Sarah Hall
Daughters of the North (2008)
Author: Sarah Hall
Genre: Science Fiction (Dystopia)
Plot Summary:
"Sister" is a woman living in a Britain that has been ravaged by natural disasters and huge shortages of food, money and resources. To govern more efficiently, the remaining citizens have been centralized into communities, and their lives are carefully mapped in all aspects. The most repugnant to Sister" is the loss of reproductive freedom; all women are outfitted with birth control devices, and the right to conceive is chosen by a lottery.
When Sister can no longer bear her daily existence, she decides to flee the city, and to join with a band of women who have long lived as outcasts of society in a place called Carhullan. Sister arrives at Carhullan and after a period of probation, is accepted into the lives of the women, including the enigmatic and strong willed leader, Jackie Nixon.
SPOILER: Just as life has settled down, Jackie announces that the government plans to come to country, and destroy Carhullan and other rebel groups. The women are given a choice; to join Jackie in an attack on the city, or to join other fringe groups. Sister joins the fighting group, and at the end of the first person narration which has characterized the novel, we learn that she has been captured by the government and Jackie Nixon has died in the fighting. Nevertheless, Sister takes up the mantle of responsibility, and defiantly proclaims that
she does not "recognize their authority" over her.
Geographical Setting: England;in the northern region
Time Period: Not definite, in the not-too distant future, post 2008.
Appeal Characteristics:
The major appeal in Daughters of the North would be the frame of the piece. If you enjoy the genre of speculative fiction and books about dystopic futures, particularly with a feminist slant, this would be a good place to start. The pace was very measured and slow; as the book was written in first person narration, one had the benefit of hearing past memories, descriptions, and feeling as the story line progressed. The main character of "Sister" was somewhat developed, but not entirely; although we did get to hear of her experiences in the present and past, there was little that rounded her out. The secondary characters were more presences in the book with few defining details. What really drove the piece was the literary writing style and it's bleak tones. You wanted to continue reading, if only to discover what terrible thing would occur that the writing continually foreshadowed.
Read-alikes: For a book with a very similar tone and pace, not to mention storyline, readers should try Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, which is another first person narration about a future in which most women cannot conceive. Those who can are given as chattel to the leaders of the a new, militantly religious society in the hopes they may be able to bear children. Although the issue of reproductive freedom is more religious in scope, Atwood also writes in a more literary style, and her tone is very dark. Another book about the potential loss of autonomy in the future is Dra-, in which an indecisive and shy young woman applies for a job at an employment agency and is given two equally meaningless choices. Written as an allegory for today's society, it posits the idea in which our job is the only thing that can give us identity, even if the task is meaningless. These plot points, as well as the deconstructed main character, will be reminiscent of "Sister" and her unfulfilling career that was chosen for her. Cormac McCarthy's latest book,The Road about a desperate future in which a man and his son try to survive post nuclear war. The Road will appeal to those who liked the quick narrative style of Daughters of the North, and it provides a male perspective on what is important when society's rules break down.
Another speculative tale that readers might want to try is Owen Sheers's Resistance which imagines what would have happened if the German invasion of Great Britain was succesful in World War II. The setting of northern Great Britain, and the concept of women creating a society for themselves, absent of men, will intigue readers. Readers who want an even grittier tone coupled with measured pacing might like Cormarc McCarthy's The Road, which follows the journey of a man and his son through a post-apocalyptic world as they struggle to maintain their humanity. Like Daughters of the North the focus is on the path traveled rather than the destination. Califia's Daughters by Leigh Richards (a pseudonym for mystery novelist Laurie R. King) boasts a measured plot focused on a group of strong female characters in an interesting look at gender issues. In an isolated community in futuristic California, men have been nearly wiped out, and the warrior Dian must investigate strangers who threaten the peace of their valley. For another issue-oriented dystopian tale told in the first person, readers can try The Children of Men by P.D. James, another work centered on the issue of reproduction. In 2021 Britain, no children have been born for decades and historian Theodore Faron gets mixed up with a terrorist organization that aims to save their society. Finally, for a more classic touch, readers could try dystopic future great Anthony Burgess's, The Waking Seed, another society in which it is illegal to be pregnant, and heterosexuals are discriminated against. Readers who enjoyed the plot, setting, and writing style of Daughters of the North will find the same qualities here, with the added bonus of varied and interesting characters.
Red Flags:Frank and graphic language, graphic sex, disturbing scenarios, graphic violence, homosexuality.
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