Zumas refers to the four main characters as 'The Biographer' (Ro), 'The Wife' (Susan), 'The Daughter' (Mattie) and 'The Mender' (Gin), with the fifth perspective being that of fictional explorer, Eivør Minervudottir, who 'The Biographer' is writing a book about.Įach of the main four are dealing with womanhood issues that are threatened by the new laws. I have to assume the emotional distance is intentional.

Red Clocks would be a horror story for many women, including myself, and yet I felt so emotionally-distanced from the story and all four (or you could say five) perspectives. It is such a painfully cerebral read, and it feels to me like a book of this kind has the greatest impact when you are pulled deep into the lives and horrors of the characters, not viewing them through a distant lens. But, unfortunately, the amount of 'literary' frills in Red Clocks made it almost impossible to enjoy (maybe that isn't the right word, but you know what I'm saying). and the fervor of pro-life advocates, it is not a particularly implausible scenario. The Canadian government assist by erecting a figurative 'Pink Wall' across the U.S.-Canadian border, meaning that they will capture and return any woman suspected of crossing the border for an abortion or IVF. Here, Zumas imagines a United States where the Personhood Amendment gives rights to unborn embryos, outlawing abortion and IVF (because said embryos cannot give consent).

Between this and the superhero-movie-turned-superhero-book trend, you can pretty much predict the new book trends based on what's popular on the big and small screens. Importance: This quote describes the current political state in the novel, and illustrates the extent to which fetuses' rights have grown in the United States.I guess we can probably expect more of these weird feminist(?) dystopias in the wake of The Handmaid's Tale's Hulu series. (The embryos can't give their consent to be moved.) In vitro fertilization, too, is federally banned, because the amendment outlaws the transfer of laboratory to uterus.

Abortion providers can be charged with second-degree murder, abortion seekers with conspiracy to commit murder. Lighthouses are significant to Ro and Gin as well, who associate them with the choice to be solitary.Ībortion is now illegal in all fifty states. It also deals with the possibilities that are always present, and how difficult it may be to see which is right or true. Importance: This quote describes the ongoing tension the characters, especially the biographer/Ro, feel as they struggle to decide what it is they really want.

Red clocks book