See, that's the thing about some of these old classic books. They become so iconic that you almost feel like you are doing something wrong, or [image]
See, that's the thing about some of these old classic books. They become so iconic that you almost feel like you are doing something wrong, or you are being too "predictable" if you like them.
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For its time, this book was a giant feminist cry, and it still bucks a little bit against the system with a protagonist that is NOT looking for love or marriage. But, I think the thing that struck me more than anything was the tragic way mental illness was treated back then. Shock treatments, insulin treatments, and lobotomies were standard care for these poor patients. It just made me feel so outraged on their behalf!
Of course the patriarchal system where men controlled women's bodies in every way was also murder-inducing. From the condescending attitudes towards illness, like telling a female that her (common) complaint must be all in her head, to the barbaric way they treated childbirth, it made me wish that when I was born I could have slapped my doctor. My mother was one of those women who was left to scream alone in a labor room, then drugged in a twilight sleep just in time to be taken to a delivery room, on her back, to have a baby pulled out of her with forceps. Ugh! I can't imagine the fear and horror that the mothers must have felt, all alone, in a society that acted like giving birth was dirty or shameful.
Thank God that we don't have those types of attitudes going on in our society nowadays.
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Okay, we still have a little bit more work to do. I'm just happy that the millennial generation females have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to male-bullshit....more
I'm rating this middle-of-the-road because the stuff I liked about the book I really liked, but the stuff I hated I really hated.
Liked: Stephen King rI'm rating this middle-of-the-road because the stuff I liked about the book I really liked, but the stuff I hated I really hated.
Liked: Stephen King really gets you inside the characters heads and creates complex characters. I had strong feelings about many of the characters.
Hated: There were too many damn characters. There was a cast of characters at the beginning of the book that had over 70 people listed. I was like, do I really need to study this before reading? Is this going to be on the test? I'm not sure if I'm up for it. Also, he added in a couple of bad guys at about 3/4ths of the way into the book. They didn't add anything to the overall story except for additional pages of us having to learn absolutely everything about them and their family histories. I would rather have stuck with the characters I was already invested in and their storylines. It was simply annoying.
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Liked: There is a plague! Well... a sleeping sickness that only affects women. It was slightly creepy, but a lot of fun to watch as it developed and women fought it for as long as they could. I thought it was funny that the cops eventually started doing meth and cocaine to stay awake. Personally, I'd just say f-it and go to sleep because I hate staying awake and I'd probably be one of those people who has an immediate heart attack if I try to take one of those drugs to stay awake. Hell, caffeine makes me jumpy.
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Hated: Along with the plague comes a magical tree, a magical tiger, a magical snake, and a semi-magical fox. They annoyed me. No, I didn't find them mystical and pretty. I found them to have a hell of a lot of pages dedicated to their magicalness and I hated them the whole time. Have I mentioned I hate magic? Sure, I like Urban Fantasy, but I have no patience for magic. The only thing worse than magic, in my book, is if it is being performed by a clown. Oh, and we can thank Mr. King as well for our societal fear of clowns.
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Liked: There is a lot of girl power in this book. The sleeping women travel to another time/space and start a new society. They do amazing things together and build their own new world. There is a lot of food for thought in there:
Molly (12 yrs old) walked the two blocks back to her house (in the dark). By herself. And why could she do that? Because in this world there were no predators. No pedophiles.
Hated: Although I am all for a good girl-power theme, the world of men seemed to fall apart a little too fast for me. It seems that most men are aggressive, animalistic killing machines without us girls! I guess it's good to be needed, but come on. Society completely falls apart in five days! I truly think they could have made it a bit longer. At least I hope so...
[image] Omg, can I have this bunny??? He's so cute! (sorry. I guess I am a stereotype myself. Writing a review: "Oh look, a bunny!!")
And finally: What I hated more than anything and, to me, was the most important thing about this book:
This book was too damn long!
It would have been so much better if it was a hundred pages shorter. Or, even more. There were pages and pages on the magic tree. Pages and pages of what a FOX is thinking. Pages and pages of the guys setting up for their war. Pages and pages of those bad guys that were added in really late and didn't need to be in the book at all. Too long!
Still, overall, it was a pretty good book and I got engrossed in the story. I would recommend it for people who like Stephen King and who have patience....more
This book was nothing like I thought it would be and I loved it. Will you love it? If you like mysteries with just a hint of romance, you might.
The sThis book was nothing like I thought it would be and I loved it. Will you love it? If you like mysteries with just a hint of romance, you might.
The sexy times were fade-to-black, so the only growling and mewing you will get is from the wildlife that is surrounding this town. And, hell-to-the-no on me ever wanting to visit a place like this, let alone live there. It's more dangerous than Australia!
Out on a horse ride, the sheriff is telling our heroine that they used to keep dogs and cats until they went feral. Now, there are killer dogs and cats in the forest. Even the wild chickens have jumped in front of their horses and broken someone's neck by him falling.
..."The rabbits, though? The rabbits haven’t killed anyone.” He pauses. “So far.”
[image] Brave Sir Robin really was the sensible one.
On top of the killer pets, there were also people living in the forest who have "gone wild". And, no, not in a sexy-college-coed way. More in a dirty-crazy-cannibalistic way. I mean, both ways will really hurt their chances at future job opportunities, but the crazy cannibals don't really care.
[image] Some things shouldn't be public knowledge
So, this book has obviously got that whole nature thing going. The premise is that there is a town in the Yukon that is completely off the grid and takes in people who need to hide out for some reason. Often it is battered women, people hiding from hit-men, or people who have committed crimes. This mixture causes a need for a strong police presence, and our hero, Casey, is a detective who needs to hide from the mob. She moves there with her BFF who has an abusive ex-husband stalker.
Casey's BFF does go wild because the town is 75% men. I'm guessing a soft three is a hard ten in this place. Instead of beer goggles, it is wilderness goggles. Well, and beer goggles... there's a lot of drinking going on. At the whore-house. Oh, yeah, there's a whore-house. Of course. How could a town exist without one? It is accepted as a necessary thing. The "madam" tries to explain this and how prostitution keeps the raping to a minimum to Casey, but it doesn't go that smoothly:
Casey - "You’ve found a way to turn a profit in Rockton. And in return, the rest of the women have to put up with being treated like we’ll all whore ourselves—it’s just a matter of finding the right price.”
Whoremonger - “I think that’s exaggerating—”
Casey -“I’ve been here four days, and I’ve still managed to be offered money for sex twice."
Whoremonger - “You’re young and attractive. It’s an anomaly.”
Casey - “I can handle it. I’m sure every other woman in this town can, too, because it’s not like most of them have had their self-esteem ground into the dirt by an abusive asshole.”
Whoremonger - "This is one solution to a very serious problem.”
Casey - “That guys can’t keep their pants zipped? That if you deprive them of women, they’ll just take them? That’s a hell of an insult to the men in this town.”
Casey: [image]
And, this is one of the reasons I loved this book. Aside from it being unique, interesting, fun, romantic, and eerie, I just adored Casey. She is titanium. Strong, but not a Mary Sue or special snowflake. She survives some bad shit, she lives with having disappointed her parents, she gets caught up in regretting some poor decisions she's made, but she is stronger for it all.
She's not perfect:
Stargazing with the sheriff: He squints up into the sky. “First you need to find the North Star. You see it up there?”
I point.
“That’s a planet,” he says.
I try again.
“That’d be the space station.” He directs me until I have the North Star.
[image] Bummer, I heard it is really pretty..
Casey doesn't know everything, and doesn't pretend like she does. She also is strong without being bitchy. I appreciated that.
The mystery in the book was interesting and not obvious in its conclusion. The romance aspect was super subtle and a slow-burn, which I liked.
Overall, this was a unique and fun story. Oh, and there is no paranormal at all. Just in case you were expecting everyone to be werewolves because this is Kelly Armstrong. Nope. Just people.
I've always been interested in the early suffragettes. It must have been a lot of society women because the working class ladies wouldn't have had theI've always been interested in the early suffragettes. It must have been a lot of society women because the working class ladies wouldn't have had the time to go out and march and makes signs and such. I mean, sheesh, it took an entire day to make a meal, let alone washing clothing by fire, pumping water, trying to keep the hovel clean while taking care of a boatload of kids because they had no access to birth control and no right to say no to sex with their husbands. Not to mention no disposable diapers or tampons. Talk about sucky! I think they were probably happy to die young of an ingrown toenail just to get some rest.
[image] Oh Mr. Chair, you are so kind! I'm tired from just thinking about those poor women.
Our heroine is named Free (for Fredericka) and she is running a newspaper completely run by women. Her paper is successful, so of course it is pissing off the patriarchy.
[image] It's a good thing there is no time machine. It would be better named an assassination machine if we got hold of one. Just angry, previously oppressed people going back in time and killing "the man".
The main dude who wants to discredit Free, and maybe have her lose everything, go to jail, and be roughed-up a bit, is a guy who had been spurned by her. Yes, he wants to ruin her life because she didn't want to be his mistress. How dare she?
[image] Who wouldn't want him?
Luckily, this guy is such a dick that his own brother hates him. Edward comes to town to help Free. He has a very bad reputation and is completely untrustworthy, but at least he tells her this. In their first meeting, he tries to blackmail her. But, she's smart. She gets the best of him at every turn and he finds himself starting to respect her. And, she starts to fall for him because he is hilariously sarcastic and dry - along with being smart and sneaky. They partner up to stop his brother's bullshit.
This book was super fun. There may or may not be a mention of a puppy-cannon which only strengthens the story as far as I'm concerned. The love was a little insta, but I'll allow it because these characters are pretty lovable. Also, if you read the previous books, you will enjoy seeing those characters 10 years later....more
Not a funny collection of mansplaining, but a serious look at why feminism is still important in today's society.
Women's liberation has often been Not a funny collection of mansplaining, but a serious look at why feminism is still important in today's society.
Women's liberation has often been portrayed as a movement intent on encroaching upon or taking power and privilege away from men, as though in some dismal zero-sum game, only one gender at a time could be free and powerful. But, we are free together or slaves together....more
Oooh, alien smut where Earth women are taken to another galaxy because they don't have enough women? Count me in! But, you won't find that much actualOooh, alien smut where Earth women are taken to another galaxy because they don't have enough women? Count me in! But, you won't find that much actual smut here. It's so much more.
I know what you're saying, "But, Jilly, why would I want to read alien smut if there isn't much smut?" I hear ya, sister! Let's make a toast to blue aliens with ridges!
But, do you like castles, kings, lords, feudal systems, and court intrigue?
Do you like the amusing situations of a man having no idea how our earthy minds work, but is willing to do anything to please you?
Do you like a strong female heroine who breaks down the social barriers between the sexes and not only saves herself and her children, but also saves her man?
Do you like a great romance where both partners learn to work together and a love that grows with mutual respect and admiration?
Then you will love this book. And, not only does it have all of the above, but the aliens also just so happen to be every color of the rainbow. Like Skittles!! Who wouldn't love Skittle Aliens? I want one in purple.
Here is the only reason I didn't give it 5-stars: it starts out a little clunky, but gets its groove going pretty quickly. Also, there are editing issues. It's not that big of a deal, and consideration needs to be given to a smaller, self-published work. Plus, I was able to pretty much ignore most of the problems. Still, even a spell-check or the editor in most programs should have been able to catch most of them. In spite of those little problems, the story was good enough to overlook them and I am anxious to read more in this series....more
Actually I'm not sure if I loved this book or hated it. It was one of those books that you read and you're kind of miserable the whole time, but it alActually I'm not sure if I loved this book or hated it. It was one of those books that you read and you're kind of miserable the whole time, but it also kind of blows your mind and gets you thinking. Usually, I'm against thinking too hard. I'm lazy. But, in this case, I thought some really good points on feminism, the patriarchy, religious zealotry, and the media made it worth it to hurt my brain a little bit.
[image] okay, I admit this is every day...
So, the premise of this book is about a young woman who is recounting her childhood with a mentally ill sister. The sister seems to be schizophrenic, but we can never really be sure. Her father is convinced that she is possessed by a demon and agrees to allow a reality television show film their family and an exorcism that is performed on the girl. It is, to put it in a succinct way, a clusterfuck.
How shocking, huh? An exorcism that is a reality show spectacle turns out poorly for all involved? Who would have guessed! Those concerned and benevolent television producers were only interested in helping this poor 14-yr old girl get well. How could they have known that turning her sickness into a circus might be harmful?
[image] And much like reality television, it will all turn to rotting unrecognizable goo..
In between the girl's recounting of her story, we also see blog posts about the reality show itself where the author is picking the show apart, giving us the idea that maybe the whole thing was staged. And, it does give the reader smidgens of doubt. You aren't sure what you believe, and you aren't sure your narrator is even very reliable when she is telling what actually happened.
[image] maybe...
Then, we find out who is writing the blog. Hummm.... is she giving us hints?
Then, we get a bomb dropped.
And, then we are decimated...
What the hell, book?
Things just don't wrap up neatly in this story. We have to make our own judgments about Marjorie and her "possession"/mental illness, but I like what our blogger had to say about it:
If she was possessed by anything other than faulty brain chemistry and/or DNA, I like to imagine her as being possessed by the vast, awesome and awful monster that is popular culture.
I tried to read this. I really did. But, the main asshole character was such a horrible person that he gave a whole new meaning to the DN-fucking-F!!!
I tried to read this. I really did. But, the main asshole character was such a horrible person that he gave a whole new meaning to the words: Douchebag Fuckboy.
This is a story about a real whore. She just wants to sleep around and not be accountable to anyone for her actions. You really need to read it, and iThis is a story about a real whore. She just wants to sleep around and not be accountable to anyone for her actions. You really need to read it, and it's free if you just click the link.
The sentimental part of me was dead, burned away and crumbled to ash -- just like my family had been.
Yep, it's that good. I have to give the book The sentimental part of me was dead, burned away and crumbled to ash -- just like my family had been.
Yep, it's that good. I have to give the book points for seriously putting out every cheesy line and stereotype that could possibly be used in this story. We had the bad-ass assassin girl who was out on the streets as a kid until a kind-hearted assassin took her in and trained her to kill. Now, she is the most feared assassin around and kills without regret. But, only people who deserve to be killed. No kids, pets, or torturing. She has a code. They always have a code.... Well, guess what? I have a code too. If you write crap like this:
Part of me wanted to punch him in his nose. Another part of me wanted to pull him toward me, plant my lips on his...
my code is telling me to give you a low rating. My code also doesn't allow for stereotyping that says these things:
..ditched the glasses in a dumpster next to a Chinese restaurant. The metal container reeked of soy sauce and week-old fried rice...
Several good ole boys chain-smoked and knocked back beers on their front stoops, while inside, their wives hurried to put dinner on the table in time to avoid getting a fresh shiner....
A couple of blocks over, a vampire hooker would do you in your car for fifty bucks, while the homeless guys dug through trash cans looking for enough garbage to eat for the night.
I hoped the police force was stocked up on coffee and doughnuts because the body count was about to go up tonight.
If there was one thing all southern women instinctively know how to do, it's flirt. It's encoded in our DNA, along with a fondness for grease, sugar, and oversize hats...
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Okay - enough!! My code has a huge problem with those quotes. And, that's not even scratching the surface of the giant block of (possibly racist) cheese. She also says that she has to "lullaby" a guy, and that when they are about to fight, that then they "dance". Seriously? I rolled my eyes so many times that they got stuck that way - just like my mother warned me.
So, basically, this book is ridiculous. Which is a bummer because the premise and the world is cool. It just couldn't deliver the same originality in the story. It was this fresh idea wrapped in an old, worn-out wrapper. Like a day-old, half-eaten, eggroll that was probably in that dumpster behind the Chinese restaurant.
So, you see the cover, with ab-man and the foreboding dark birds behind him. And, our story starts with Kera, our heroine, becoming a mythological CroSo, you see the cover, with ab-man and the foreboding dark birds behind him. And, our story starts with Kera, our heroine, becoming a mythological Crow whose job is to work for the Nordic goddess Skuld as an assassin.
“For they are the Crows,” he intoned solemnly, “and they are the harbingers of death.” [image]
Now, you are thinking, this is a dark urban fantasy book with Nordic mythology as its basis, right? Well, you'd be wrong. Really really wrong. Because, somehow, with this premise, along with tons of battles, bloody deaths, human sacrifice, and tons of gore, this book is actually hilarious. It's got a silly comedic thing going on with insane and funny dialogue. It's absolutely nothing that I was expecting.
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First off, we have stupid characters. I'm not talking about stupidly-written characters, I mean they are just not that intelligent - none of them. We have a group of women - the Crows, and a group of men - the Ravens, who are kind of like the male counterparts to the Crows. They act like a really bad sorority and fraternity with the maturity level of college freshmen. But, it would have to be a pretty bad college because these people would never be admitted to a decent university.
Kat started to drag the new girl back into Vig's house. "No more painkillers and tequila!" she ordered. "That was disgusting," Rolf complained. "I hate watching cute chicks vomit. It totally kills their cute."
See? You could hear that exact conversation at many frat parties every weekend.
[image] ummm, what is it intended for?
So, Kera was a former Marine who was killed by some jerk behind her job at a coffee shop. Her favorite customer, some homeless guy, saw her dying and called out to the goddess Skuld to save her. Skuld saved her, but Kera would only commit to serving Skuld if she would also be allowed to bring her dog, Brodie. This brings us the most epic dog in book history. Because, not only does Skuld save Brodie, but she makes Brodie a Crow as well. And, let's just say that it is the best thing ever... because Crows have wings....
"What the holy fuck?"
"Keep your voice down," Annalisa whispered.
"Keep my voice down?"
Brodie stood and walked from one side of the kitchen to the other, wings up, head held high. There was even a little prance to her step.
"What is with this dog?" Erin demanded. "She's acting like a stripper with new tits."
"She's proud," Annalisa said.
[image] That's right, you work it, girlfriend!
And, it turns out that the "homeless guy" that helped Kera get her second life as a Crow wasn't homeless at all - he is a Raven with a crush on her. She thought he was a homeless veteran who needed her help - a mentally ill homeless veteran.
His name is Ludvig, Vig for short, and his sister, the Valkyrie, Kat, was trying to cheer him up. At least he saved Kera's life so she owes him. Right?
"You need to see the positive side."
"What positive side?"
"Now she knows that you're not mentally ill, which means you need a little fixing up. Women love to fix up shit...At first, she'll be hanging around you trying to figure out how to pay that debt off, and that's when you'll wheedle your way in."
"I don't want to wheedle."
"There's no shame in the wheedle."
"Really? Because I feel like there should be a little shame."
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Okay, that cracked me up. If you are a Seinfeld fan, you get why it cracked me up.
There is just hilarious banter, crazy situations, quirky characters, and surprisingly explicit sex galore in this book. It is like a very mixed bag of genres mashed together to create this strange, but fun book. I think it's definitely going to be a 'love it' or 'hate it' kind of thing. I am in the "love it" category.
Yes!! After the disaster that was "The Shadows", we finally get back to some of the things I loved about this series in the first place. And, if you aYes!! After the disaster that was "The Shadows", we finally get back to some of the things I loved about this series in the first place. And, if you are a Butch fan, this book is soooooo for you because about half of the book is about him. The other half is about Paradise, who we met in The Shadows, and Craeg - some dude. Well, vampire dude.
But, here's the thing, this book had some amazing possibilities for some great female-power messages, and then it kind of crashed and burned at the end. So much potential, though...
First, we have Marissa dealing with hubby, Butch. He is all kinds of messed up with the Madonna/Whore complex about his wife. He feels like he can't "spoil" her in certain ways and it is starting to piss Marissa off. She was sheltered and treated like a golden breeder all of her life and wants a real and honest relationship with her husband. But, he's so caught up in his 1950's attitude that he won't budge. I liked how Marissa was pushing back to get off of the pedestal that Butch had her on. So much potential...
Then, we have Paradise who was born into wealth and also has a golden uterus. She wants so much to be more than a trophy wife who does social and charity events. She enrolls in the new training center that the Brotherhood is running. She also ends up doing really well - top of her class - the "Primus". Yay, Parry! She beats the guys and gives one to womankind. So much potential...
Then there is another female student, Novo, who is buff, tough, and makes no apologies for it. She encourages Parry to win their first test for class. She is never jealous, catty, or petty, but all about girl-power. I love girls like that!
"Ladies and gentlemen," Payton said. "We have our Primus."
(Paradise) "Don't call me that...ever."
"Why?" Novo challenged. "You beat all of us. You lasted the longest. You should be fucking proud of it."
[image] That's right, girl! You go!
So what went wrong when we were on this mighty feminism train? It got derailed because, boys. Yeah.
[image] Yeah, feminism shmeminism. I need a man.
But, the book was still really good. It reminded me of the earlier BDB books when we had John Matthew, Blay, and Qhuin hanging out while they were training. The new recruits were all interesting and pretty well developed characters. I look forward to getting to know them better.
Also, there were a lot of funny moments. Lassiter, the angel, is always hilarious and he makes a spectacular entrance into a pool in front of the students.
He was wearing a scuba mask and snorkel set pushed off his handsome face... a set of flippers that slapped over the slick floor as he approached the pool's edge... a slingshot bathing suit that was hot pink... and a children's yellow and blue floaty around his waist.
There's a pretty picture as he does a cannonball into the pool!
Later, he tries to convince Marissa to buy one of his calendars.
"They're only five bucks. I have to cover printing costs. Good news? There was no photographer expense - I took the pics with my selfie stick."
"You actually made a calendar of yourself."
"Why do you think I had my pants off?"
There is also a girls-night where all of the ladies of the mansion get together to eat dinner and watch Magic Mike XXL. They laugh and make jokes and have all of the goofiness that women have when they let loose together. That was cute. The males of the house, though, took it pretty hard, and that was funny too.
All in all, the good parts of this book out-weighed the bad by a long shot. It is totally worth reading. :)...more
Shanti is an awesome female warrior who can kill a person with her mind or her sword. She comes from a society where women and men are equal in[image]
Shanti is an awesome female warrior who can kill a person with her mind or her sword. She comes from a society where women and men are equal in rank and power. They also had no problems with nudity which is the only thing I would have changed. Let's face it, most nudists are people that NOBODY wants to see naked. Plus, nudism? Kind of unsanitary in my eyes. Put on some damn clothes and we'll talk. Until then, please don't sit on my furniture.
[image]
So, when Shanti's town is wiped-out, she goes out to seek help from another place that is really far away. Bummer that they don't have cars because she could have probably driven it in a couple of days, but she has been walking for a year. When we begin our story, she has been starving and is almost dead from dehydration when a group of young men find her and save her. This is like a boy scout group of misfits who are training to be in their city's army. They just earned their "save a foreign woman from death" badge - which was surprisingly easier to earn than the "knot-tying" badge.
[image] That'll motivate them to try harder...
So, Shanti is taken to a town where they have old fashioned gender roles and she doesn't quite fit in. She's a warrior and they won't let her fight, they want her to wear dresses, and they expect her to do feminine things - like needlepoint. The leader of the town, the Captain, even checks up on how her needlepointing is coming along.
The man was a meddling jerk. She left the house for a walk, and someone showed up to tell her to go home and work on needlepoint. She opened the window for some air and someone wandered by with the needlepoint message..
She'd settled for drawing an explicit gesture on a piece of cloth and sending it to his house. She received the cloth back with a message to try again, only this time, sew the gesture in needlepoint.
The best part is that later in the story, we find her using those needles as weapons. That's awesome.
But, the Captain is far more interesting than just his fascination with the crafty arts. It turns out that he has the same mind-crushing powers as Shanti but just doesn't know how to use it. So, Shanti is thinking she either has to help him or kill him. She's leaning towards the killing... And, that's one of the things I love about her. Killing is her default setting.
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So, this story is mainly about her experiences in this town as she gets to know the people and especially the Captain. It is funny, different, and entertaining. Shanti is a great heroine who has a lot of heartbreak inside of her but still manages to be snarky and fun throughout the book. I really can't remember the last time I liked a main character as much as I like Shanti. This book is definitely worth reading if you like a strong female character who brings the sarcasm and kicks ass....more
The Handmaid's Tale meets YA Dystopia. And, without all of that silly depression and despondency that comes with The Handmaid's Tale. There is hope inThe Handmaid's Tale meets YA Dystopia. And, without all of that silly depression and despondency that comes with The Handmaid's Tale. There is hope in this one. YA style hope, meaning there is a boy involved, but still, it was much better than I expected it to be. Because, love-interest or not, our heroine is more interested in being free than chasing a guy around.
My ma taught me one thing from the beginning. My body is mine. My own. No one else's. Just because someone thinks they have rights to it, doesn't make it true.
You go, girl!!
But, Aya/Clover is fighting an uphill battle because she lives in a world where girls are simply a commodity. They are auctioned and sold to the highest bidder and have to live as his possession until they either give him a son, or he gets tired of them. After this, they are resold, as used goods, over and over again until they die.
Most girls understand that this is their lot in life and do nothing but hope they can get the best possible master husband.
They've forgotten, or maybe they never learned, that their worth is not determined by how much a man wants them.
Well, it's a good thing this is fiction!!! We never are taught that in this enlightened day and age!
[image] Freaking media! Always setting the bar just a little bit higher!
They are sent to prisons camps to be groomed and sold to the highest bidder. Aya is caught in the wild and sent to one of these places where she is renamed Clover. Considering she was living free beforehand, she is a premium, organic, free-range, meat girl who may be able to produce children, unlike those factory farm girls. She should get a good price. But, Aya/Clover doesn't want to be sold so she does crazy things to get out of it. Like getting beat-up so her face is messed up, or acting like a raving lunatic on stage.
That's right. This society is so screwed-up and dystopic that they parade these girls across the stage and the men rate them. It's crazy, right? right?
[image] pedo bear approved...
Aya's whole goal is to get free and get back to her wild mountain living where she left behind some young cousins. She intends to keep them safe from the auction block and to live her life on her own terms. Crazy females, right? Thinking they should be able to live freely and not be sex slaves. Bitches be crazy!
This book is very fast-paced and entertaining. I wouldn't say that it's the most original dystopia ever written, but it has a better underlying message than most. It also doesn't have Aya starting some revolution against the government and being a special snowflake. She is just a girl trying to keep her and her family free. No super-powers, no magic, no most-beautiful girl in the world, no extra strength or brains - just a normal girl. I found that refreshing.
This book was read as part of my 2016 reading challenge with the Mac Halo chicks: Read a book that has been on your TBR list for over a year. [image]...more
There are many lessons in the bible that are supposed to be "do not do this" stories. One of such is the story of Abraham's wife, Sarah, who was promiThere are many lessons in the bible that are supposed to be "do not do this" stories. One of such is the story of Abraham's wife, Sarah, who was promised by God that she would have a baby. Tired of waiting, she sent her maid in to get pregnant by her husband, and he had a son named Ishmael. Later, Sarah finally had that son that was promised by God, and named him Isaac. These two sons are the fathers of the Arabs and Jews, respectively. So, we all know how well that worked out.
In this book, the whole society is based upon the idea of using "handmaids" as vehicles to have children for wealthy married people who couldn't conceive. These handmaids were forced into service when this crazy religious group took over society and started oppressing women in ways that are crazy to us, but are actually going on in the present day world (Saudi Arabia, Taliban).
The story is written as if it were transcribed from a verbal diary account of a handmaid who had previously been happily married with a child and had a job. Everything was lost to her and she was indoctrinated and forced into this terrible position. There is such a feeling of utter helplessness in her words, along with the kind of despondency that comes when someone has lost all hope. It is easy for us to read it and wonder why she didn't rebel or rail against the system, but she was a survivor and suffering from major trauma. The government never allowed anyone to get comfortable so that hope could slip in by having a wall where there were dissenters hung each day. She lived in a state of shock and fear. Atwood does an amazing job of making these feelings so visceral that you are raging against the injustices happening to these people.
The book is very dark, very bleak, very depressing, and doesn't have a happy ending. But, it seems to me that it is an important read because we must remember our sisters who do live under veils, that are not allowed to drive cars or vote or go out alone, and are treated like nothing but unclean animals that are only necessary for procreation. Until they are free, we can never believe that this book is just some trivial work from a crazy feminist....more
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