Femlandia
One of PureWow’s 9 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in October!
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.
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.
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Community Reviews
Oof.
Dalcher's books always make me think and feel and throw the book across the room...every. single. time.
Just like her two before this one, it was painful to read, but also so damn good!
Dalcher's books always make me think and feel and throw the book across the room...every. single. time.
Just like her two before this one, it was painful to read, but also so damn good!
Here's the thing: The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper is the absolute gold standard for books about all-female societies. Dalcher's latest has something to add to the genre, but frankly I'm not sure that a book will ever be written that measures up.
One issue that seems to always crop up in books of this type is the somewhat obvious: "What do we do with the men?" and its corollary: "How do we procreate?" It is this question that frequently drives the narrative tension in the book, as the main character first uncovers the big secret and then wrestles with her own morality over what to do about it.
Femlandia follows in this mold, although Dalcher throws in a few twists of her own, making this a novel both about female-only societies and one about cults. Miranda Reynolds, like Dr. Jean McLelland of Dalcher's debut novel, Vox, is a woman who takes immediate (and possibly reckless) action as soon as she's decided which is the right path. This rush to action creates an unevenly paced narrative, as things move along at a nice dramtic pace for the first 3/4 of the book, and then the action in the last quarter plummets off a cliff. Although I give Dalcher a lot of credit for pulling up the reins for a well-done epilogue.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
One issue that seems to always crop up in books of this type is the somewhat obvious: "What do we do with the men?" and its corollary: "How do we procreate?" It is this question that frequently drives the narrative tension in the book, as the main character first uncovers the big secret and then wrestles with her own morality over what to do about it.
Femlandia follows in this mold, although Dalcher throws in a few twists of her own, making this a novel both about female-only societies and one about cults. Miranda Reynolds, like Dr. Jean McLelland of Dalcher's debut novel, Vox, is a woman who takes immediate (and possibly reckless) action as soon as she's decided which is the right path. This rush to action creates an unevenly paced narrative, as things move along at a nice dramtic pace for the first 3/4 of the book, and then the action in the last quarter plummets off a cliff. Although I give Dalcher a lot of credit for pulling up the reins for a well-done epilogue.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.
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