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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Found this slow and hard to read, story quite difficult to follow with no engaging characters. A shame.
A little difficult to follow since we don’t know all of the characters names at the beginning. Each chapter follows a different woman, the mender, the teacher, etc. I wish there were a family tree to show us how they’re all related.
Picked up on a whim because there were so many copies at the library and it was GREAT - an exciting and compelling read (i finished this in one day!) AND an upsetting glimpse into a realistic not-too-distant future where abortion access and IVF options are eliminated, and adoption becomes restricted to het married couples, told through the interconnecting lives of characters, one of whom is writing a biography of one of the first women explorers of the arctic circle, which you also see a lot of. Recommend!
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I dug the fling-it-at-the-walls writing style, the characters remaining unnamed during their own narratives, bearing reductive labels while their individual bodies, minds and experiences were exposed for examination.
Woo boy, I have a lot to say about abortion, and the kind of hardships women will face if it's outlawed. But I'm not sure how many people would want to read my screed when they can read this book instead. Zumas follows four women in Newell, Oregon, in varied circumstances. Each is wrestling with decisions about having children, wanting children, and being pregnant while desperately wanting not to be pregnant. Zumas shows and doesn't tell, how the personal is political, with a poet's ear for language. She writes each character's section slightly differently, using different words, and even different cadences. At first, the characters seem worlds apart, and anonymous as each character's section is identified by her role: the biographer, the daughter, the wife, the mender. As we learn their names, and how they connect to each other, the world of the book becomes more knowable, smaller, but also richer for being interwoven. If the Handmaid's Tale is too removed from our reality to really alarm people, Red Clocks is about ten minutes away, and we should be frightened.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This wasn't what I expected in tone or format but I really liked it anyway. The switching perspectives took a little while for me to get used to, but eventually ended up enriching the story in good ways. I felt this was much more a character study than a political novel and that was actually a relief because I am burned-the-hell-out by the reality of America right now. I fervently hope that Mike Pence & Co. never get their hands on this because they would see it as a blueprint for their twisted desires to control women's reproductive health. And of course, they would completely overlook the harm caused by that desire.
The semi-rural Oregon coastal setting was a nice escape, though I can't say the same for the subject matter.
The semi-rural Oregon coastal setting was a nice escape, though I can't say the same for the subject matter.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes