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thepagelady's review
4.0
A chilling look into an alternate near future where a woman and her daughter seek refuge in a women-only colony, only to find that the safe haven they were hoping for is the most dangerous place they could be.
Miranda Reynolds always thought she would rather die than live in Femlandia. But that was before the country sank into total economic collapse and her husband walked out in the harshest, most permanent way, leaving her and her sixteen-year-old daughter with nothing. The streets are full of looting, robbing, and killing, and Miranda and Emma no longer have much choice—either starve and risk getting murdered, or find safety. And so they set off to Femlandia, the women-only colony Miranda’s mother, Win Somers, established decades ago.
Although Win is no longer in the spotlight, her protégé Jen Jones has taken Femlandia to new heights: The off-grid colonies are secluded, self-sufficient, and thriving—and Emma is instantly enchanted by this idea of a safe haven. But something is not right. There are no men allowed in the colony, but babies are being born—and they’re all girls. Miranda discovers just how the all-women community is capable of enduring, and it leads her to question how far her mother went to create this perfect, thriving, horrifying society.
Thank you Berkley Books and netgalley for the opportunity to read this absolutely dark, disturbing and oh so good book!
Well, this is definitely a dark and disturbing book. Its about a mother and daughter living in a world that has pretty much ended. Miranda the mother never wanted to go to femlandia. Femlandia is a women's only colony, or cult.So when Miranda's husband leaves her and her 16 year old daughter Emma with nothing she is left with no choice but to go. But it becomes very apparent that the colony is not a safe heaven, it's more like stepping right into the fire. I'm sure there will be a few people that will have a hard time reading it. It is disturbing but man is it good! I was hooked from the start! I look forward to reading more by Christina Dalcher!
Miranda Reynolds always thought she would rather die than live in Femlandia. But that was before the country sank into total economic collapse and her husband walked out in the harshest, most permanent way, leaving her and her sixteen-year-old daughter with nothing. The streets are full of looting, robbing, and killing, and Miranda and Emma no longer have much choice—either starve and risk getting murdered, or find safety. And so they set off to Femlandia, the women-only colony Miranda’s mother, Win Somers, established decades ago.
Although Win is no longer in the spotlight, her protégé Jen Jones has taken Femlandia to new heights: The off-grid colonies are secluded, self-sufficient, and thriving—and Emma is instantly enchanted by this idea of a safe haven. But something is not right. There are no men allowed in the colony, but babies are being born—and they’re all girls. Miranda discovers just how the all-women community is capable of enduring, and it leads her to question how far her mother went to create this perfect, thriving, horrifying society.
Thank you Berkley Books and netgalley for the opportunity to read this absolutely dark, disturbing and oh so good book!
Well, this is definitely a dark and disturbing book. Its about a mother and daughter living in a world that has pretty much ended. Miranda the mother never wanted to go to femlandia. Femlandia is a women's only colony, or cult.So when Miranda's husband leaves her and her 16 year old daughter Emma with nothing she is left with no choice but to go. But it becomes very apparent that the colony is not a safe heaven, it's more like stepping right into the fire. I'm sure there will be a few people that will have a hard time reading it. It is disturbing but man is it good! I was hooked from the start! I look forward to reading more by Christina Dalcher!
katykelly's review
5.0
Close to home, dark, chilling and another excellent gender-centred dystopia.
A little bit of The Road, and a large dollop of Dalcher's female-centred near-future hellish situations.
She always manages to make me shut the pages and give thanks for the imperfect yet vastly superior present to the one she vividly brings to life.
This slightly more complex story begins with the fairly swift collapse of society, a novel in itself, but puts within this the mother (Miranda) and daughter (and also the THEME of mothers and daughters) fighting to find somewhere safe as the world tears itself to pieces around them as the economy implodes.
And the only option? The cultish woman-only refuge of Femlandia, created by Miranda's cold, tour-de-force of a mother decades before. Which has its own rules, hierarchy and politics. And of course secrets.
Oh so dark, I listened to this as an audiobook and was chilled with the turns the story takes, it reminded me of how I felt reading Naomi Alderman's The Power, what can happen when there is a large gender imbalance, what humans can be capable of.
But. You can't deny the author's methods of drawing in a reader, of consuming them in a frightening world and narrative, and toying with their emotions... she's now a favourite of mine.
This won't give you many chuckles (though there is dark humour here in spades), but it's thrilling and scary stuff. Insightful, deep and surely bound for a screen some time soon?
I audio-read a lot of this, and the voice of Miranda, youthful enough yet motherly and strong suited the first person voice, I wanted to continue listening long past the end of each chapter. Easy to follow as an audio-read, and the additional narratives from other characters added background and slowed things down for context, leaving me wanting to know more of what was happening.
Come on men, don't just leave these titles for women - I want to talk about them with you!
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy, and the publisher for the Netgalley reading copy.
A little bit of The Road, and a large dollop of Dalcher's female-centred near-future hellish situations.
She always manages to make me shut the pages and give thanks for the imperfect yet vastly superior present to the one she vividly brings to life.
This slightly more complex story begins with the fairly swift collapse of society, a novel in itself, but puts within this the mother (Miranda) and daughter (and also the THEME of mothers and daughters) fighting to find somewhere safe as the world tears itself to pieces around them as the economy implodes.
And the only option? The cultish woman-only refuge of Femlandia, created by Miranda's cold, tour-de-force of a mother decades before. Which has its own rules, hierarchy and politics. And of course secrets.
Oh so dark, I listened to this as an audiobook and was chilled with the turns the story takes, it reminded me of how I felt reading Naomi Alderman's The Power, what can happen when there is a large gender imbalance, what humans can be capable of.
But. You can't deny the author's methods of drawing in a reader, of consuming them in a frightening world and narrative, and toying with their emotions... she's now a favourite of mine.
This won't give you many chuckles (though there is dark humour here in spades), but it's thrilling and scary stuff. Insightful, deep and surely bound for a screen some time soon?
I audio-read a lot of this, and the voice of Miranda, youthful enough yet motherly and strong suited the first person voice, I wanted to continue listening long past the end of each chapter. Easy to follow as an audio-read, and the additional narratives from other characters added background and slowed things down for context, leaving me wanting to know more of what was happening.
Come on men, don't just leave these titles for women - I want to talk about them with you!
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy, and the publisher for the Netgalley reading copy.
leesamudio's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
dalyandot's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A dystopia set in near future USA combined with a feminist utopia - with a dark twist. Kept me reading but hard to say much more without spoilers, and its not the sort of book you can read after knowing the plot twists. Found the epilogue - set even further into future with main characters grandchildren a bit of a litdown
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
ellenmillard's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Femlandia is Dalcher's third novel, and having devoured both Vox and Q I was highly anticipating it - a dystopian thriller set in a female-only community? Sign me up! But as the narrative progressed, I couldn't shake the feeling that the plot lacked substance. This, alongside the relatively thin world-building, meant I didn't understand the motives of the characters (who were unlikeable at best and utterly detestable at worst!).
The events leading up to Miranda and Emma entering Femlandia were rushed and vague, with Miranda's husband's suicide alluding to an event I never quite grasped the intricacies of. This, alongside the notion of society turning feral in a relatively short amount of time and Emma's assault by the road, left me feeling like this was just a plot point to conveniently reunite Miranda with her mother's Femlandia ideology. Femlandia itself is described as something of a utopia, where women are free. However, because Miranda spends 80 of her days there in solitary confinement, I didn't get a feel for the place. It's through (very) thinly-vieled suggestions that all is not what it seems there, but I certainly wasn't surprised at the twist. Once you've eliminated sperm being transported into Femlandia, and you've realised that women seem to only be having female babies, it's pretty easy to put two and two together and make four (in this case, the boys being separated from their mothers at birth and kept alive to provide sperm once they reach puberty).
For me, Femlandia promised a lot but delivered little, which was a shame as the concept deserved a worthy execution.
For me, Femlandia promised a lot but delivered little, which was a shame as the concept deserved a worthy execution.
al_davies_jones's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
calmcelebration9888's review
2.5
I have very mixed feelings about this book. From a thought provoking perspective, it’s great. The plot of this book is so absurd that it reminds me of Poor Things. It’s gross in a lot of ways. But some of the ideas I think are a little too out there and off putting so I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who doesn’t like tragic dystopian stories. I think if you enjoyed The School for Good Mothers and you’re not triggered by some trans phobic topics then you might enjoy this book. I was definitely engrossed by it to a certain point. But I think it went off a cliff at some point and ventured too far into areas that were unsavory. I would almost call it horror at some points to give you an idea.
I definitely had some complaints about the book. I didn’t understand Miranda at all. Miranda was married to Nick. Nick left her destitute and then killed himself. Shortly after, the world descended into chaos. Yet somehow Miranda perceives his positively. I just don’t understand how she can do that given the situation it left her and her daughter in. The fact that she would name her son Nick is beyond ridiculous.
I think the most interesting part of the book was the relationship between Win/Jen and Miranda. Those were probably the best parts of the book. I really liked how it was revealed that Miranda was going to turn in her mom for killing her dad, and that’s why Win faked her death and started living full time in Femlandia. Also, finding out that Jen and Win were more than just mother and daughter was a shock.
I should also add that I think the part with the strip search and belief that a woman is only a woman if born one is an absurd idea and didn’t have a place in this book. I can see why the book received so many negative reviews because of that.
I definitely had some complaints about the book. I didn’t understand Miranda at all.
I think the most interesting part of the book was the relationship between Win/Jen and Miranda. Those were probably the best parts of the book. I really liked how it was revealed that Miranda was going to turn in her mom for killing her dad, and that’s why Win faked her death and started living full time in Femlandia. Also, finding out that Jen and Win were more than just mother and daughter was a shock.
I should also add that I think the part with the strip search and belief that a woman is only a woman if born one is an absurd idea and didn’t have a place in this book. I can see why the book received so many negative reviews because of that.
novelvisits's review against another edition
4.0
I like just a touch of dystopia every now and then and that’s exactly what Christina Dalcher delivered with her new book,