Set in a near, dystopic future, in which American women have been stripped of all their reproductive rights with the so-called “Personhood Amendment”, Red Clocks is, like the Handmaid’s Tale before it, a cautionary tale and a cry for action. The book follows the stories of four women in a small town in Oregon, as well as an historical figure, the subject of a biography one of them is writing. I devoured Red Clocks over the course of flights to and from Chicago. I liked it so much that while in Evanston, I dragged my 18 year-old niece to the nearest indie bookstore and bought it for her. If you have a young woman (or an old one, for that matter) in your life, this paperback would be a great addition to her pile under the tree. That is, I guess, if you are sympathetic to a woman’s right to control her own body. Otherwise, skip it.
— Becky Dayton
“I never understood what it meant for someone's writing to be 'lyrical' until I picked up Red Clocks. With beautiful prose, Leni Zumas tells the story of a young girl seeking an abortion in a world where abortion is illegal and dangerous; a woman on the quest to have children when in-vitro fertilization is illegal and folks aren't allowed to adopt without a partner; a woman in a dead-end marriage desperate to escape from her husband and children; and a woman considered a witch by most who provides homeopathic reproductive healthcare, including illegal abortions. Zumas beautifully weaves these stories together and gives each individual a strong and unique voice, while also maintaining suspended disbelief. These characters felt real and this world felt possible. I suspect this will be one of the best books published in 2018.”
— Hanna Foster, Book People Bookstore, Austin, TX
“This novel surpassed my wildest expectations in the questions raised for the women Zumas so expertly brings to life. This goes beyond the politics of what women are ‘allowed’ to do with their bodies: it is about what we as women decide to do and the options we give ourselves. A must read for anyone who loved A Handmaid’s Tale or Burial Rites or who just wants to read an amazing book.”
— Catherine Bock, Parnassus Books, Nashville, TN
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