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laurenbaggy's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Confinement, Abortion, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Infidelity, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Medical content, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
gloreishun's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
I do agree with some of themes and more specifically fears that the book touches upon but the execution and handling of them just didn't sit right with me. The main heroine was insufferable as always and I agreed little to none with her world views etc. My main take from this book was that, no matter if you are a woman or a man, we all have the capacity to be monsters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
annierosebel's review
3.5
This was a really interesting concept - but I felt like the pacing was a bit off? I get that we needed to understand the extend and horror of the economic collapse, but I think that took up too much space at the extent of a satisfying arc about Femlandia, without ever explaining how the collapse happened and how or whether it is men's fault. I also wonder if there were just too many rich details squeezed in - I wanted to slow down and sink into elements, but we kept racing ahead. The dark twists were predictable, and the epilogue was deeply unsatisfying - there was no sense of how we got from the end of chapter 78 to the epilogue, it was a wild leap, and also seems to undo half the message of the book in a very contradictory way?
It feels like a really interesting idea but just not terribly well executed, with some red flags that make me worry this isn't the kind of feminism I'm interested in supporting. The idea and the concept of cults kept me interested, rather than the story or writing.
****spoilers****
The epilogue seems to contradict the idea that misogyny and patriarchy is taught/nature, rather than innate and nurture. The second you have men, raised in a female-led community, they raise up in charge and overpower the women? And are misogynistic?
Also, it feels a bit disquieting to me to have transphobic characters and just leave it at that without those views being challenged or really explored - like someone said 'what about trans and non-binary people' and the author made the powerful characters transphobic to avoid having to meaningfully engage with the complexities and non-binary nature of gender.
It feels like a really interesting idea but just not terribly well executed, with some red flags that make me worry this isn't the kind of feminism I'm interested in supporting. The idea and the concept of cults kept me interested, rather than the story or writing.
****spoilers****
Also, it feels a bit disquieting to me to have transphobic characters and just leave it at that without those views being challenged or really explored - like someone said 'what about trans and non-binary people' and the author made the powerful characters transphobic to avoid having to meaningfully engage with the complexities and non-binary nature of gender.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Death, Gun violence, and Child abuse
beccajdb's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
A page-turner with some thought-provoking ideas about feminism, gender ‘characteristics’ and how we might all behave post-apocalypse. This particular apocalypse is one we can all easily imagine and all the scarier for that.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, Violence, Sexual content, Rape, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Abortion, Pregnancy, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death
hurlyburlywitch's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
There was so much I wanted this book to be, and it decided to be none of it.
The book decides to toss in some arbitrary transphobia, has a mysterious dearth of disabled characters, and contains deeply nauseating and absolutely plot criticalchild sexual abuse, torture and neglect.
I was also deeply horrified by an epilogue that strongly implies biological determinism of misogyny and inequality.
Whilst moderately predictable, I found the characterisation in this book to be inconsistent and extremely variable.
The book decides to toss in some arbitrary transphobia, has a mysterious dearth of disabled characters, and contains deeply nauseating and absolutely plot critical
I was also deeply horrified by an epilogue that
Whilst moderately predictable, I found the characterisation in this book to be inconsistent and extremely variable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Physical abuse
jennylo's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
The first few chapters tell you the same thing, several times, in essentially the same way (post apocalyptic ish, I hate mummy, my husband was a bit shit). The saving grace being that chapters are very short. I spent most of the book not sure that I liked it, but wanted to know if it could get better. I'm still not sure.
It rang very "not all men", which I just feel is not a point that needs to be made. There's also brief transphobia toward the beginning which was very icky. The protagonist is written as though she doesn't necessarily agree, but doesn't fight the point. It left me wondering about the authors personal views.
I also feel like it completely avoided a whole topic that felt too obvious to me to be ignored, that socialising all new humans in a healthy way would probably make the world a much better place. Instead it's one extreme or the other: either men abuse women, or women abuse men. I get it's a dystopia but the idea wasn't floated until the epiloguewhich makes it out that its undeniable human nature that men will take over, they'll always do the heavy lifting, and have the big brains for the important decisions. There is no argument for nurture, DESPITE the repeated story about the bloody gorilla learning sign?!
I think I partially guessed the key twist so was reading more to see if I got it right, than actually enjoying it. I guess it's kind of an interesting take on a female led dystopia, but I won't be recommending it to anyone in a hurry.
It rang very "not all men", which I just feel is not a point that needs to be made. There's also brief transphobia toward the beginning which was very icky. The protagonist is written as though she doesn't necessarily agree, but doesn't fight the point. It left me wondering about the authors personal views.
I also feel like it completely avoided a whole topic that felt too obvious to me to be ignored, that socialising all new humans in a healthy way would probably make the world a much better place. Instead it's one extreme or the other: either men abuse women, or women abuse men. I get it's a dystopia but the idea wasn't floated until the epilogue
I think I partially guessed the key twist so was reading more to see if I got it right, than actually enjoying it. I guess it's kind of an interesting take on a female led dystopia, but I won't be recommending it to anyone in a hurry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Child abuse
Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexism, Gun violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Rape
ambb's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I might change this rating 20 more times. I don’t know how to rate this. I don’t know what I just read. What the fuck
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Slavery, Misogyny, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Transphobia
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Abortion, Fatphobia, and Grief
hattie's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child death
Minor: Abortion and Suicide
madlock18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
lsbonnie's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'm putting 5 stars because that's what I put for books I have truly enjoyed reading and would read again.
I'm not saying that this book is perfect, but I like that it got me questioning, sometimes agreeing with one side, sometimes with the other, sometimes leaving me not knowing what to think.
I couldn't put the book down. The story was gripping, and sometimes very intense, a real page turner. I don't know if I'm really into the dystopian genre, but as a feminist I was excited to read this.
I like that the characters are deeply flawed therefore deeply human. Let's take Miranda, the main character. At times, yes, she is frustrating because she doesn't get the need for feminism, was a kept woman and because she understands why Nick did what he did. But at times she is also angry at him and at men, she is not completely blind. She has a very moderate point of view when it comes to feminism, it's true, but surprise surprise, it's still the case of many women nowadays. A lot of them don't really have problems with men, or they roll their eyes playfully at them and their antics, without thinking much about it. They know there is violence against women, including sexual, but they don't see it as being spread in the whole world. They don't get it, as Win would say. Maybe they're blind or society (men?) made them blind, maybe they're not educated enough, maybe they think it's normal ("hardwired"), maybe they accept their situation and are happy with it (what's wrong with being a kept woman if you enjoy it?). But these women exist, and there are many of them.
Also, can you really blame Miranda for her difficult relationship with feminism/her mother, when her mother killed her father who yes was a shitty husband but a good father? When she has seen her mother's view distort the world and causing pain, like the innocent employee tying Miranda's shoe turned into a pedophile for her profit?
Win too is a complicated character. Yes her view of the world is extreme and raises issues. But I also understand why she murdered her husband. You sometimes hear that kind of stories, of women who were abused over and over and ended up snapping and killing their husbands. Who can blame them? When you start really going into feminism, truly look at the numbers, at all the violence men cause women... Yes, I believe a part of you end up hating men a little. It's overwhelming, it's scary. And it can be difficult to find good men. You may start to think that a society without them would be better. I am not saying that's what I think, but that I understand how Win may have gone there. And why some (non fictional) women would think this way, too.
Contrary to what some people wrote in the reviews, I don't think that the author's point was to say "boo extreme feminism is bad!" or that "men are good, poor men, mean women". I honestly think Christina Dalcher wanted to question what kind of world is possible, what we want, how far we would go in our thinking.
I do agree with people saying that the "big" twist was a bit predictable, but I still think that it is worth a read. Be mindful of the content warnings, though.
About the epilogue: I've read some reviews and I guess we see it differently. I do agree with the fact that it felt rushed. But I don't think the idea was to say "we are bound to act like this according to our gender", to me it felt more like a question: was re-integrating men the solution? Did they ruin Femlandia, turning it into Landia? Even if treating boys like this was awful, wasn't it better for women?
As we got closer to the ending, I imagined something like just a few years later. With boys reintroduced in the society, turning into teenagers then men, would violence and sexual assault against women happen again? And how would that be handled by the society?
Alternatively I imagined the boys/teenagers/men living within Femlandia, but being second-class citizens, at least for the next generations as they would still be wary of men. But this could have carried on, just like in our world women have been treated as second-class citizens for generations/centuries.
I'm not saying that this book is perfect, but I like that it got me questioning, sometimes agreeing with one side, sometimes with the other, sometimes leaving me not knowing what to think.
I couldn't put the book down. The story was gripping, and sometimes very intense, a real page turner. I don't know if I'm really into the dystopian genre, but as a feminist I was excited to read this.
I like that the characters are deeply flawed therefore deeply human. Let's take Miranda, the main character. At times, yes, she is frustrating because she doesn't get the need for feminism, was a kept woman and because she understands why Nick did what he did. But at times she is also angry at him and at men, she is not completely blind. She has a very moderate point of view when it comes to feminism, it's true, but surprise surprise, it's still the case of many women nowadays. A lot of them don't really have problems with men, or they roll their eyes playfully at them and their antics, without thinking much about it. They know there is violence against women, including sexual, but they don't see it as being spread in the whole world. They don't get it, as Win would say. Maybe they're blind or society (men?) made them blind, maybe they're not educated enough, maybe they think it's normal ("hardwired"), maybe they accept their situation and are happy with it (what's wrong with being a kept woman if you enjoy it?). But these women exist, and there are many of them.
Also, can you really blame Miranda for her difficult relationship with feminism/her mother, when
Win too is a complicated character. Yes her view of the world is extreme and raises issues. But I also understand why she
Contrary to what some people wrote in the reviews, I don't think that the author's point was to say "boo extreme feminism is bad!" or that "men are good, poor men, mean women". I honestly think Christina Dalcher wanted to question what kind of world is possible, what we want, how far we would go in our thinking.
I do agree with people saying that the "big" twist was a bit predictable, but I still think that it is worth a read. Be mindful of the content warnings, though.
About the epilogue:
As we got closer to the ending, I imagined something like just a few years later. With boys reintroduced in the society, turning into teenagers then men, would violence and sexual assault against women happen again? And how would that be handled by the society?
Alternatively I imagined the boys/teenagers/men living within Femlandia, but being second-class citizens, at least for the next generations as they would still be wary of men. But this could have carried on, just like in our world women have been treated as second-class citizens for generations/centuries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Transphobia
Moderate: Pregnancy and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Miscarriage
About transphobia in the book: