readerkt2 's review for:

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
3.0
First I feel I am slightly biased about this book. I am a advocate for women's rights everywhere and the premise behind this story seems all too real to me. I feel the author is spot on for predicting the legislation occurring in the book is a genuine possibility. It scares me for women everywhere. I believe this book could spark some real conversation amongst women and perhaps enlighten others to the need for more legislating in women's favor and less control by men over our bodies and choices. That being said, there were a few flaws in the book that made me give it 3 stars not 5. First off, the character Susan or the wife was certainly not fleshed out enough. We have no idea as readers why she feels trapped in her marriage beyond she's annoyed she doesn't get alone time away from her husband and children. There seems to be no real problems to cause her to desperately want to leave. As a woman's advocate, no she really doesn't need a reason but generally in a book such as this there would be some justification for her feelings did the reader could at least sympathize of not empathize. The daughter perspective was the most stable and clear. She was focused on a lot more and it was obvious how she was feeling and why she felt the way it was described. The biographer I completely understood and the new legislation affected her life in ways which could and did certainly change her desired path in life. The mender was the least developed character and was the one I was hoping to learn the most about. I absolutely loved her desire to help other women and her willingness to do so at the risk of breaking the law. But how did she get that way, besides having an aunt who was a little more revolutionary than most? I wanted more explanations! Overall, it was completely distracting to only have bits and pieces of the biographers research thrown in after every chapter to signify and symbolize a women's push for greater good. Those pieces should have been more thorough and less symbolic for the reader who is just beginning to understand women's rights.