Author: Christina Dalcher
Published: October 19th 2021 by Berkley Books
Format: Kindle, Hardover 336 Pages
Genre: Dystopian Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
First Sentence: Two men and a truck are all it takes to finish us. The last of our furniture disappears out the front door and into the dark cavern of the bailiff's trailer. It's my bed, the one I shared with Nick for almost twenty years, a queen-sized mattress now in the hands of two burly men with tattoos and ponytails.
Synopsis: 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. (Goodreads)
My Opinion: An intense novel, boarding too closely to reality. Dystopic novels use the ten percent rule. Give a person only ten percent reality, and then you can twist the remaining 90% any way you wish. That is what Christina Dalcher has done. She shows us a ten percent window of what is going on now -- food shelves emptying, financial decline, social media under government control, community chaos, jobs taken from one and given to another, and boom, the line is baited. Enter a charismatic leader flaunting a misandrist utopia where those who need a new path will quickly jump aboard. But with all utopia’s, there is a darker side; this is where the author shines.
I’ve enjoyed her previous books, Vox and Masterclass, and I knew I was in for a wild ride; I was not disappointed. Like her previous novels, this will stay with me for a while. The ten percent rule opens the door just wide enough to imagine the all too real possibilities.
Synopsis: 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. (Goodreads)
My Opinion: An intense novel, boarding too closely to reality. Dystopic novels use the ten percent rule. Give a person only ten percent reality, and then you can twist the remaining 90% any way you wish. That is what Christina Dalcher has done. She shows us a ten percent window of what is going on now -- food shelves emptying, financial decline, social media under government control, community chaos, jobs taken from one and given to another, and boom, the line is baited. Enter a charismatic leader flaunting a misandrist utopia where those who need a new path will quickly jump aboard. But with all utopia’s, there is a darker side; this is where the author shines.
I’ve enjoyed her previous books, Vox and Masterclass, and I knew I was in for a wild ride; I was not disappointed. Like her previous novels, this will stay with me for a while. The ten percent rule opens the door just wide enough to imagine the all too real possibilities.
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