This won the 2007 Tiptree over Flora Segunda and Water Logic, so it had better be pretty awesome. Otherwise, I shall feel quite put out.I haven't read this yet, but apparently environmental catastrophe hits and England is reduced to totalitarian camps. A much-mentioned feature of these camps is mandatory contraception for the women; a lottery is used to decide which few are allowed to bear children. Oh noes! Except, hang on--*bearing children is not an inaliable human right*, especially when there are not enough resources. I'm sure not having babies makes people sad, but starving to death feels a whole lot worse.
ETA: I hated the narrator and the book within the first five pages, and I didn't stop hating them until the very last sentence. The final page of the book has enough punch to it that, as expected and manipulative as it was, I couldn't help but feel a tad breathless.
The book follows an unnamed woman as she escapes the town in which she grew up, and finds a home instead at the Carhullan farm. Run by the charismatic ex-soldier Jackie, the farm is a women-only haven for those who want to live a more democratic, hands-on life. But the farm will provide the women with protection for only so long--so Jackie decides to take the fight to the Authority, rather than wait for destruction.
I had a lot of problems with this book. The world building sucked. There was no characterization or personality to anyone. The writing was clearly going for "literary" in a way that drove me batty. The plot has been done before, and better. The whole separatist thing felt so dated and unnecessary. There's pretty much no dialog. I have no idea why Hall felt the need to write this book--she didn't say anything about politics, or u/dystopias, or genders, or sexuality, or characters...the whole book feels unnecessary. If you liked this book but want more, read The Handmaid's Tale or (even better!) Joanna Russ.