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Feminist dystopian novels

32 replies

LovelyCocksReg · 26/05/2019 10:20

I’m in angry feminist mode and I want to read things that fit my mood. I’ve read Handmaid’s Tale, Vox, Red Clocks, The Power, and I’ve just started Parable of the Sower. What else?

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mondaysaturday · 26/05/2019 10:24

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill is amazing. Actually anything by her is amazing but Only Ever Yours is specifically dystopian. It will make you really angry, though.

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LovelyCocksReg · 26/05/2019 10:24

Angry is what I want! Thanks, it’s going on the list.

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turkeyboots · 26/05/2019 10:26

Most of Sheri S. Teppers work. SciFi rather than modern day, but v eco feminist. The Margaret's is good but I love Grass. And her retelling of Sleeping Beauty is amazing.

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AwkwardSquad · 26/05/2019 10:40

Yy to all the above suggestions; also Marge Piercy’s ‘Woman on the edge of time’ and ‘He, She and it’ (although I don’t remember the latter having that title when it first came out in the UK. Will have to peruse my bookshelves to check).

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AwkwardSquad · 26/05/2019 10:44

You could also check out the Women’s Press sf range from the 80s. Some good stuff.

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AwkwardSquad · 26/05/2019 10:46

Another suggestion: ‘The Testament of Jessie Lamb’ by Jane Rogers, Arthur C Clarke award winner.

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weegiemum · 26/05/2019 12:26

The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula le Guin. Not specifically feminist but brilliant observations on patriarchy.

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LovelyCocksReg · 26/05/2019 12:28

AwkwardSquad Wikipedia tells me it was Body of Glass in the UK.

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Iwasboadicea · 26/05/2019 12:36

Walk to the End of the World & sequels by Suzy McKee Charnas. Written in the 80s. Truly dystopian world. Sadly not available as e-books as far as I can see.

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Iwasboadicea · 26/05/2019 12:48

More current and available as e-books - The book of the unnamed midwife & sequels by Meg Elison. I need to buy and read the 3rd one myself as I hadn't realised it was available.

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AwkwardSquad · 26/05/2019 12:53

LovelyCocksReg yes! Found it eventually on the bookshelves. Better name than the US one, I think.

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AwkwardSquad · 26/05/2019 12:55

‘Woman on the edge of time’ compares utopia/dystopia, which is interesting.

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grumpyyetgorgeous · 26/05/2019 13:45

Loving this I've just got a whole new bookshelf now.
Have you read "Perfect" and "Gather the daughters" the latter is not for everybody though..... turns the stomach a bit.

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SoundofSilence · 26/05/2019 13:51

The Gate to Women's Country, by Sheri Tepper.

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CarolinePooter · 26/05/2019 21:54

Reg you could read Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin (1984), the first of a trilogy. Women create a secret language unknown to their overlords. Still a handy concept!

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PomBearWithAnOFRS · 27/05/2019 01:29

A Gift Upon The Shore.
Lots of Octavia E. Butler's stuff.
Always Coming Home.

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PomBearWithAnOFRS · 27/05/2019 01:30

Oo, and The Silence Of The Girls

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LovelyCocksReg · 27/05/2019 19:22

Thanks for all these!

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KatsutheClockworkOctopus · 28/05/2019 10:32

The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall.

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2rebecca · 28/05/2019 11:40

I'm about to start reading Jeanette Winterson's Frankissstein which is out today

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AwkwardSquad · 28/05/2019 19:42

Oh yes, I‘ve read that one, Katsu. It was good, although quite grim (well, yes, it’s dystopian...). Can’t remember the ending though.

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hidingmystatus · 28/05/2019 23:11

Been recommended, but absolutely Sheri S Tepper. Brilliant - The Gate To Women's Country; Grass, although I didn't like Beauty at all I loved all the rest from then on.

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hidingmystatus · 29/05/2019 14:10

And in particular, for a horribly plausible near-term dystopia, Sheri S Tepper's "Gibbon's Decline and Fall". Re-read it recently and was astounded how close it could be to arriving.

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LovelyCocksReg · 30/05/2019 08:54

Any others on the less sci-fi end of things?

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CarpeVitam · 31/05/2019 13:34

Bump

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