Month: December 2023

You Have Entered Femlandia

Femlandia by Christina Dalcher

A Five-Star Book Review

Christina Dalcher does not receive the hype she should. Her books, such as Vox and Master Class, engulf you in dystopian worlds that question current social norms, pressures, and stereotypes, and make you fearful of what could happen if we went too far.

Femlandia, her 2021 release, brings that same level of dystopian fear to the page, and it is dark. This isn’t a light read, but it left me thinking, questioning, and wondering about where the world might go.

Summary of Femlandia (No Spoilers)

The book opens with Miranda and her 16-year-old daughter, Emma, watching the last of the belongings being shuttled away. Like the rest of those left in the U.S., they are broke with what little money they have worth nothing: gas prices are $20+ per gallon, if they had a car to drive, and the three Safeways in town carry little food, expensive despite being past the expiration date. Miranda and Emma must make a move, as their home in Maryland will soon be boarded up and taken away. And so, they begin their journey on foot to Virginia, to a place Miranda never expected to set foot in again: her mother’s intentional community, Femlandia.

Established 25 years ago, Femlandia was Win Somers’s dream of a community where women could be free, safe, and autonomous. With the success of that first location in Virginia, Femlandia communities have settled across the U.S., but the one Miranda and Emma travel to is the first, and it is where Win’s protégé (and Miranda’s teenage best friend), Jen Jones, presided over the community. Desperate for her daughter and herself, as well as the baby is is carrying, Miranda hopes Jen will take pity on Win’s biological daughter and welcome them to Femlandia.

But when they arrive, after a hard and terrifying journey that fractures Miranda and Emma’s relationship, Femlandia is clearly not what it is presented to be. How can these women continue to procreate, and why are the babies only girls? What is happening here, and why has Miranda suddenly lost all connection to her own daughter?

What I Enjoyed About Femlandia

I love a dystopian novel. Ever since my first year of college when I took a class in utopian literature, I’ve been fascinated by how a world is crafted to eliminate all problems, in Femlandia’s case, the patriarchy, but perfection remains unattainable. Whether through corruption, the elements, or simple human nature, utopia cannot exist. Ms. Dalcher illustrates this perfectly in Femlandia.

As I said before, this book is dark. None of the characters are particularly likable, but they are archetypes that support the dystopian themes. And then, without giving away any spoilers, there is the twist in the novel, which made my stomach turn and toes curl. It was upsetting enough to want to turn away, but I kept reading, finding that Ms. Dalcher handled the darkness with grace and didn’t add gratuitous violence, which I appreciated.

My Final Thoughts About Femlandia

As one of my last reads of 2023, Femlandia is certainly a five-star book. It’s medium-paced with well-developed characters, and the ending is satisfying. Most importantly, I’ll be thinking about this dystopian fiction for a long time once I set this book back on my shelf. Well done, Ms. Dalcher.

Because Women Are the Fiercest Creatures

Women Are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop

A Five-Star Book Review

It’s a true reward to find a gem of a novel at the tail-end of the reading push for the year. Add on bonus points for that book being one that you’ve had on your shelf for months, and you’ll find where I am after reading Women Are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop.

This book has not gotten the hype it’s deserved on social, and let me tell you why.

Summary of Women Are the Fiercest Creatures (No Spoilers)

The book opens with an ominous scene that alludes to three women about to take down an uber-wealthy man who has wronged each of them. Then, we slide back in time to meet these women: Anna, the ex-wife of Jake, tech entrepreneur, and mother to his two adolescent boys; Sam, the yoga studio owner and single mom with secrets in her past; and Jessica, the twentysomething influencer who’s newly married to Jake and just announced her first pregnancy. What follows is a slow-burn, character-led story about how much women give up for others and what it takes for them to release their ferocity.

What did I enjoy about Women Are the Fiercest Creatures?

I loved Women Are the Fiercest Creatures because of the characters and the delicacy with which Ms. Dunlop, the author, handles their flaws. None of these women are perfect, and we’re not shielded from their bad behavior. Yes, I empathized with the scorn and neglect and inequality each faced, but I loved that they made questionable decisions and walked moral tightropes.

Sam says that “women are the fiercest creatures” because the act of creating a child and giving birth is the most powerful there is. I have one biological child and two by marriage, and I think motherhood in any way, shape, or form makes you fierce in some manner. But I’ll also say that motherhood is not the sole requirement for women to be fierce creatures. (Ms. Dunlop wasn’t implying that, but I wanted to add.)

Is there anything I wish was different about Women Are the Fiercest Creatures?

Anna and Sam narrate this book, so we don’t learn as much about Jessica. I know this is intentional. She is the young, nubile new wife meant to solicit envy amongst all. But I would have liked to learn more of her point of view.

What are my final thoughts about Women Are the Fiercest Creatures?

I loved Women Are the Fiercest Creatures; it’s nabbed a last-minute spot on my Top Reads for 2023. This book hasn’t been raved about enough, so I hope you’ll pick it up and find out how good it is for yourself.