46th book of 2021
Release date: June 10th 2021
Thanks to NetGalley, Quercus to send me a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
Reading period: May 27th 2021 – May 30th 2021
Summary
To control the past, they edited history. To control the future, they edited literature.
London, 1953, Coronation year – but not the Coronation of Elizabeth II.
Thirteen years have passed since a Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany was formalized. George VI and his family have been murdered and Edward VIII rules as King. Yet, in practice, all power is vested in Alfred Rosenberg, Britain’s Protector. Britain is the perfect petri dish for the ideal society, and the role and status of women is Roseberg’s particular interest. Under the Rosenberg regulations women are divided into a number of castes according to age, heritage, reproductive status and physical characteristics.
Rose belongs to the elite caste of Gelis. She works at the Ministry of Culture rewriting literature to correct the views of the past. She has been charged with making Jane Eyre more submissive, Elizabeth Bennet less feisty and Dorothea Brooke less intelligent. One morning she is summoned to the Cultural Commissioner’s office and given a special task.
Outbreaks of insurgency have been seen across the country. Graffiti has been daubed on public buildings. Disturbingly, the graffiti is made up of lines from famous works, subversive lines from the voices of women. Suspicion has fallen on Widowland, the run down slums inhabited by childless women over fifty, the lowest caste. These women are known to be mutinous, for they seem to have lost their fear. Before the Leader arrives for the Coronation ceremony, Rose must infiltrate Widowland and find the source of this rebellion.
But as she begins to investigate, she discovers something that could change the protectorate forever, and in the process change herself.
Rating
Review
I am not a fan of dystopia, but I want to try from time to time to read one, and I liked this one.
I like the idea of alternative history, and here we are thirteen years after WWII, and we discover a new Britain after an alliance with Germany. I found the new society well-imagined and, above all, well constructed. However, if you are like me, it can make you feel uneasy due to the way women are treated and considered.
As it’s a reimagined society, you have a lot of information at the beginning of the book, and I find that the plot is set aside, but I didn’t mind as you can concentrate more on the background and the main character.
The only problem I had while reading was that the main plot isn’t as prominent as I thought it would be. Maybe it’s because I imagine that the story would unravel another way. Also, I love the writing; I really feel like I was there with the main character and following her in this society.
The ending is an open one but feels like a cliffhanger which doesn’t work with me. I want to have a second book to know what can happen after it.
Overall, I like this book; I will read another from this author, and those kinds of books help me make peace with dystopia.
Liz.
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