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Performance
Overall
Excellent, Unforgettable, Best of the nest
Very good, thoroughly enjoyed,
Good, Solid, Enjoyed many aspects
STAR RATINGS GUIDE
This is to dystopia what Station Eleven is to the post apocalyptic genre. Beautiful, Funny and Scarily Prescient. Inches From Reality
THE BIRDICT
š This is dreamy and beautiful yet somehow also funny and snarky. Zumasās writing is a character in itself; playfully poetic and full of unusual metaphors.
ā¤ļøļø The five women (one a girl) we follow each face different challenges as a result of living in an America where abortion is illegal. Because this is a dystopia. It is speculative. It couldnāt possibly hapā¦ Forget I said anything.
š Some characters are likable, some I loved to hate, but they were all fascinating and believable. And the plot is one of those where all comes full circle in a smart, satisfying way.
PS I hope my zombie books donāt start hopping on the life imitating art bandwagonā¦
SQUAWKING THE TALK
š§ The performances are purposefully dreamy and pensive. For the more serious parts, this matches the tone of the book. And itās pointedly incongruous with the comic aspects, somehow making them funner. Loved these narrators,
š§ You need to focus on this to get the nuances of the story, Having said that, I felt lost at times, but managed to get back on track without needing to go back and relisten.
BIRDS OF A FEATHER: SIMILAR AUDIOBOOKS
No spoilers for this one. Maybe next time!
Click For Spoilers
Red Clocks
THE BLURB
Five women. One question: what is a woman for?
In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in vitro fertilisation is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers.
Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own while also writing a biography of EivĆør, 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 homeopath, 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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