The Book of Etta

The Road to Nowhere, Book 2

By: Meg Elison

Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

In the gripping sequel to the Philip K. Dick Award-winning novel The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, one woman undertakes a desperate journey to rescue the future.

Etta comes from Nowhere, a village of survivors of the great plague that wiped away the world that was. In the world that is, women are scarce and childbearing is dangerous...yet desperately necessary for humankind's future. Mothers and midwives are sacred, but Etta has a different calling. As a scavenger. Loyal to the village but living on her own terms, Etta roams the desolate territory beyond: salvaging useful relics of the ruined past and braving the threat of brutal slave traders, who are seeking women and girls to sell and subjugate.

When slavers seize those she loves, Etta vows to release and avenge them. But her mission will lead her to the stronghold of the Lion - a tyrant who dominates the innocent with terror and violence. There, with no allies and few weapons besides her wits and will, she will risk both body and spirit not only to save lives but also to liberate a new world's destiny.

©2017 Meg Elison (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Women Are Sacred! Or Aren't They?

THE BOOK OF ETTA (THE ROAD TO NOWHERE 2) is a heavy piece of dark, post-apocalyptic fiction.

This story picks up about 100 years after THE BOOK OF THE UNNAMED MIDWIFE. The Unnamed created the city of Nowhere and now they have developed their own way of life. Since the plague that started everything, women are scarce and children even more so. As such, Nowhere honors women and to keep the human race going, women there have created hives-a group of men/lovers who help that woman with chores and who also provide regular loving- with the hopes of childbirth as the result. According to the elders of Nowhere, this is the chief role of women now. Period.

Here, we meet Etta, who feels constrained in Nowhere. Etta has no time for hives or for childbirth, and she wants no part of it. She goes out as a raider instead-looking for goods from the old world which can be made useful again. On her travels, she binds herself up to pass for a man and calls herself Eddie. There are more reasons for that other than the plain fact that it's safer to travel as a man, but I'll let you discover those reasons on your own. As Eddie, he comes across several towns, all with their own ways of doing things, (the world building here is impressive), and then he comes across the town of STL. (I see other reviews calling it Estiel, but I listened to the audio and I just assumed it was STL, so I'm sticking with that.) In STL reigns a man called "The Lion." What he has going on in HIS city is a travesty and an injustice-one that Eddie cannot let stand. Will he be successful in putting an end to the practices of The Lion? Will he survive? Will humankind survive? You'll have to read this to find out!

I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first, but I think that's because it took me a little time to get used to the voices of Etta/Eddie. Once I did, though, I settled down and let the story wash over me. As I said above the world-building here is so interesting, each town having their own beliefs about women and children and how to keep the humanity going, it provided a lot to think about. Also, it was sad to see what happened to America in the wake of the plague-how many things had been forgotten, the uses for implements lost to history, and of course, what happened to personal freedoms and choices. It's hard for women to live in this world right now, just imagine how hard it would be in a world with no medicines, no birth control, no choices at all for women in general. These were the aspects of this world that interested me the most.

As a note of caution to potential readers-there are all kinds of unpleasant happenings in this book. None of it surprised or shocked me, avid horror reader that I am, but it might shock some. Rapes, pedophiles, genital mutilation, child abuse and other things are part of the post plague world and if those things really get to you, you might want to take a pass.

That said, I recommend this book if you enjoyed the first in the trilogy. No, it's not the same as THE UNNAMED, and no, it's not even the same world as the first book because things have changed so much, but Etta and Eddie have a lot to say and I, for one, was happy to listen. I'm intrigued and excited for the last book THE BOOK OF FLORA, which I've already requested from NetGalley.

I bought this audiobook with my hard earned cash and this is my honest opinion.

wonderful second book

I was worried it wouldn't be as good as the first, but it was great in a different way. I was confused in the beginning which I dont think would have happened if had been reading it myself, but it didn't take long for me to figure out what was going on. great ending, I can't wait for the third book. which I heard maybe next summer!

Fantastic

Picks right up where the last left off. Now I am looking for the next!

Excellent!

This story was an excellent journey of discovery, faith, and peronal growth. I loved it.

Be still my heart

I am in love, with this author, her story, the narration. Everything is just spot on. Few and far between are the books that examine gender in such a thoughtful and provocative manner. Not only was I with the characters every step of their journey, I was also invited to think about gender, its expression, and its importance in the world on a deeper level than usual encouraged to by society at large. This book was simply brilliant, and I feel blessed to live in a time when radical queer authors are getting published with more regularity.

Lasted forever

I couldn’t get this over quick enough .. etta… Eddie … my God it just went on forever .. born in the chair .. geez .. first book was good

Decent followup to Unnamed, but poor narration

I absolutely loved Book One of this series, and jumped right into Book Two, hoping for something just as dark, insightful and raw. I can't say that this book held the same awe with me, but I think most of the issue was the narration. I can't put my finger on it, but the reading was just...off. The accents were terrible, and there were a bunch of mispronunciations (e.g. "pe-rif-ee-uhl" for peripheral). I'll still move on to Book Three, but with much lowered standards.

Loved it!!

The First book of this series caught my attention with the name, (The Book of the UnNamed MidWife), don’t know if I’d have read this one or even thought of reading/listening to it. But I’m so glad I did. It start kinda slow and didn’t know if I wanted to finish it, don’t give up on it too early, you’ll be glad you didn’t. Wonderfully strong Women, I loved it. I will always say in any book I listen to, that they always need a female & male narrator, if the book has both.....but like I said I loved it even though. Thanks Ms Ellison

The Book of Etta

Thie sequel to the Unnamed Midwife was better developed and had less profanity. Both books are definitely for a mature audience. Both books give cause to stop and think.

Phenomenal

What a beautiful story. The struggle of sexuality and acceptance. A view into how the world could have taken so many shapes just based on the way people perceive things (women's work, men's work). When just a state over can be a whole new world with its own customs and folklore. The comparisons between reality and dystopia. Augh. I love this book so much. What a fitting sequal... 100ish years into the future of the previous novel. The narrator does such a good job too. Wouldn't be the and without her