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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
**Thank you Little, Brown & Company for my free final copy in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.**
“Which (the disbelief) was stupid. 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.”
Imagine a country where women no longer have a say in what they can do with their own bodies. They can’t consent to an abortion, they can’t get in-vitro fertilization, and if they’re not married, they can’t decide to adopt a child. Sounds like one of “those” places far, far away from America, right?
In Leni Zumas’ latest novel, Red Clocks, this is actually the reality for all women living in the United States. The Constitution has been ratified to criminalize all such behavior, and the future looks so very grim.
Suddenly, all women’s behavior looks totally suspect. It seems like one would have to live always looking over her shoulder – waiting for the law to prosecute her under some obscure violation. Nowhere is safe; everybody is watching. It’s bleak and grim; ultimately, it feels very hopeless.
What made this novel so great is Zumas’ ability to present five women who are affected by this law in very different ways. It’s so easy to think about our own personal situations and how we would be affected if this imaginary world was, in fact, reality. However, Zumas expertly weaves five different perspectives into a powerful narrative that forces the reader to feel empathy and compassion for each scenario.
Sometimes these laws that are debated by our elected officials seem so irrelevant to us as regular citizens; it isn’t until the law is actually passed that we realize the impact it actually has on us as individuals. Many fall into the trapped way of thinking, “Oh, that doesn’t affect me because (**insert various excuses here**)” but this book masterfully showed why decisions have a way of impacting ALL OF US.
For example, maybe you’re a man and you think an abortion law means nothing to your personal freedoms. But what happens when your wife can’t get pregnant and you desperately want a baby? (Granted, in this novel, if you’re married, you still have another option not available to a single woman.) Or would if your daughter ends up pregnant and you know she is not in a place to become a mother at such a young age? If you think the best thing is to have an abortion? Sadly, in this novel, that choice isn’t up to you.
To me, this isn’t a discussion about whether or not abortion/IVF/adoption should be legal or not. It’s about how far we’re (as a country) willing to let the government make decisions for us. One of the founding principles of this country was freedom – freedom from tyranny and dictatorship. As a nation, we’re seeing various issues coming up for discussion that, I, for one, have taken for granted. I’m guilty of that “that will never happen/if it does happen, it won’t be that bad” mentality, so a book like this is a call to action to really examine our personal thoughts and beliefs to determine which of those are worth fighting to preserve. I don’t think we want to be caught in a situation like the book presents only to realize we should have started fighting long before it’s too late.
“Which (the disbelief) was stupid. 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.”
Imagine a country where women no longer have a say in what they can do with their own bodies. They can’t consent to an abortion, they can’t get in-vitro fertilization, and if they’re not married, they can’t decide to adopt a child. Sounds like one of “those” places far, far away from America, right?
In Leni Zumas’ latest novel, Red Clocks, this is actually the reality for all women living in the United States. The Constitution has been ratified to criminalize all such behavior, and the future looks so very grim.
Suddenly, all women’s behavior looks totally suspect. It seems like one would have to live always looking over her shoulder – waiting for the law to prosecute her under some obscure violation. Nowhere is safe; everybody is watching. It’s bleak and grim; ultimately, it feels very hopeless.
What made this novel so great is Zumas’ ability to present five women who are affected by this law in very different ways. It’s so easy to think about our own personal situations and how we would be affected if this imaginary world was, in fact, reality. However, Zumas expertly weaves five different perspectives into a powerful narrative that forces the reader to feel empathy and compassion for each scenario.
Sometimes these laws that are debated by our elected officials seem so irrelevant to us as regular citizens; it isn’t until the law is actually passed that we realize the impact it actually has on us as individuals. Many fall into the trapped way of thinking, “Oh, that doesn’t affect me because (**insert various excuses here**)” but this book masterfully showed why decisions have a way of impacting ALL OF US.
For example, maybe you’re a man and you think an abortion law means nothing to your personal freedoms. But what happens when your wife can’t get pregnant and you desperately want a baby? (Granted, in this novel, if you’re married, you still have another option not available to a single woman.) Or would if your daughter ends up pregnant and you know she is not in a place to become a mother at such a young age? If you think the best thing is to have an abortion? Sadly, in this novel, that choice isn’t up to you.
To me, this isn’t a discussion about whether or not abortion/IVF/adoption should be legal or not. It’s about how far we’re (as a country) willing to let the government make decisions for us. One of the founding principles of this country was freedom – freedom from tyranny and dictatorship. As a nation, we’re seeing various issues coming up for discussion that, I, for one, have taken for granted. I’m guilty of that “that will never happen/if it does happen, it won’t be that bad” mentality, so a book like this is a call to action to really examine our personal thoughts and beliefs to determine which of those are worth fighting to preserve. I don’t think we want to be caught in a situation like the book presents only to realize we should have started fighting long before it’s too late.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
this novel had so much potential with the plot of abortions IVF being illegal and adoption in a future American where women have less control over their reproductive selves which may sound scary but maybe a worrying sign for the future. felt however the author got bogged and down and didn't make the female leads as strong as they could of been.
Three and a half stars.
A little too believable for comfort!
A little too believable for comfort!
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Favorite quote from this book - “ 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 people.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism
I really loved this book. The characters were interesting women, all of them in their own way. Women are resilient and this story conveys that brilliantly.
The story of women in a time when abortion is outlawed and adoption is for two parent families only, the book follows four women in the same town in different stages of fertility journeys. Susan, a stay at home mother of two, who gave up on her law degree to have children and who is now unhappy with her husband. She loves her children and agonizes forcing them to grow up in a split home when so much emphasis is being placed on two parent families being the best. Mattie, a 16 year old who becomes pregnant just as the opportunity for her to go to an elite math program becomes available. Ro, a 40+ math teacher who wants to have a baby but is not married. IVF is also illegal and she is single so is not highly sought after for an adoption candidate. And a mender named Gin who gave her baby up for adoption years ago and is now a herbalist living alone in the forest, helping anybody who asks and is put on trial for providing herbs which are suspected of causing abortions. Such complex stories that each of them are suffering in different ways, jealous of each other for different reasons. This book was a little hard to follow in the beginning but was worth it as they started to intertwine a bit more.
Incredibly relatable. Sometimes it's comforting. Most of the time it's unnerving.
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
To anyone "confused" by this very fine novel: take your time. It's really not that complicated. Give the author the credit of reading like twenty pages before you give up because the narratives don't converge in the first fifteen seconds. Stop demanding to be spoon-fed by literature. Part of the problem this book addresses is the fact that so many people have been blinded for so long by concepts that should not be applied to someone who is, you know, not you.
Not quite perfect but a damn fine novel about what will happen if the United States falls to a despot who believes himself (or herself, but less likely) the arbiter of morality.
Not quite perfect but a damn fine novel about what will happen if the United States falls to a despot who believes himself (or herself, but less likely) the arbiter of morality.
Took some time to get into the narrative device, but so so worth it