoria. Art befriends Dana at Oxford, but he is so blinkered by his white male privilege and his desire to get into Dana's pants that he fails entirely to see what is happening right under his nose. He is a pathetic figure, easily manipulated by the powerful women in his life and smilingly colludes until it is all too late. Victoria, a pop star and the winner of a reality show, is co-opted into the inner circle to be the populist face of the party. Coming from a different background however, she is less comfortable with some of the new regime's diktats.
And so, The Quickening describes a really well thought out terrifying potential future, with a fabulous cast of characters ranging from unlikeable to totally despicable. If you have any lingering misogynistic idea that women are sugar and spice and all things nice, then a) you've clearly never been to an all girl's school and b) this novel should thoroughly disabuse you of that notion.
Thanks to Readers First for the advance copy.
While studying at Oxford, Dana Mayer can feel that change is coming and develops a manifesto along with her female friends that they call The Quickening. Thanks to a global pandemic quickly followed by a war (sound familiar anyone?) there is a vacuum in the corridors of power and Dana and her coterie of privileged women are uniquely positioned to fill it.
Anyone who naively thinks that the world would be better off governed by women, take heed. Women aren't intrinsically better or morally superior to men - we are all human, with the same foibles, desires and biases, the same capacity for kindness and cruelty. And these women have no interest in equality - they want revenge.
The story is told in alternating chapters through the eyes of two protagonists, Art and Victoria. Art befriends Dana at Oxford, but he is so blinkered by his white male privilege and his desire to get into Dana's pants that he fails entirely to see what is happening right under his nose. He is a pathetic figure, easily manipulated by the powerful women in his life and smilingly colludes until it is all too late. Victoria, a pop star and the winner of a reality show, is co-opted into the inner circle to be the populist face of the party. Coming from a different background however, she is less comfortable with some of the new regime's diktats.
And so, The Quickening describes a really well thought out terrifying potential future, with a fabulous cast of characters ranging from unlikeable to totally despicable. If you have any lingering misogynistic idea that women are sugar and spice and all things nice, then a) you've clearly never been to an all girl's school and b) this novel should thoroughly disabuse you of that notion.
Thanks to Readers First for the advance copy.