In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. Five women. One question. What is a woman for? In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, … questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom. Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own, while also writing a biography of Eivv?r, a little-known 19th-century female polar explorer.
Susan is a frustrated mother of two, trapped in a crumbling marriage. Mattie is the adopted daughter of doting parents and one of Ro’s best students, who finds herself pregnant with nowhere to turn. And Gin is the gifted, forest-dwelling herbalist, or “mender,” who brings all their fates together when she’s arrested and put on trial in a frenzied modern-day witch hunt.
Red Clocks is at once a riveting drama, whose mysteries unfold with magnetic energy, and a shattering novel of ideas. In the vein of Margaret Atwood and Eileen Myles, Leni Zumas fearlessly explores the contours of female experience, evoking The Handmaid’s Tale for a new millennium. This is a story of resilience, transformation, and hope in tumultuous — even frightening — times.
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Roe v. Wade has been overturned and the Personhood Amendment ratified. In a matter of weeks the Every Child Needs Two (parents) law will be enacted.
We stand on such a precipice today.
Zumas gives us brief but poignant glimpses into the lives of five women, four of them living in a possible near-future dystopia and one, an Scandinavian polar explorer from the late 1800s, who must hide her sex to escape her domestic drudgery.
Lyrical, clever, and painfully close, the characters voices are compelling and true.
Don’t miss this one!
~D. L. Orton, author of the best-selling Between Two Evils series. Get the 1st book in the series, Crossing In Time: A Dystopian Love Story (Between Two Evils Book 1), for free right now!
This is not my usual genre but I heard a lot of buzz and decided to give it a try. I loved it! The story was very relevant in today’s time
Is it dystopian if it feels like it could happen tomorrow? Because it does and it could. The country has ratified a Personhood Amendment, a complete ban on abortion. Women having or providing abortions are doing hard time. Women trying cross into Canada to seek care are stringently identified and punished. And a new law will make adoption available to married couples only. In this milieu, desperation reigns at all corners of the spectrum of reproductive choice. A pregnant teen will do anything to be rid of her situation before her parents learn of it, a single teacher will do anything to conceive, then to adopt before the law crushes her hopes. A reclusive herbalist made her own odd choice years ago and now, facing harsh consequences for a different reason, won’t betray herself. A disillusioned wife loves her children but not her marriage, and a 19th-century polar explorer eschews motherhood in favor of a career in which her remarkable work will never be recognized because of her gender. The writing is uneven, some of it feels purposefully so, some of it hard to follow, but the juxtaposition of the characters is fascinating even though the depths of emotion plumbed here are not new. The denouement of the story is unsettling but somehow right because, did I mention it all feels like it could happen tomorrow?
This book may not be for everyone. Five characters, each known by their social status; wife, daughter, etc. explore what the role in society women have regarding having (or not having) children and the expectations assigned by society and themselves. The book is also political in nature regarding governments role in deciding who should and should not have children. This book makes the reader think about women, children, our rights and the rights of others. Enjoyable read. I was also lucky enough to go to a reading and Leni Zumas is funny and very personable.
Wow. Just wow. Totally captured my attention, I couldn’t put it down. Loved the characters, and how they all existe sin this one small universe.
I am being generous with 2 stars here. This book had potential with its topic, but fell flat. Just when you think the book might pickup, it slows down again. Save your time and pick another book!
Do we still believe Martin Luther’s words, “Anatomy is destiny?” These intertwined stories show that women’s bodies still can determine their live’s paths.
Four ordinary yet entirely unique women come to life in this novel sent in a very recognizable U.S. after passage of the “Personhood Amendment.” Abortion, illegal. IVF, illegal. The border to Canada, closed. Women going to jail for just thinking about abortion. My heart is breaking.
Near-future or perhaps alt-present in which reproductive rights are severely curtailed, exploring the lives of several closely linked women in a single Pacific Northwest community. The poetic language both heightens and detracts from the story, so it’s not for everyone, but those who love to get lost in beautiful sentences will enjoy this thought-provoking, all-too-possible tale.
I’ve just finished the book and am not sure how I feel about it. I love the characters but their stories feel unfinished for me. Could be i’m just used to a story having an “ending”. This one doesn’t feel like it does.