Nego Huzcotoq

I'm not quite sure how to rate this book. Since I enjoyed it and it was an interesting read I'll go above average, but I can't give it as high of a rating overall. I actually started at 3.5 stars, realised more about what annoyed me while writing and decreased it to three stars and when I started writing about the ending I wanted to take off another half star but 2.5 felt a little too low for an overall rating...

This book is set in a future when women rule and women are seen as the ideal, rather than men. While I don't have a problem with cruel dystopian regimes, this one felt like it may have a somewhat misogynistic undertone while I was reading it. The book explores a future full of misandry which I'm good with, but I really don't buy the way that the government treats other women. The vast, vast majority of women I know wouldn't stand for most of this (forced child removal, not being allowed to choose to get married or get pregnant, families being illegal, babies being described as products, etc). Although I'm not Canadian so maybe people are just different there. While this could theoretically be an interesting concept we are not told how the world gets here, which I think probably added to that uncomfortable feeling (and I'm not talking that good kind of dystopian uncomfortable here) in the back of my mind. That coupled with the fact that the author is a man (although this plays less of a role here) makes it feel (at times) like a projection of someone who believes that feminism is a bad thing. I also wasn't a big fan of where Beatrice's storyline went. She was such an intriguing character but at the the end of the day a man saved here, even though this is a world run by women and one that focuses on female empowerment...

Despite being slightly uncomfortable with the tone, I did otherwise enjoy the book. I enjoyed that it looked at the harm that gender roles can have (although I disliked that the groups all represented some kind of extremes) and I did mostly enjoy the plot, which follows a desire to escape from society's boxes. Although hey, you probably get to escape to a new set of boxes. The book started off strong and had a strong portion around the middle, but other bits just fall flat. I think having some of the events fleshed out a bit more and expanded upon could have helped a lot. Nick's travels in particular were pretty vague and his problems were solved with some hand waving. I don't really want to go beyond that to avoid potential spoilers, but the writing definitely felt stronger when he wasn't trying to get somewhere. The ending also makes this feel like it's a first book? Even though this isn't mentioned anywhere (at the time of reading at least). Not going to lie, I found the ending a little unsatisfying. I feel like it needed to go somewhere more.… (mer)