Meg Elison

Meg Elison has taken a disturbing what if... and turned it into a satirical novella about techbros with god-like money and the political acumen of elementary school textbooks cloning three of our Founding Fathers to usher in a short-sighted Ameri-topia. When boy-Franklin finds a cellphone in the privy of their experimental island, the entire plan dramatically unravels, taking destiny with it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I was surprised (and somewhat disappointed) when it ended so soon. I show more took a lot of delight in Elison’s skewering of the current techbros with her mighty pen, but despite their originators’ pasts, I felt sympathy for the boys. This left with me with a lot to consider about nature vs. nurture, political upbringing, victimization, cognitive dissonance, and generational atonement.

Another excellent work by one of my favorite people writing today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications, LLC for the review copy. show less

Second in the Road to Nowhere series, I’ve been waiting for this with a lot of anticipation after the thrill and heartbreak of Elison’s debut novel, The Book of the Unnamed Midwife. Elison did not disappoint.

This is as gripping, and horrible as the first novel, though different. In Unnamed Midwife the story split between dystopian near-future and far-future. Book of Etta is set 100 years after, and mostly details the story of Etta/Eddy, a scavenger from Nowhere who struggles to survive show more while also saving as many women and girls as they can.

I say they because Eddy/Etta is seen as a woman in Nowhere, a man whilst on scavenging raids, and fluidly switches between the two as needed for survival. Eddy is definitely resentful of the strictures imposed by Nowhere’s society and finds no real relief in any other place they encounter.

I think Eddy/Etta is supposed to be a Transman, but I don’t know enough about the subtleties to know it. I must admit they (to me) came across as gender-questioning for the most part, though there is a definite dislike of being forced into a “woman’s role” threaded throughout the story. I couldn’t unpick how much of that was due to being either a (straight) trans man or a lesbian gender queer person who was gang-raped at an early age and thus found the very concept of being a woman to be threatening and triggering.

Transwomen are represented too. Flora, a lesbian woman Eddy joins up with, seems to truly be what she is. But the novel leaves open the idea that there are trans women in the dystopian society because they have no other choice, having been used as catamites by the predominantly male rape gangs that raid the countryside and infest fortresses.

I liked it enough to devour in one sitting. Not as much as the prequel, but enough to absolutely be looking forward to reading more. I assume based on the ending that the next novel will be a continuation of Eddy’s story and not skip another century. show less

This very much feels like the sexual exploitation version of The Road -- not quite as bleak, more hopeful in the end (I think?), both less and more horrifying on any given page, depending on how you feel about rape/genital mutilation/sexual slavery vs cannibalism.

On the whole, I liked both the character of Etta/Eddy and her personal inner journey over time. I found the world all too believable. I thought the different way settlements dealt with the lack of women to be fascinating.

I'm show more troubled by the ending on so many levels -- that the actual safety/savior is presented as a religious community, that E has to bend, in the end, to her biological fate in this world -- these things are deeply messed up. Perhaps that's the message? People are complicated, things are horrible, keep going (but why?).

I'm not sure I'll return to this universe, but it was a powerful read. show less

This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com

Enjoy is maybe not the right word for a book about the end of human civilisation, but I was gripped and impressed by Meg Elison’s first novel. The prologue (which takes place after the main events of the book) sets things up well, skilfully introducing a future society in a brief but rich description that tips the reader off to the fact that there is light at the end of the tunnel. That light is very much needed as what follows is often bleak show more and brutal. The hospital-based start of the story proper is reminiscent of the beginning of ‘28 Days Later’ or ‘The Walking Dead’, but ‘The Book of the Unnamed Midwife’ is a very different beast from the zombie tales that are so popular at the moment. The only monsters here are people (mostly men) and the dangers that come when society crumbles. Characters die from tetanus and childbirth as well as violence, and the macho posturing that colours so many post-apocalyptic books and movies is completely absent.

The world Elison describes is as believable as it is terrifying, with far fewer women alive than men, rape and sexual slavery are the norm and the threat of violence is ever present. There are many horrific events here, but they are sensitively handled and never gratuitous. One sequence, in which a female character describes her time imprisoned by a gang of men, will haunt me for a while, but it’s because Elison makes you care about the characters that it has such power.

In the unnamed protagonist (who is indeed a midwife), Elison has crafted a convincing, determined, compassionate woman who travels through the newly desolated America dodging violent men and offering aid (in the form of medical care and birth control) to the women she can. She’s a wonderful central character, the writing switching between her diaries and third person passages about her adventures, and the people she meets are equally convincing, richly written and varied in character. This is a book that recognises and celebrates difference, with all races and sexualities represented, but never in a way that feels forced.

Whilst it isn’t quite as accomplished as Emily St John Mandel’s excellent ‘Station Eleven’, it is a similarly moving and intelligent work. Brutal and chilling at times, but also hopeful and very human. It immersed me right from the start and kept me gripped to the last page, moving me as well as thrilling me and offering a reminder that feels more necessary today than ever, that we are defined by the way we treat others. show less