Red Clocks

By: Leni Zumas

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker, Erin Bennett

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

A Popsugar most anticipated book of fall

A Ploughshares most anticipated book of fall

One of Publishers Weekly's most anticipated titles of fall 2017

Five women. One question. What is a woman for?

In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in vitro fertilization 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 alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom.

Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own while also writing a biography of Eivør, 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 herbalist, 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.

©2018 Leni Zumas (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Horrifyingly Real and yet Utterly Foreign

With Donald Trump as our President it seems like anything awful is possible. This book takes the next hypothetical step in the Right’s attack on everyone but cis straight white rich men and portrays a world where hours old embryos have more rights than many felons. It’s a much needed exploration of the highly gendered assumptions both women and men make about their respective gender roles in society. The world of Red Clocks is both completely alien (no legal abortion, a Pink Wall between the US and Canada, IVF outlawed, adoption only open to married couples) and yet is utterly familiar (life goes on, people adapt, there is still kind and empathetic individuals, etc.) Leni Zumas did an excellent job in constructing her story. Would HIGHLY recommend!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Women’s rights

Terrific book & story about women whose rights to their own bodies are taken away. The characters and situations are very real and could happen here. I give the story 5 stars. I recommend this book.

I listened to part of the audible version but found some of the characters confusing. Each main character has a role label (Mother, Biographer, Mender, Daughter) and a proper name (e.g Susan, Ro, Gin, Mattie). So about 25% into the audible, I checked out the book. It was easier to follow the plot lines with the book version. I gave the performance 4 stars.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Bias, too many details and nothing drastic changes

I strongly disliked the characters. Found them products of their own decisions and could not feel compassion for them. And I was hoping they would somehow improve and learn from life; they did not. I was waiting for the climax of the story. Non-existent. The ending...worst part. Also, too many graphic and unnecessary details.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

finished in one sitting

i became completely absorbed into the story and finished the book pretty much in one sitting. i don't remember when was the last time a novel was so relevant to the present. it is hard to swallow and easy to digest at the same time.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A Semi-dystopian Tale

Red Clocks is a middle of the road audiobook. It's not great, and it's not bad. The narrators do a good job, and they sound so much alike that I couldn't tell the difference between them. The book kept my attention. The story was decent. It seemed kind of like a YA novel. I don't go into plot details when I review audiobooks and try to keep my reviews short. I don't think anyone needs a summary of the narrative. Red Clocks reminds me of some Margaret Atwood novels, mainly The Handmaid's Tale and The Heart Goes Last. I think fans of novels such as these will like Red Clocks. Overall, this audiobook receives 3.75 stars from this listener.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Amazing!

The narrator was a bit difficult at first but stay with it- it's an amazing book!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Hold on, it's worth it!

The start of this book is a little too slow paced for me, but I'm glad I didn't decide to call it quits on this book early. After it's slow start, the book does pick up the pace and the over interest level in the second half. Very powerful story, and I highly recommend it!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I was enveloped in the story of each woman.

Remember it is a story of 4 women that are individual yet connected. It is a story of what could be and the impact it would have on women. It took me awhile to comprehend because I felt like the story was all over the place, but yet I still understood.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

One of the best books I’ve listened to in a while

I really loved the style and themes, which are complex, thought-provoking, real. Dreamy quality to the writing, beautiful imagery.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

A cliche Atwood

feeding off cultural bias. no subtlety or art. like a robot wrote it for likes.