I’ve heard people refer to Red Clocks as “The Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation” and I can see why these comparisons are being drawn. Red Clocks is a brilliant novel. It’s a concise, moving portrait of the lives of five different women struggling to find their places in the misogynistic world they inhabit. Five women, with five different lives, five different stories, but they are all connected by the trials of their sex. I don’t want to give too much away about the story, but in this very believable not-too-distant future, abortion is illegal, as well as in-vitro fertilization and adoption by single women. Legislation has given rights to unborn fetus’ that were previously only known to living and breathing Americans.
Lest you think this is all a story of doom and gloom, there is hope in these women’s tales. There is a quiet power found in the way they navigate their narrow existences. You’ll cheer for them, cry for them, want more for them, and wish them well on their journeys. You’ll get to the end and want to know more. Promotional materials for this novel ask “What is a woman for?” Leni Zumas both asks and answers this question in this terrifying and yet inspiring novel.
