Beauty & The Books

Vox - Christina Dalcher When I first saw this I instantly thought of The Hunger Games and the Voxes who have had their tongues cut out as punishment. Anyone else? This was one of my dissertation texts and it fit in with the theme of power and gender so well! So, excuse the slight academic tone to the review, because I have studied this novel inside out. "But, first the synopsis:  "Silence can be deafening. Jean McClellan spends her time in almost complete silence, limited to just one hundred words a day. Any more, and a thousand volts of electricity will course through her veins. Now the new government is in power, everything has changed. But only if you're a woman. Almost overnight, bank accounts are frozen, passports are taken away and seventy million women lose their jobs. Even more terrifyingly, young girls are no longer taught to read or write. For herself, her daughter, and for every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice....

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandle  This is a text that was on my set reading for my Literature and Theory module and I just fell utterly in love with thsi novel! Before we get into the review here is a little synopsis from Book Depositary: Buy the book HERE! " What was lost in the collapse: almost everything, almost everyone, but there is still such beauty. One snowy night in Toronto famous actor Arthur Leander dies on stage whilst performing the role of a lifetime. That same evening a deadly virus touches down in North America.  The world will never be the same again.  Twenty years later Kirsten, an actress in the Travelling Symphony, performs Shakespeare in the settlements that have grown up since the collapse.  But then her newly hopeful world is threatened.  If civilization was lost, what would you preserve? And how far would you go to protect it? " Okay so now you are as hooked into the story as much as I was, I will te...

As you can probably tell this review is about 3 novels from the dystopian genre that will greatly impact your life. You guys may not know this (unless you follow my instagram) but I am currently in the process of writing and researching my final year dissertation. AKA my stress levels have never been this high before. My topic for this dissertation is the concept of power in association with gender and how that is represented in the dystopia. So that leads me to these 3 amazing novels! The Handmaid's Tale , by Margaret Atwood (a classic of this genre, and would be an insult to literature if I did not include this) The Power , by Naomi Alderman  Vox , by Christina Dalcher (the little newbie of the bunch) Before I get into each review I'll give you a little synopsis courtesy of Book Depositary. The Handmaid's Tale , by Margaret Atwood "Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She has only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, li...

The Power - Naomi Alderman Genre: Dystopia Pages: 400 Format: Interchanging POVs Rating: 5/5 ----- This is one hell of a book! After seeing it in Waterstones for a while I picked it up and I am glad that I did! This novel is refreshing and has an unusual take on dystopia by envisioning a world with a matriarchy rather than a patriarchy. Synopsis: What if the power to hurt were in women's hands? Suddenly - tomorrow or the day after - teenage girls find that with a flick of their fingers, they can inflict agonizing pain and even death. With this single twist, the four lives at the heart of Naomi Alderman's extraordinary, visceral novel are utterly transformed.  The story is set in a way that is a 7 Year countdown to the penultimate event that changes the power balance. Alderman also includes little facts and artefact to help elevate the narrative, as well as this they build the suspense and legitimise the concept a little more.  This is a totally a refreshing...

The Girl With All The Gifts - M.R. Carey Genre: Thriler Pages: 512 Format: Standard narrative with changing POVs Rating: 4/5 This book was a part of my WorldOfBooks haul that I did a while back and I have only just got around to reading and finishing it. I am so glad that I brought this, it was an incredible read through and through. But before we get into all of that here is a little synopsis: NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite. But they don't laugh. Melanie is a very special girl. *Side note I have just found out that this is an actual film as well.. like whaaaa* Anyway lets get into it. I did not know what to expect with this novel but I was definitely not disappointed. The story begins from the point ...