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winnimartha's review against another edition
4.0
I got sucked into the story pretty quickly. I liked the different perspectives, showing how these women are affected and even subsumed by expectations around motherhood, both biologically and culturally. The laws in force in Red Clocks are entirely plausible, which is terrifying. And even without them, the pressure and scrutiny women already experience around motherhood are totally real. People already think they get to have an opinion about our bodies and wombs and family plans, even without (for now) draconian legislation.
eviesellers's review against another edition
3.0
i had some issues with this book initially but, as the women's individual stories intertwined, it got much more interesting and easy to follow.
this is a VERY realistic dystopia, and in that respect it's definitely unnerving. however, the nature of a future america in which right wing politicians fully prohibit abortion was examined through a somewhat surface level lens without much consideration for how different the reality of this would look for women of color, trans women, lgbtq women, lower class women, disabled women, etc. it would be difficult to acknowledge all of these ideas in one novel and i fully acknowledge that this is a fiction book rather than a scholarly work of intersectional sociopolitical policy analysis, but it would have been nice to see some of these ideas developed further.
this is a VERY realistic dystopia, and in that respect it's definitely unnerving. however, the nature of a future america in which right wing politicians fully prohibit abortion was examined through a somewhat surface level lens without much consideration for how different the reality of this would look for women of color, trans women, lgbtq women, lower class women, disabled women, etc. it would be difficult to acknowledge all of these ideas in one novel and i fully acknowledge that this is a fiction book rather than a scholarly work of intersectional sociopolitical policy analysis, but it would have been nice to see some of these ideas developed further.
gabriellegoldenhour's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
kitsunediary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Read for school.
blueberry31's review against another edition
2.0
Can we please stop comparing this book to the masterpiece that is The Handmaid's Tale?
Red Clocks fails on many levels for me. The style put me off. I can appreciate writing with a lot of poetry and imagery incorporated into it, in fact I usually really tend to enjoy this... but in this case the author's writing just makes reading extremely strenuous, to the point that the story is hard to follow, the characters difficult to get attached to and getting to the end is a chore. It got to a point where I was systematically skipping extracts of the autobiography one of the characters is writing, I simply failed to get the point.
The story... well is there really much of a story? It feels like a series of events are presented, and they happen to take place in a "dystopian" society (not all that dystopian given the current events in the US if you ask me...). The dystopian USA depicted in Red Clocks was both too close to the USA we know today and not developped enough to be interesting... If you are expecting Gilead-type setting you've come to the wrong place, the author hasn't pushed the concept that far at all. Maybe it would have been impactful to show the disastrous consequences of anti-abortion laws, but in this case it falls short, instead telling quite a boring story in my opinion, that stirs very little emotion. As mentioned previously, the style put a lot of distance between reader and characters, which made it hard to connect with any of them.
So... tedious read for me.
Red Clocks fails on many levels for me. The style put me off. I can appreciate writing with a lot of poetry and imagery incorporated into it, in fact I usually really tend to enjoy this... but in this case the author's writing just makes reading extremely strenuous, to the point that the story is hard to follow, the characters difficult to get attached to and getting to the end is a chore. It got to a point where I was systematically skipping extracts of the autobiography one of the characters is writing, I simply failed to get the point.
The story... well is there really much of a story? It feels like a series of events are presented, and they happen to take place in a "dystopian" society (not all that dystopian given the current events in the US if you ask me...). The dystopian USA depicted in Red Clocks was both too close to the USA we know today and not developped enough to be interesting... If you are expecting Gilead-type setting you've come to the wrong place, the author hasn't pushed the concept that far at all. Maybe it would have been impactful to show the disastrous consequences of anti-abortion laws, but in this case it falls short, instead telling quite a boring story in my opinion, that stirs very little emotion. As mentioned previously, the style put a lot of distance between reader and characters, which made it hard to connect with any of them.
So... tedious read for me.
jenpaul13's review against another edition
3.0
Women are powerful people, but history has not treated them kindly. A new amendment places strict regulations on women's reproduction in Red Clocks by Leni Zumas.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
With the passing of the Personhood Amendment in the United States, abortions are illegal, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and embryos are granted the same rights as people. These restrictions force women to seek alternatives to their unwanted pregnancies or their attempts to get pregnant. For five women in a small town in Oregon, this amendment impacts their lives to varying degrees, and although each of the women have a different struggle with the amendment they are nevertheless connected in their actions in navigating womanhood in a redefined structure.
Addressing a timely topic of women and their reproductive rights, this narrative's intriguing, thought-provoking, and horrifying premise demonstrates the different identities and freedoms that woman have or could have. The pacing of the novel was a bit choppy with its brief chapters and shifting from character to character, keeping readers at a remove from them instead of closely delving into their lives and struggles to really show who they are. Though the stories of each of the women are drawn together by the end of the novel, their relationships with one another don't seem particularly developed, leaving them feeling like figures instead of people.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
With the passing of the Personhood Amendment in the United States, abortions are illegal, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and embryos are granted the same rights as people. These restrictions force women to seek alternatives to their unwanted pregnancies or their attempts to get pregnant. For five women in a small town in Oregon, this amendment impacts their lives to varying degrees, and although each of the women have a different struggle with the amendment they are nevertheless connected in their actions in navigating womanhood in a redefined structure.
Addressing a timely topic of women and their reproductive rights, this narrative's intriguing, thought-provoking, and horrifying premise demonstrates the different identities and freedoms that woman have or could have. The pacing of the novel was a bit choppy with its brief chapters and shifting from character to character, keeping readers at a remove from them instead of closely delving into their lives and struggles to really show who they are. Though the stories of each of the women are drawn together by the end of the novel, their relationships with one another don't seem particularly developed, leaving them feeling like figures instead of people.
kessler21's review against another edition
3.0
I did not like the writing of this book and really took away from the story.
Red Clocks follows 4 women and tells the story of another woman. It examines women's place in society and how they have been defined through the ages.
Red Clocks follows 4 women and tells the story of another woman. It examines women's place in society and how they have been defined through the ages.
mysteriesofmar's review against another edition
5.0
a powerful book that makes what could be our near future a dystopia
more to come
more to come
jaclyncrupi's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t usually do dystopia but am so glad I made an exception. Zumas sure knows how to plot a clever and complex multi-voice novel. The genius here is how close the dystopia is to the present day and how plausible (sometimes even dare I say it, inevitable) it seems: Abortion is illegal, every embryo has full rights, children must have two parents and IVF has been banned. Our four main characters are well drawn and it’s hard not to invest in each of them.
imds's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cannibalism