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A review by myjourneywithbooks
The Sisterhood by Katherine Bradley
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
The Sisterhood is a dystopian novel that claims to be a feminist retelling of 1984. In Oceania, Big Brother is always watching, and you can trust no one. Julia seems to be a perfect example of what a woman should be like, meek and dutiful, but she hides a dangerous secret. One that could spell death for her if discovered. Julia is a member of The Sisterhood, a group of women whose main goal is to track down the vigilante group, The Brotherhood, and help them overthrow Big Brother.
When one of the other women gets taken away after making contact with a possible Brotherhood member, Julia is set on tracking down this mystery man. But The Sisterhood isn't the only thing Julia is hiding, and as the story progresses, we get a glimpse into her history and the events that brought her to where she is.
It was only upon finishing the book and looking at other reviews that I discovered The Sisterhood is set in the same world Orwell created in 1984, just told from the point of view of one of the minor characters. Apparently, the author seamlessly incorporates elements from the original story into this one, and now I really wish I had read 1984 first.
But The Sisterhood can still be read and appreciated as a standalone. With quite a bit of The Handmaid's Tale vibes, this novel is chilling in its ability to show how what is fiction could actually become reality, probably because it already is to a small extent.The way in which people are brainwashed and controlled seems very possible the way the author tells it here.
Julia's story is divided into two parts, the past and the present, both ultimately converging to produce an ending that goes out with a bang.
Though the pacing was off sometimes, it was overall thought-provoking and disquieting. An interesting read if you're a fan of dystopian books.
When one of the other women gets taken away after making contact with a possible Brotherhood member, Julia is set on tracking down this mystery man. But The Sisterhood isn't the only thing Julia is hiding, and as the story progresses, we get a glimpse into her history and the events that brought her to where she is.
It was only upon finishing the book and looking at other reviews that I discovered The Sisterhood is set in the same world Orwell created in 1984, just told from the point of view of one of the minor characters. Apparently, the author seamlessly incorporates elements from the original story into this one, and now I really wish I had read 1984 first.
But The Sisterhood can still be read and appreciated as a standalone. With quite a bit of The Handmaid's Tale vibes, this novel is chilling in its ability to show how what is fiction could actually become reality, probably because it already is to a small extent.The way in which people are brainwashed and controlled seems very possible the way the author tells it here.
Julia's story is divided into two parts, the past and the present, both ultimately converging to produce an ending that goes out with a bang.
Though the pacing was off sometimes, it was overall thought-provoking and disquieting. An interesting read if you're a fan of dystopian books.