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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
[4.5 stars] A contemporary post-Roe dystopian novel interweaving the stories of several women in a small coastal Oregon town. Compelling and creatively told from each of the four main characters’ distinct perspectives, with the Mender and the unseen Yasmine holding my attention the most. Not every narrative arc answered every question but the characters were treated with care and empathy. I disliked how quickly and neatly the end wrapped up.
I enjoyed this very much. Lists! Arctic exploration! Bodily autonomy! Plantcraft!
The only ding throughout is that though a student does not understand her teacher's "Ferris Bueller" reference ("some ancient movie she hasn't seen"), she herself makes a "Back to the Future" joke.
The only ding throughout is that though a student does not understand her teacher's "Ferris Bueller" reference ("some ancient movie she hasn't seen"), she herself makes a "Back to the Future" joke.
I wanted a little more from this, but I'm not ready to full articulate what yet. For one, I wanted a few more surprises. Additionally, this was rooted fully in the most depressing reality. It all feels so familiar, which is the point. But I guess I wanted something more from that. Again, I'm not at the place to fully explore what yet. I may update when I have a better way to word it. I guess, at times it just felt a little too heavy handed. I think it's a fine line with how topical and realistic this one can feel.
It's also hard because I wanted to be invested in these woman's journeys but the narrative kept me at a distance.
Still, I liked the author's voice. I would definitely read further work.
It's also hard because I wanted to be invested in these woman's journeys but the narrative kept me at a distance.
Still, I liked the author's voice. I would definitely read further work.
This book is brilliant. It is timely, realistic, and terrifying. This is where America is headed, and this book gives some great insight into what tomorrow's reality will be like for women in various positions. While this book has an urgent message for its readers, the politics and social commentary are weaved in so well with the world building that I didn't feel oppressed by the author's point. The plot and characters stand well on their own as well, and I'm so glad this book didn't become a lecture or an overwhelming social commentary.
On a more personal note, as a woman, I felt understood and seen in a way that hasn't happen in a long time. This book reached out to me beyond the storyline to comfort and shield me in a way only a few books in my life have.
On a more personal note, as a woman, I felt understood and seen in a way that hasn't happen in a long time. This book reached out to me beyond the storyline to comfort and shield me in a way only a few books in my life have.
In a near future, Roe v Wade has been overturned in the United States and abortion is now illegal. There is a Pink Wall between the U.S and Canada that prohibits any woman from travelling between countries for healthcare, and a law is about to come into effect that will prohibit single women from availing of IVF treatment or from adopting a child.
Four very different women are affected in several ways by this, or other matters pertaining to childbirth or pregnancy.
Ro, a schoolteacher & biographer, is undergoing fertility treatment but must succeed before a new law is passed that prohibits single women from accessing IVF.
Mattie, a teenage schoolgirl, fears she may be pregnant.
Susan, a mother of two, spends her days daydreaming about what her life could have been like had she not married her husband. Or what it would be like to leave.
Gin lives alone, in the woods, and provides "help" to women who need it via her herbalism.
I loved this - the language is frank and may be shocking to those who don't swear, but this is a book I will remember for a very long time.
I received an e-copy from the publisher via Netgalley, and I am loathe to admit that it took me an embarrassingly long time to get round to reading it.
Four very different women are affected in several ways by this, or other matters pertaining to childbirth or pregnancy.
Ro, a schoolteacher & biographer, is undergoing fertility treatment but must succeed before a new law is passed that prohibits single women from accessing IVF.
Mattie, a teenage schoolgirl, fears she may be pregnant.
Susan, a mother of two, spends her days daydreaming about what her life could have been like had she not married her husband. Or what it would be like to leave.
Gin lives alone, in the woods, and provides "help" to women who need it via her herbalism.
I loved this - the language is frank and may be shocking to those who don't swear, but this is a book I will remember for a very long time.
I received an e-copy from the publisher via Netgalley, and I am loathe to admit that it took me an embarrassingly long time to get round to reading it.
This book has so much potential and just sucked. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters, some things were too detailed and bordered on really weird and unnecessary.
I kept waiting for it to get better and it never did!
I kept waiting for it to get better and it never did!
Oh holy shit. Looks like I've got one entry for my best books of 2018 list already.
I feel like this is a perfect companion book to [b:The Power|29751398|The Power|Naomi Alderman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462814013s/29751398.jpg|50108451]. Very, VERY different books. They share very little, but they're both feminist tours-de-force. Also, they both have impeccable world-building, which is a thing that I love.
Anyway, you should NOT miss this one. It was just perfection.
I feel like this is a perfect companion book to [b:The Power|29751398|The Power|Naomi Alderman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462814013s/29751398.jpg|50108451]. Very, VERY different books. They share very little, but they're both feminist tours-de-force. Also, they both have impeccable world-building, which is a thing that I love.
Anyway, you should NOT miss this one. It was just perfection.
Beautiful. And given the current state of this country, all too believable.
Another feminist dystopian work of fiction. Leni Zumas crafts a fairly interesting story of five women who live in a coastal Oregon town during a time when abortion is illegal with harsh penalties, IVF is illegal, and alternative medicine is frowned upon. The books starts with the backstories of each women and then becomes intertwined in multiple ways. The narrative jumps between women, across time, and sometimes into historical events. She explores questions that (I assume) women think about when it comes to reproductive rights and family.
Red Clocks opens up in a time not so far from here, in a political landscape that is detrimental to the health and well-being of the women of America. The setting feels all too real, and eerily familiar. One can so easily see the turns in the road that will lead us from here to there.
Each chapter is dedicated to the first person view of a character. The writing style is in bits and pieces, a few paragraphs here, a page break and then a passing thought, another page break and a paragraph summary of an event. Each break in words shows that the novel is written in moments, setting the pace of the characters’ daily lives with passing thoughts, a buzzing in the back of the mind, a stirring of emotion under the surface.
Red Clocks takes place in the setting of the everyday. The characters aren’t in the middle of a country- or world-wide war. There are no bombs dropping, no terrorist invasions in the larger sense. And yet, every day is a war on women’s bodily autonomy as Amendments are made. Every day is like a bomb dropping in the life of each character. Terrorists invade women’s bodies, decide their fates, all while avoiding eye contact and dismissing the value of autonomy. In this sense, the story of Red Clocks is not so different from the stories of women today.
I adore this book. I love the writing style, the politics and ideas, the characters, the conflicts. In the same vein as The Handmaid’s Tale, I found this book easier to understand, as it seems a reflection of the current state of our nation, while the environment of The Handmaid’s Tale seems a bit farther off.
With a large diamond vulva gracing the cover, one could easily sum up this book with, “She is submitting her area to all kinds of invasion without understanding a fraction of what’s being done to it” (pg. 7).
There isn’t a single thing I would change about this book.
Read the full review here: https://vulvaink.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/red-clocks-by-leni-zumas/#more-1798
Each chapter is dedicated to the first person view of a character. The writing style is in bits and pieces, a few paragraphs here, a page break and then a passing thought, another page break and a paragraph summary of an event. Each break in words shows that the novel is written in moments, setting the pace of the characters’ daily lives with passing thoughts, a buzzing in the back of the mind, a stirring of emotion under the surface.
Red Clocks takes place in the setting of the everyday. The characters aren’t in the middle of a country- or world-wide war. There are no bombs dropping, no terrorist invasions in the larger sense. And yet, every day is a war on women’s bodily autonomy as Amendments are made. Every day is like a bomb dropping in the life of each character. Terrorists invade women’s bodies, decide their fates, all while avoiding eye contact and dismissing the value of autonomy. In this sense, the story of Red Clocks is not so different from the stories of women today.
I adore this book. I love the writing style, the politics and ideas, the characters, the conflicts. In the same vein as The Handmaid’s Tale, I found this book easier to understand, as it seems a reflection of the current state of our nation, while the environment of The Handmaid’s Tale seems a bit farther off.
With a large diamond vulva gracing the cover, one could easily sum up this book with, “She is submitting her area to all kinds of invasion without understanding a fraction of what’s being done to it” (pg. 7).
There isn’t a single thing I would change about this book.
Read the full review here: https://vulvaink.wordpress.com/2018/09/01/red-clocks-by-leni-zumas/#more-1798