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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
"She knew—it was her job as a teacher of history to know—how many horrors are legitimated in public daylight, against the will of most of the people."
I'm a sucker for dystopian feminist fiction. Red Clocks is a kind of modern take on this, with a disturbingly realistic bent - such that I hardly feel right calling it dystopian. Rather, it feels only a couple election cycles away should things continue in the same direction they've been taking.
As a book it's powerful, though at times fragmented, seen through the eyes of very different women at different parts of their lives, with different wants and needs with regards to their reproductive health. Though I never felt especially invested in the lives of the characters, I overall felt powerfully throughout this book and enjoyed the language and telling of the story, especially the healer, illustrating how women's health has been wrested from the hands of other women and placed within a formalized and overwhelmingly masculine system of medicine.
I'm a sucker for dystopian feminist fiction. Red Clocks is a kind of modern take on this, with a disturbingly realistic bent - such that I hardly feel right calling it dystopian. Rather, it feels only a couple election cycles away should things continue in the same direction they've been taking.
As a book it's powerful, though at times fragmented, seen through the eyes of very different women at different parts of their lives, with different wants and needs with regards to their reproductive health. Though I never felt especially invested in the lives of the characters, I overall felt powerfully throughout this book and enjoyed the language and telling of the story, especially the healer, illustrating how women's health has been wrested from the hands of other women and placed within a formalized and overwhelmingly masculine system of medicine.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Even though this book is a novel, I feel like it's an extremely important emotional journey to follow, among just a few people in situations that would occur if the U.S. DID make abortions illegal.
It certainly calls to mind the quote, "Making abortions illegal doesn't stop abortions, it stops SAFE abortions." More than that though, it's an intense connection with the people who would live situations such as the quote mentions.
This is a great read, even though some of the language used mentions addictions of a deceased periphery character in a way that could be seen as problematic.
It certainly calls to mind the quote, "Making abortions illegal doesn't stop abortions, it stops SAFE abortions." More than that though, it's an intense connection with the people who would live situations such as the quote mentions.
This is a great read, even though some of the language used mentions addictions of a deceased periphery character in a way that could be seen as problematic.
3.5. Hard to read in parts but overall nicely crafted.
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tore through this guy for book club! bit of a depressing plot BUT a very important read in my opinion. i'd imagine that when it was written & published in 2018 it was taken as a bit of a ficticious read but sadly it is becoming more and more real for women in the US every day. wish every man in the world would read it xo
For a dystopian future setting, it’s hard not to read this novel and believe it’s happening in the present world we live in. 5 women take their own paths to self-empowerment and freedoms in a world where ownership of their reproductive rights has been removed.
Interesting and quick read, and very of-the-moment with the Handmaids Tale craze.
Interesting and quick read, and very of-the-moment with the Handmaids Tale craze.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The prose itself is mesmerizing and lyrical, with a dystopian premise that is all-too-relevant in today's political climate. I would recommend this for fans of A Handmaid's Tale. I'm only giving it 3 stars because, for one thing, I wasn't a fan of the book-within-the-book. To me, it interrupted an otherwise compelling narrative. Furthermore, I wish the author had included the LGBTQ community, and how they would be impacted by laws banning IVF, etc. It feels woefully outdated in 2018 to explore questions like this ONLY as they relate to cis, hetero, white women.
I loved this book. How has it not won any awards? And why do I waste my time reading books I don't love when there are books like this out there?
I was really looking forward to reading this book as it has been on my list since either October or November when it was reviewed on NPR. I wanted to like this book and feel engaged with the five women who were portrayed in the novel. The story was ok and the characters were ok. With the exception of the Biographer, none of others reached out and grabbed my heart-they were just there-bland or maybe it is where we are in each stage of our lives when we attach ourselves to a character.... It is worth worth reading and definitely a cautionary tale about paying attention to what is going on in the world. For that reason alone it is worth reading because it definitely parallels the times we are living in. Scary, we need to pay attention! Lately, it seems like I have been reading quite a bit of dystopian fiction about women and very little of it has made much of an impression, with the exception of the Handmaid's Tale. Margaret Atwood is the very best. I consider a book to be great when I am still thinking about it years later and the Handmaid's Tale was one of those books and I still think of Ofred nearly everyday...I see myself in her, as well as the women who are apart of my life... I think that says it all!