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sbox's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Trafficking, War, and Cursing
Minor: Racism
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
3.5
Overall liked it but didn't love it. I didn't really care for the ending but enjoyed the overall idea of the book.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Death, Pedophilia, Torture, Blood, Gore, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Confinement
madamelacy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Medical content, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Trafficking, Xenophobia, and War
savazelena's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
As so many have said: good idea, bad execution.
As far as content goes, I'm relatively okay with it. It's an interesting premise that shifts the perspective on patriarchy and gender and boy do we need those. The only thing that is missing, for me, is the question of trans characters - we have a minor intersex character and that's it? It would be a really interesting topic to explore in the context of this dystopia, so I missed it.
For the style... I thought it was just dramatic for the beginning of the story, but it doesn't. End. All throughout the book. We have these. Short. Intense. Sentences. That are sometimes deep and pseudointelectual. And sometimes. Just descriptions. To me, it's bad writing. There's no versatility, no changes in narration considering the context.
And because of this fake deep style, the second half of the book is almost incoherent. There is a lot of political themes and complex storyline, but we never get any actual explanations, there are no motives for what the characters are doing, they are all just a cardboard cutout of an archetype.
The letter story was interesting and I liked it. I would've liked to see more of this dynamics, as it also feels more realistic and would be harder to complicate with style.
Since Atwood is mentioned in acknowledgment, I feel comfortable comparing this to Handmaid's Tale and The Testament: books with very dystopian and VERY complex plots, seen through a few of the characters, well written and understandable, with dimensional characters. This was, in comparison, a college essay.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Sexism, Rape, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Child abuse
jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It was political, a world in crisis. Gender wars like never seen before yet in its writing reflections to past global crisis and breaks in a light I’ve not read before.
It has conversations of Zionism, UN conflict, gangs/militia , war zones, media in war and more.
It also has religious crisis, drugs crisis and family betrayal, leading some of our main characters jos, Roxy and allie on crazy pathways over the years this book takes place.
One becomes a warrior of state, another like a new Jesus known as “mother eve”, and another with huge family gang affiliations.
This was such an interesting read, set out like a transcript exchanged between two friends/authors, riddle with religious/historic artefacts as if this tale is a break from history trying to be understood.
I picked it up due to intrigue of the women having power and the men not but besides the expected misogyny from the men unhappy they don’t have power I couldn’t have predicted anything that was going to happen in this book and was thoroughly wrapped up by it.
I would most definitely reccomend this to anyone looking for a unique, intriguing read and look forward to trying out Naomi’s amazing writing again in future.
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Death, Trafficking, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and War
aalexander8's review
Graphic: Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Violence
maybephasing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexism, Rape, Death of parent, Gore, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content and War
Minor: Trafficking
cjblandford's review
- 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? Yes
3.0
I liked the concept of the victors writing the history, and how prehistory is nothing more than circumstantial evidence and hypothesis. The old cliche about those who control the past also control the future rings true here. But back to the main point of the book: absolute power corrupts absolutely. I felt that it was a bit heavy-handed with the violence, but as soon as women gained more power than men in this novel, all of the violence that men did to women in the past, were revisited to them, only more so. The book was not subtle about making its point. Its just too bad the execution of this concept wasn't as solid as it could have been.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Religious bigotry, Rape, Body horror, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death of parent, and Sexual content
christynhoover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Murder, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Drug abuse
nezi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Torture, and Genocide
Minor: Death of parent