Red Clocks

I read this really quickly (once I actually started it), but somehow I didn't feel like I ever really got into it. It's not bad at all, but I felt at a remove from all the characters - I'm guessing at least part of this was intentional, considering how the chapters are titled “The Daughter,” “The Mender” and so on. The most interesting parts of the novel to me were Ro and Mattie's stories. I thought I knew where they were going, but I was wrong and I really like how everything turned out there. Susan and Gin's stories didn't feel like they connected with the others in the same way, and Susan's in particular feels like it could be in any work of fiction written in the past sixty or so years. That's not necessarily bad, and it was definitely well-written, but it didn't seem to take advantage of the setting in the same way as the others. As far as the setting, I wish the author had taken it further - I know all these restrictions are based in reality, but the world didn't seem as fully realized as something like The Handmaid's Tale, even. (Like, did they get rid of the Supreme Court? Most of the new laws would be blatantly unconstitutional.) Overall, this was interesting and definitely a change of pace from my usual fiction reading, but I don't think it's something I'll be compelled to return to.