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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
The comparisons between this and Atwood are very much overblown. It doesn't really add anything new to the discussion of how horrible it is that women have their bodies controlled by men. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't recommend it over, say, Handmaid's Tale.
I felt this was predictable and I didn’t care for the style of writing.
dnf @ 21%
Meh, there's just no use in continuing. I don't like the writing style or the structure, I don't care for the characters and so far there is nothing groundbreaking about the way Zumas addresses the issue of women's bodies and their rights over them so I'll give it a pass. Maybe I should just read The Handmaid's Tale and be done with "feminist dystopias".
Meh, there's just no use in continuing. I don't like the writing style or the structure, I don't care for the characters and so far there is nothing groundbreaking about the way Zumas addresses the issue of women's bodies and their rights over them so I'll give it a pass. Maybe I should just read The Handmaid's Tale and be done with "feminist dystopias".
This book was just "okay" for me. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't find it all that interesting either, which was unexpected as I'm highly interested and invested in the real world politics this book is pulling from. I think my biggest problem I had with it, is that it seems to think it's being over the top, speculative, and extraordinary. It's as if Zumas thinks the idea of illegal abortions is a ridiculous concept that needs to be framed in a way that makes it seem plausible. But up until last May the act of getting an abortion (in country or traveling to do so) in Ireland was illegal. There are places today where abortions are still illegal. So, yes, that's terrible, and yeah it's awful thinking that America might be forced into that as well, but this book doesn't really reinforce that for me, because it makes it seem like a totally created thing. Doing some research to inform the story would have helped make it make more of an impact.
None of these characters made me feel anything for them, except Mattie, and I didn't like her at first either. I get that these are flawed people, but the flaws of, say Ro, didn't add anything interesting to the story, but instead muddled the point. Susan's flaws did add to her character, but also not always in a good way.
This book is also supposed to bring all the characters stories together around Gin Percival, and it kind of does, but it never becomes a story that flows. Like, Eivør's story never tied in. It mixed with Ro's a few times, but that isn't the same thing. It could have helped show the history of feminist action, but that wasn't the focus, so it didn't really do anything. It was more of a distraction, hurting the already not quite smooth enough transitions. I wish that Eivør had been taken away, or possibly that Susan had been, and Lola instead was brought in, because she would have brought something new to it.
Not a bad book, just not all that unique. There's a lot of book about Trump/Post-Trump politics turning into a anti-feminist dystopia, which makes sense and I'm glad is happening, but also makes me unable to call all books like this "important".
None of these characters made me feel anything for them, except Mattie, and I didn't like her at first either. I get that these are flawed people, but the flaws of, say Ro, didn't add anything interesting to the story, but instead muddled the point. Susan's flaws did add to her character, but also not always in a good way.
This book is also supposed to bring all the characters stories together around Gin Percival, and it kind of does, but it never becomes a story that flows. Like, Eivør's story never tied in. It mixed with Ro's a few times, but that isn't the same thing. It could have helped show the history of feminist action, but that wasn't the focus, so it didn't really do anything. It was more of a distraction, hurting the already not quite smooth enough transitions. I wish that Eivør had been taken away, or possibly that Susan had been, and Lola instead was brought in, because she would have brought something new to it.
Not a bad book, just not all that unique. There's a lot of book about Trump/Post-Trump politics turning into a anti-feminist dystopia, which makes sense and I'm glad is happening, but also makes me unable to call all books like this "important".
Great read. Loved the 4 perspectives (5 with the intertwinement of the whale scientist and explorer). Will say I was expecting a more climactic moment as the buildup was there, but it never came. The adopted daughter was the biggest “twist” and it didn’t do a whole lot for me. Thought the writing was sharp overall though.
Eh. I guess this was okay. Honestly, thinking about the real-life politics that could make this book a reality were the most interesting part of this book. I didn't like the format and felt that the lady ice explorer was just a shtick that didn't really give much to the story. Just tell a story, 1+1+1=3.
DNF @ page 160
I saw the comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale and got really excited for this. The comparison does this work a disfavor. Red Clocks follows a group of women as they navigate an America which has rescinded most reproductive rights from several points of view. There's the teenager seeking an abortion, the mother in an unhappy marriage, the teacher wanting to get pregnant, and the healer who provides gynecological services in the woods. Some of them overlap, like the teenager is the babysitter, and whatnot, but mostly they're quite separate.
I see what the author is trying to do and the characters and picture Zumas paints. The characters are rarely presented with their names and any sense of setting is pretty stripped down to focus on each character. But as a narrative, the whole experience is not enjoyable and it has nothing to do with the subject matter. None of the women seem to move forward with changing their circumstances. The supporting characters seem to keep arm's length from plot-driving interaction.
Ultimately, this book wasn't for me, but I can see where people might like it.
I saw the comparisons to The Handmaid's Tale and got really excited for this. The comparison does this work a disfavor. Red Clocks follows a group of women as they navigate an America which has rescinded most reproductive rights from several points of view. There's the teenager seeking an abortion, the mother in an unhappy marriage, the teacher wanting to get pregnant, and the healer who provides gynecological services in the woods. Some of them overlap, like the teenager is the babysitter, and whatnot, but mostly they're quite separate.
I see what the author is trying to do and the characters and picture Zumas paints. The characters are rarely presented with their names and any sense of setting is pretty stripped down to focus on each character. But as a narrative, the whole experience is not enjoyable and it has nothing to do with the subject matter. None of the women seem to move forward with changing their circumstances. The supporting characters seem to keep arm's length from plot-driving interaction.
Ultimately, this book wasn't for me, but I can see where people might like it.
I am afraid the style simply did not work for me and I could not really enjoy it. A shame.
I've never quite understood what it meant for someone's writing to be "lyrical" and then I picked up an ARC of Red Clocks and suddenly knew. Leni Zumas tells the stories of five different women (4 primarily) with beautiful prose. We follow the trials of a young girl seeking an abortion in a world where abortion is illegal & dangerous, a woman on the quest to have children when in vitro fertilization is illegal & folks aren't allowed to adopt without a spouse/partner, a woman in a dead end marriage dying to escape from her husband & children, and a woman considered a witch by most, who helps provide homeopathic reproductive healthcare, including illegal abortions, for women. Zumas beautifully wove these stories together, gave each individual a strong & unique voice, while also maintaining suspended disbelief. These characters felt real and this world felt possible. I suspect this will be one of the best books published in 2018.