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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
This is one of those books that you don't simply enjoy; it feels special. I found myself reading paragraphs, and sometimes pages, multiple times because I loved them so much.
When I first started to read Red Clocks, I wasn't sure this was going to be the book for me. But then, I continued reading, and boy was I wrong!
I got a bit confused at first by the chapter changes -- each chapter is from one of the four main character's point of view and their name is never mentioned in that chapter. However, once I got to know the characters, their voices were so unique that there was no danger of confusing them.
I love the premise of the book -- that in the near future (ie, anytime, really), the abortion laws in the US are repealed and embryos are granted person status, which changes everything around reproduction. Also, there's a new law around adoption where "every child needs two", meaning single people can no longer adopt. Red Clocks takes place just as these new laws are going into effect so that we can see their full impact.
By throwing the world into this kind of situation, combined with the story of the 19th century Icelandic Arctic explorer, Elivor. Zumas is able to explore the concept of motherhood from many different angles in a fascinating and thoughtful way. By about mid way through the book, I couldn't put it down and just had to finish.
NOTE: I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley.
I got a bit confused at first by the chapter changes -- each chapter is from one of the four main character's point of view and their name is never mentioned in that chapter. However, once I got to know the characters, their voices were so unique that there was no danger of confusing them.
I love the premise of the book -- that in the near future (ie, anytime, really), the abortion laws in the US are repealed and embryos are granted person status, which changes everything around reproduction. Also, there's a new law around adoption where "every child needs two", meaning single people can no longer adopt. Red Clocks takes place just as these new laws are going into effect so that we can see their full impact.
By throwing the world into this kind of situation, combined with the story of the 19th century Icelandic Arctic explorer, Elivor. Zumas is able to explore the concept of motherhood from many different angles in a fascinating and thoughtful way. By about mid way through the book, I couldn't put it down and just had to finish.
NOTE: I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley.
Read it for a book club, absolutely did not enjoy it.
Every character was incredibly unlikeable and mean and the author included some whack, unnecessary descriptions and really weird names for things throughout the book. I was ready to stop reading on page 5 after the weirdest description of the way vaginas smell by a doctor.
2 stars though for predicting the future. Hope all of it doesn't come true.
Every character was incredibly unlikeable and mean and the author included some whack, unnecessary descriptions and really weird names for things throughout the book. I was ready to stop reading on page 5 after the weirdest description of the way vaginas smell by a doctor.
2 stars though for predicting the future. Hope all of it doesn't come true.
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-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
Torn between 4 and 5 stars. I’ve been wanting a “consumable” book for a while now, and here it is. You know the kind: Easy to read, wants all your attention, and you devour in a weekend?
Parallels between the book and what’s happening politically/culturally are frightening but the book itself isn’t about striking fear. And while people probably compare to The Handmaid’s Tale, the comparison really stops immediately after raising it. This is not a dystopian novel. It most certainly does invoke emotion, however. And frustration. But the novel is less about dealing with the patriarchy and more about women’s wants and dreams and how we deal with them when the patriarchy makes them unachievable.
Parallels between the book and what’s happening politically/culturally are frightening but the book itself isn’t about striking fear. And while people probably compare to The Handmaid’s Tale, the comparison really stops immediately after raising it. This is not a dystopian novel. It most certainly does invoke emotion, however. And frustration. But the novel is less about dealing with the patriarchy and more about women’s wants and dreams and how we deal with them when the patriarchy makes them unachievable.
dark
fast-paced
This is a very interesting read. The author isn’t waiting for you to understand, she moves quick. It is eerie how everything felt very real. The inner dialogs these women have sound like my own thoughts and the women my life.
Red Clocks is a delightful and harrowing read. In a not-so-distant future, if the incorrigible, trail-of-slime-leaving Mike Pence ever ascends to the presidency, we read about the goings on of a few women dealing with political machinations of those (read: men) who legislate reproductive-capable bodies. The believability and possibility of the plot is the scariest part. The likelihood of a 28th Amendment to scrap Roe v. Wade and anthropomorphize duplicating cells within wombs is as close to imminent as it is parodic.
One of the narrative threads I really enjoyed was through Ro, who is writing a biography of Eivør Mínervudóttir, a little-known 19th-century Icelandic female polar explorer. Zumas wrote about Mínervudóttir so well that I didn’t realize she was fictional until I’d finished the book. Her story is one of the many macro ideas scaled down into micro glimpses the book provides.
The comparisons to Handmaid’s Tale are expected, but the character arcs in Red Clocks reflect those of many women I know, so it’s likely I’d recommend reading Red Clocks before Atwood’s masterpiece.
: : : : Although I eventually bought a copy myself, I was first given a galley courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review : : : :
One of the narrative threads I really enjoyed was through Ro, who is writing a biography of Eivør Mínervudóttir, a little-known 19th-century Icelandic female polar explorer. Zumas wrote about Mínervudóttir so well that I didn’t realize she was fictional until I’d finished the book. Her story is one of the many macro ideas scaled down into micro glimpses the book provides.
The comparisons to Handmaid’s Tale are expected, but the character arcs in Red Clocks reflect those of many women I know, so it’s likely I’d recommend reading Red Clocks before Atwood’s masterpiece.
: : : : Although I eventually bought a copy myself, I was first given a galley courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review : : : :
Audiobook
Another one I did not get, had too many characters. Should have DNF’d
Another one I did not get, had too many characters. Should have DNF’d