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pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
“They were connected: the world, her body, her face. Perhaps she should not be asking who she was but, rather, of what she was a part.”
This book took me months to finish. I don’t know why. I liked the story. I liked the world that Griffith built, especially the fact that it was a world that didn’t include any men. Although this story is science fiction, I found it plausible and reasonable. I found the main character, Marghe interesting and I really like the commander of the planetary base, Danner.
This is a first novel, but I don’t think that has anything to do with my inability to finish this particular book. I think I just was easily distracted by other activities and other reading that I had to do.
I look forward to reading another book by Griffith.
This book took me months to finish. I don’t know why. I liked the story. I liked the world that Griffith built, especially the fact that it was a world that didn’t include any men. Although this story is science fiction, I found it plausible and reasonable. I found the main character, Marghe interesting and I really like the commander of the planetary base, Danner.
This is a first novel, but I don’t think that has anything to do with my inability to finish this particular book. I think I just was easily distracted by other activities and other reading that I had to do.
I look forward to reading another book by Griffith.
corymojojojo's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of those books that manages to immerse you in its characters and world-building despite not having all that interesting of a plot. The premise is solid and certainly takes heavy inspiration from Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness: a scientist from a more advanced world lands on a less advanced world to study its native inhabitants, who are all the same sex, but getting involved in local affairs leads to an exhausting and near-fatal hike through a frozen wasteland. Definitely familiar, but Griffith manages to take this concept to a different place, namely a more lesbian place, which was something new and interesting to see from a 20th century novel. Honestly, almost more interesting than her book is Nicola Griffith’s Wikipedia page, she is one interesting lady.
jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. Nicola Griffith has yet to let me down! I'm a big fan of her writing style and everything that I've read from her thus far has been a hit and I think this might be my favorite. A really unique and complex plot and I really liked the characters and the development they go through. I will say though that this took me a bit to get into but once it found its footing I was hooked from that point on. Not a lot to say about this one but it was pretty great and I enjoyed it.
aramsamsam's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
lisakue's review against another edition
3.0
This book has good sides and bad sides.
The idea of a planet where only women can live (since there is a virus that is deadly for men) is quite interesting, since it shows the author's opinions about gender and sexuality. The book suggests that women are independent from men but also that they aren't any less violent. Their sexuality is never questioned or judged.
I like the idea of the virus and how it makes the women live in tune with nature and the planet's heartbeat.
However, I didn't like the main character. Over time she seemed more and more selfish and annoying to me. The plot itself seemed to get boring as well, since after a while I started hoping that the book would end soon. Also a few of the scenes seemed to eventually be irrelevant for the story.
The idea of a planet where only women can live (since there is a virus that is deadly for men) is quite interesting, since it shows the author's opinions about gender and sexuality. The book suggests that women are independent from men but also that they aren't any less violent. Their sexuality is never questioned or judged.
I like the idea of the virus and how it makes the women live in tune with nature and the planet's heartbeat.
However, I didn't like the main character. Over time she seemed more and more selfish and annoying to me. The plot itself seemed to get boring as well, since after a while I started hoping that the book would end soon. Also a few of the scenes seemed to eventually be irrelevant for the story.
erandir's review against another edition
5.0
A novel that’s been on my to-read list for longer than I want to admit.
The planet of GP (or Jeep for short) has been out of contact with the rest of the galaxy for centuries. When it’s rediscovered, colonizers discover that it’s inhabited entirely by women and host to a disease that kills any man who contracts it.
Marghe is an anthropologist, a representative sent by the company that ostensibly owns GP, sent to liaise between the company’s planetside base, and also to test a new vaccine against the virus that makes GP impossible to exploit for profit. But Marghe arrives to discover that her predecessor is missing presumed dead. So instead of liasing, she heads off in the dead of winter to the last place the last anthropologist was headed: the dangerous and hostile steppe of Tehuantepec.
There, she struggles to survive and learns more about the people of GP than she thought possible. Including how this population of women are able to reproduce.
If coming of age stories were about full grown adults, this would be one. It still is one, in a way. Marghe went to GP knowing it was possible she could never leave, because she had nothing left to live for on earth. The planet, and it’s warring tribes, put her through countless trials, but in the end she finds herself. Her complete self.
The planet of GP (or Jeep for short) has been out of contact with the rest of the galaxy for centuries. When it’s rediscovered, colonizers discover that it’s inhabited entirely by women and host to a disease that kills any man who contracts it.
Marghe is an anthropologist, a representative sent by the company that ostensibly owns GP, sent to liaise between the company’s planetside base, and also to test a new vaccine against the virus that makes GP impossible to exploit for profit. But Marghe arrives to discover that her predecessor is missing presumed dead. So instead of liasing, she heads off in the dead of winter to the last place the last anthropologist was headed: the dangerous and hostile steppe of Tehuantepec.
There, she struggles to survive and learns more about the people of GP than she thought possible. Including how this population of women are able to reproduce.
If coming of age stories were about full grown adults, this would be one. It still is one, in a way. Marghe went to GP knowing it was possible she could never leave, because she had nothing left to live for on earth. The planet, and it’s warring tribes, put her through countless trials, but in the end she finds herself. Her complete self.
carolined314's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Read it. It's one of those books that helps to change the conversation around women and sci-fi.
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