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A review by lovelykd
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
4.0
There’s a lot going on in this one: five different stories, all with different angles, and each with a lesson to learn about what it ‘means’ to be an acceptable woman in a world where the patriarchy rules all.
Ro is a woman wanting a baby. Not a marriage or a relationship, just a child. She’s over 40 and praying IVF works. Mattie is 15 and pregnant. She’s not sure what to do, but knows she’s not ready to be a mother. Susan is married, but clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Gin is an outsider, some say a “witch”, but she’s okay with that and that makes people uncomfortable.
The bulk of the story revolves around the above four, and how each is coming to terms with the choices being made for them—even when said choices are made without their consent and with a complete disregard for their personal wants/needs.
As an aside, Ro (referred to as the Biographer) is writing a book about a forgotten female explorer. Passages from the book are strewn throughout the story, and often feel random, but are actually in line with the premise: women are always second-fiddle in a male dominated world.
The first 40 or so pages felt disjointed and all over the place, but once I understood what Zumas was doing, and got on board with her writing style, I couldn’t put the book down.
I most identified with Susan (The Wife). While she was annoying, at times, her frustration was something that was easy to understand: she willingly gave up her dreams in favor of being a wife and mother, but twenty years later, she’s lost sight of herself. She no longer knows who she is, or what she wants, and she’s struggling with the guilt it’s causing.
Each character comes to a reckoning, and while it would’ve been nice to have a bit more closure, I enjoyed each of their stories.
Ro is a woman wanting a baby. Not a marriage or a relationship, just a child. She’s over 40 and praying IVF works. Mattie is 15 and pregnant. She’s not sure what to do, but knows she’s not ready to be a mother. Susan is married, but clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Gin is an outsider, some say a “witch”, but she’s okay with that and that makes people uncomfortable.
The bulk of the story revolves around the above four, and how each is coming to terms with the choices being made for them—even when said choices are made without their consent and with a complete disregard for their personal wants/needs.
As an aside, Ro (referred to as the Biographer) is writing a book about a forgotten female explorer. Passages from the book are strewn throughout the story, and often feel random, but are actually in line with the premise: women are always second-fiddle in a male dominated world.
The first 40 or so pages felt disjointed and all over the place, but once I understood what Zumas was doing, and got on board with her writing style, I couldn’t put the book down.
I most identified with Susan (The Wife). While she was annoying, at times, her frustration was something that was easy to understand: she willingly gave up her dreams in favor of being a wife and mother, but twenty years later, she’s lost sight of herself. She no longer knows who she is, or what she wants, and she’s struggling with the guilt it’s causing.
Each character comes to a reckoning, and while it would’ve been nice to have a bit more closure, I enjoyed each of their stories.