I think my problem with this book is that I want it to be something that it’s not. Part of it is the result of reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler before this. It accustomed me to a dystopia that provides a matriarchal lens amidst a dying patriarchal world. This book, in comparison, is not that whatsoever.

This book is more of a commentary on the way male patriarchal violence hurts women and hurts the globe. Ultimately, it does so by providing women characters who enforce

• American imperialism
• Patriarchy by women and
• The fear of Eastern Europe

This book is so hard to rate. Naomi Alderman is a really good creative writer whose pacing and storytelling hits all the right points. They were some genuinely surprising twists (e.g. interpersonal betrayals, character alliances) throughout that brought out a reaction from me when they occurred. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy being in this book for the most part. I was simultaneously curious about its ending while dreading my time dedicated to reading it. I couldn’t wait for it to be over!!

The story she conceptualised is so … American. It’s no surprise that this made a former US president’s summer reading list in 2017.

America and England are fairly functional and embrace more women in power (as does israel apparently), while countries like India, Moldova and Saudi Arabia are overrun by anarchies or dictatorship or war. Despite this being the same America that still hasn’t had a female head of state. It brings forward the insinuation that women of the global south would create a savage earth which to me is really racist, actually!!!

I see the potential in this story and its idea, but the execution is so patriarchal and colonial. It reinforces 1 dimensional imaginations about countries outside of the USA. It also portrays a white feminist politic where all women are vying for the power men currently have. Especially when you consider how sex, gender, feminism and matriarchy operate differently depending on the cultural context. The absence of transgender people in this world also deprived this book a great deal of depth.

I find it hard to believe that all women would become corrupt with power and it’s not really fleshed out why so many leaders and influential figures are content with enforcing totalitarianism. Or why so many civilian women (some of whom were likely victims of sexual violence) are rejoicing about being able to sexually abuse others.

I feel like the only reason this kind of storytelling occurred is to make a point about the world we live in and query how men would feel if they were on the receiving end of powerlessness amidst gendered violence. A story like this is better off told as a novella or short story where the author writes only about the country and culture they are familiar with.

As a reader who identifies as a woman, I felt like I was reading violent scenario after violent scenario that re told our experiences back to us. I also don’t find it creative to continue to make West Asia and Eastern Europe the central villains and arbiters of war and violence. American Orientalism? Groundbreaking.

I’m glad this is over because I’m never going near this book again!

When you read other books by Toni Morrison, you know why they gave her the Nobel. However, when you read Beloved, you understand in a deep sense why she deserved it.

This book it's like a painting of shadows. The more you look, the more the image it's defined, the more you see details and discover the story. It's a dark, rich story full of pain and of beauty. Invites to reflection without asking more than attention, specially in the first part. However, it involves you once the story gets a grip.

Morrison uses the pain of slavery to explore the break between the before and after for a slaved, now free, woman and her descendants. It doesn't preach nor romantices, just tells direct what's happening, what they are feeling, what are the demons that horror ingrains in human beings after a trauma.

Nothing in this book it's left for interpretation. Every little word, line, metaphor, has a why and it's so wonderful.