Scan barcode
bloodmaarked's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5* rounded up. i picked this book by putting all the books on my tbr available to borrow at the library right at that moment into a randomiser and letting it pick for me, and boy did it pick a good one! the end of men came to me after someone in my book club said they enjoyed this back in october last year, and she was right - it’s brilliant! i started reading this on a quiet poolside day during my holiday and i read 62% of it then and there, that’s how much it pulled me in.
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
✧ full review on my tumblr ✧
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Infertility, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: War, Transphobia, and Trafficking
cady_sass's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is so ridiculously good, I don’t have words. This is a dystopian reality that is 100% believable and so, so interesting to think about and reflect on. Weaved through the compelling stories of multiple women across, predominately, Europe, it expertly asks the question, how different would the world be without men? How do we allocate labor and essential jobs, food, sperm (literally)? How to the small amount of remaining men function, how do they react? Does this change the way women view and accept their sexuality? My god I could talk for an hour about how fascinating this is. Just do yourself a favor and read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Suicide, Cursing, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Child death, Alcohol, Infertility, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Misogyny, Murder, and Self harm
brenna2themax's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I really enjoyed reading this book and tore through it in a few days. I actually cried a few times while reading it when getting to the points in the story discussing toddlers and babies dying. I can't remember the last time I cried while reading a book, I'm not a big crier.
Very exciting and fast paced. The characters felt real, but all very similar. Part of this is that we all see them in the same situation of sudden, world-wide devastation and unbearable grief and fear, and there's not a whole lot of character development or exploration beyond that. The story is told from the perspective of many different people throughout the plague, mostly in Scotland and England, but we also hear briefly from a woman in Canada and a Fillipino woman in Singapore and then the Philippines. They all have the same/very similar socioeconomic standing, and all but 2 are white.
Still, I very much enjoyed reading this. A good thriller without a villain.
Very exciting and fast paced. The characters felt real, but all very similar. Part of this is that we all see them in the same situation of sudden, world-wide devastation and unbearable grief and fear, and there's not a whole lot of character development or exploration beyond that. The story is told from the perspective of many different people throughout the plague, mostly in Scotland and England, but we also hear briefly from a woman in Canada and a Fillipino woman in Singapore and then the Philippines. They all have the same/very similar socioeconomic standing, and all but 2 are white.
Still, I very much enjoyed reading this. A good thriller without a villain.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child death
Minor: Suicide, Trafficking, Homophobia, and Transphobia
cheye13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
It started off well, but lost me around halfway. Ultimately, I'm not sure what... the point... was...
It's pitched as a feminist dystopia, but only mentions women taking over positions of power in the briefest asides. The real focus is the fallout of losing half the population. All of the recovery is focused on repopulation: protecting surviving men, birthing healthy boys, rationing sperm. Despite the female POVs, all the attention is once more on the men. Counterintuitively, it felt like the story coddled men while women buckled down to helm survival.
The most cohesive and developed theme was not women in positions of power, but fertility. The book is tidily bookended by Catherine's fertility problems and eventual pregnancy. All of the grief and fear we see in-depth is for husbands and sons – not fathers or brothers. Fertility stories are important, but this one felt incidental; it was the most coherent throughline, but didn't explore the topic in any meaningful way.
The specific careers (genetics, anthropology, government intelligence) spread the content of the novel too thin. With such intricate professions, there wasn't enough research to provide more than a superficial involvement in the novel's entire premise.
The identity diversity also felt like a hamfisted afterthought rather than a significant facet of the characters that would affect their approach to events. I appreciated the acknowledgement of the trans experience, but it felt extremely shoehorned, and again, not explored in any meaningful way. Sexuality and racial diversity wasn't handled any better, and there was nearly no class diversity.
The writing style was exceedinly readable, and the narrative was generally engaging. But ultimately, I sat down for a dissection of gender in the modern world, and instead got an exceedingly heteronormative narrative that in no way challenged the status quo, skirted gender essentialism, and was also kinda depressing.
It's pitched as a feminist dystopia, but only mentions women taking over positions of power in the briefest asides. The real focus is the fallout of losing half the population. All of the recovery is focused on repopulation: protecting surviving men, birthing healthy boys, rationing sperm. Despite the female POVs, all the attention is once more on the men. Counterintuitively, it felt like the story coddled men while women buckled down to helm survival.
The most cohesive and developed theme was not women in positions of power, but fertility.
The specific careers (genetics, anthropology, government intelligence) spread the content of the novel too thin. With such intricate professions, there wasn't enough research to provide more than a superficial involvement in the novel's entire premise.
The identity diversity also felt like a hamfisted afterthought rather than a significant facet of the characters that would affect their approach to events. I appreciated the acknowledgement of the trans experience, but it felt extremely shoehorned, and again, not explored in any meaningful way. Sexuality and racial diversity wasn't handled any better, and there was nearly no class diversity.
The writing style was exceedinly readable, and the narrative was generally engaging. But ultimately, I sat down for a dissection of gender in the modern world, and instead got an exceedingly heteronormative narrative that in no way challenged the status quo, skirted gender essentialism, and was also kinda depressing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Grief, Infertility, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Miscarriage
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Misogyny, Suicide, Transphobia, and War
the transphobia I mention isn't just that inherent in the premise; a trans character mentions how much more difficult life has been for trans people after "the plague," including an increase in general transphobia and transphobic violenceclauglezzz_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
The irony of reading this book while locked in my room with covid is undescribable. The first pages tore my heart out and stomped on it. Anthony's death had me bawling for 2 hours I wanted to do nothing more than to go out of my room and hug my dad but i couldn't. The chapter that was just blog from a misogynist saying that women had caused the plague made me so angry i trew the book across the room. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions and i cannot recomendit enough
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexism, Infertility, Misogyny, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
luelle_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I considered giving 4.5 but no, it deserves the 5. This book became relatable in a way the author could never have fully anticipated immediately on its release. I just wish there had been more focus on the LGBTQ community than there was - particularly trans women. But they did feature, thank goodness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Grief
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Terminal illness, Suicide, and Murder
milliep's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Grief, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
More...