I finished Femlandia by Christina Dalcher about a week ago, and it’s taken me that long to organize my thoughts about it. The subject matter is dark and extremely infuriating, so buckle up. This is one twisted ride.
It is the very near future. The economy has collapsed, and the government won’t be far behind it. People are killing each other over scarce resources. The ones who can’t see a way out are killing themselves. Pregnant Miranda and her sixteen-year-old daughter Emma are on the move. It’s too dangerous for them to stay in the city, so they set off on foot for the last place Miranda ever thought she would seek refuge—her estranged mother’s completely self-sufficient feminist commune called Femlandia. When the two arrive, they are welcomed with open arms, but things in this so-called utopia are not as they seem. It’s not long before Miranda realizes that while she and Emma might be safer on this side of the gate, her unborn son definitely will not be.
Femlandia is an extremely well-written and engrossing novel. Dalcher once again proves she is the master of the subtle dystopia. She offers a fascinating peek into the formation and maintenance of a cult. I also found it really interesting to watch as the abused became the abusers, turning their powerful feminist views into a misandrist nightmare. My heart started racing in the first chapter and I don’t think it stopped until I turned the last page. I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait to see what Dalcher comes up with next. This novel comes out October 19th, so be sure to grab it once it hits the shelves.

Great read, but very dark. Civilization has collapsed due to economic missteps & Miranda and her daughter must make their way to a women-only community founded by Miranda's mother. Misandry abounds. And there must be a huge trigger warning for abuse, both mental & physical.
But given all of that, I enjoyed Femlandia. I read it in small pieces, as I didn't enjoy spending too much time in that world, but it made me realize anew the dangers of not thinking for oneself, and how no one group is either all bad or all good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I have read Christina Dalcher's previous 2 books, Vox and Masterclass and loved them both. Her newest book Femlandia is just as good. As usual her stories take place in a Dystopia world where men control everything and women are second class citizens. With the world falling apart around them, Miranda and her daughter Emma make a very treacherous trip to an all female community her mother Win Somers built that is now run by Jen Jones. What Miranda thinks is a safe haven for her and 'Emma it turns out to be anything but. I found this book very interesting and enjoyable. I am so looking forward to more by books by Christina Dalcher.

I imagine Christina Dalcher has thought a lot about how different actions can lead us to a grim dystopian feature-and she excels at writing about it. Much like Master Class which focused on how standardized testing can be taken to extreme measures, Femlandia shows what happens when the world goes to crap and women who've endured years of abuse at the hands of men decide to form a society of their own. Miranda swore she'd never turn to Femlandia-the colonies started by her mother but when the poo hits the fan she really has no choice. What she finds there is not the idyllic society her mother spoke of. I sped right through this one. If you enjoyed either of her other books you'll like this one or just suspenseful dystopian in general. Now I have to go back and read Vox.

Femlandia takes place in the near future during the next great depression, some kind of financial apocalypse situation. The point of view switches between Miranda, a recently widowed mother whose husband left her with massive debt and no way to provide for her teenage daughter, and flashbacks from the point of view of Win, Miranda’s late estranged mother and the radical feminist founder of a string of self-sufficient women-only communes. Miranda, who swore she would never set foot in Femlandia, has no choice but to flee there. But once she’s there, she finds that her mother’s feminist utopia is hiding some dark secrets.

I knew going into this book that the author had a reputation for some pretty dark and disturbing content in her books, but man. Parts of this book were really hard to get through. This book reminded me of The Road in some pretty significant ways, and the journey on foot to Femlandia is the least of them. I will say that it ends on a hopeful note, though.

Mother-daughter relationships are a major theme in this book. The relationship between Win and Miranda is beyond fraught – there is toxic resentment and genuine hatred on both sides. The relationship between Miranda and her daughter Emma seems, at first, to be close and very loving, though it turns out to be very complicated, especially once Win’s adopted daughter Jen enters the picture. Jen is the perfect hyperfeminist daughter Win always wanted Miranda to be – a fact which Win made known to Jen and Miranda both.

Both of our POV characters have biases (understandable ones, but still biases) coloring their narration - Win is far worse than Miranda, but Miranda still has her blind spots - so if you’re a person who can’t deal with an unreliable narrator, this is probably not the book for you.

TW: Suicide, rape, child abuse, child molestation, violence, gore, transphobia, misogyny, misandry, cult environment, psychological torture, gaslighting

I always enjoy seeing where this author will take me. Each of her books is an interesting speculation on what will happen to women in an increasingly patriarchal society.

This one is a bit different.

After the world erupts into chaos, Miranda takes her teenage daughter and seeks refuge in a women only community that was started by her mother. It is interesting to see what the author envisions will happen in a society that is only women. I will leave it there because you really should explore this one for yourself.

Dalcher's writing strikes a chord no matter what she focuses on. In this, her third major work, Dalcher explores the prospect of an all female colony. What at first seems to be an oasis turns out to be as equally treacherous and duplicitous as the outside world.
The book follows Miranda Reynolds as she struggles to find a way for her and her daughter to survive. The modern world has descended into chaos and there seems to be no other options for survival other than to ask for "sanctuary" at the Femlandia colony. Miranda has her own reasons for wanting to avoid the colony at all costs but she sets aside her reservations for the sake of her daughter Emma. As a woman who was used to all that her former privileged lifestyle provided her, Miranda cannot find herself able to submit to the rules of the colony. While her daughter seems to "drink the Kool Aid" and ultimately turns away from her, Miranda delves deeper into the darkness and discovers the secrets that her longtime rival Jen has fought to keep hidden.
An intriguing storyline that provides fodder for plenty of discussions in book clubs. Fascinating read!
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

I've never read anything by this author, but I enjoy dystopians and the summary caught my attention. Sadly, I struggled with this. Perhaps it's due to all the darkness going on in the world, I'm just not sure.

Due to the genre, I expect some dark topics, but this was just bit too much for me at this time. The writing is solid and the characters are well drawn. Some of the feminist views were quite overpowering to the storyline. I found myself skipping around a bit as some parts were quite anxiety inducing.

Trigger warnings: rape, incest

I like a good dystopia, and I loved the book Vox by this author, so I grabbed this title so fast, and it definitely did not disappoint.

Dalcher writes about the female experience and really uses common micro aggressions against women in her work, and that was definitely on display in this book. I loved the theme: would it be utopia if the world was comprised of only women? Are men the root of the problem, and would life be better without them? Is there longevity to a plan that deliberately excludes half of the equation for continuing the species?

Dalcher is a great writer. She takes ideas that seem great on the surface and examines all of the cracks and the seedy underbelly. I couldn’t put this book down until I found out what happened. There are some tough themes that won’t sit well with everyone, but it’s a fantastic book for the right reader.

Review posted to blog: books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com

A World Without Men?

Truth Be Told, at this point in time, that sounds pretty good to me.

Then the doors to Femlandia opened and all was revealed.

Decades ago, a group of women banded together to form a women’s only colony, free from the rules of the states. Surviving off the land, they become wholly self-sufficient.

When the country collapses, Femlandia is the only place to go for Miranda Reynolds and her daughter Emma. Living off the grid seems almost idyllic upon arrival. It’s only once Miranda steps inside that she realizes Femlandia’s methods are barbaric and that her mother and her former best friend, are responsible.

It’s inside the colony that Miranda must figure out a way to save herself and everyone else from the Cult her mother created, or die trying.

Anxiety-inducing, disturbing, and thought-provoking, Femlandia is not for the faint of heart. It’s quite shocking at times and includes assault, torture, and extreme violence.

While I enjoyed this novel by Christina Dalcher, Vox remains my favorite.
3.65 Stars

Thank you to Elisha at Berkley Pub for the arc via NetGalley.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter

Argh! I keep screaming! They didn’t stop all night! I had so many nightmares. I advise you not to read this book before you go to bed if you don’t want to look like me dripping salvias, insomniac, exhausted, terrified piece of human particles!

If you already read the author’s Vox and Master Class , you may be prepared what kind of biggest bomb she will throw in your lap but knowing doesn’t mean how to dismantle it! The things you’ll read still shake you to the core!
The book opens with not so bright future where the economy and government already collapsed.

Miranda Reynold’s 20 years long husband Nick couldn’t choose the worst time to leave her and their sixteen years old daughter Emma behind by texting her he’s sorry, siphoning their savings and driving the Maserati coupe off the side of the mountain.

The streets are already out of control, people are killing each other and they are afraid of taking their own lives. The rest of them are robbing or looting around. Miranda and Emma should urgently find a place to stay if they don’t want to starve to death or get killed in the middle of the street.

This means she has to give a chance to the place has founded by her own mother Win she’s already estranged. The place she never wants to set a foot in the door. She said she’d rather eat dirt instead of staying there. But they don’t have any other choice!

Welcome to the feminist utopia Femlandia: womyn-oriented, self sufficient,cooperative, safe, accepting, natural, free place promises the women a world without men equals to a world without worry as it’s advertised by cofounder Jennifer Jones.( she seems like playing daughter part better than Miranda)

But there’s always a price to pay for shutting yourself off the world. Miranda finally realizes they already took their first steps to eight circle of hell. It’s a quite horrifying definition of cult where the preys turn into hunters and where the bullied victims turn into monsters.

There are so many triggering subjects in this book which are hard to digest including extreme violence, rape, invest etc. They probably give you nightmares all month long.

It’s freaking disturbing, thought provoking, but also extremely frightening novel make you scream, giving you anxiety attacks!

It’s still well written, smart, shocking, dark and I think the fans of the author who can absorb dark, bleak sci-fi concepts will enjoy it a lot!

But I’m warning you: this book is not for everyone. If you cannot handle nightmarish dystopian thrillers with graphic violence, you get to choose another read.

I’m giving my frightening, numb, ominous, soul crushing four stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Well, this is definitely a dark and disturbing book. Its about a mother and daughter living in a world that has pretty much ended. Miranda the mother never wanted to go to femlandia. Femlandia is a women's only colony, or cult.So when Miranda's husband leaves her and her 16 year old daughter Emma with nothing she is left with no choice but to go. But it becomes very apparent that the colony is not a safe heaven, it's more like stepping right into the fire. I'm sure there will be a few people that will have a hard time reading it. It is disturbing but man is it good! I was hooked from the start! I look forward to reading more by Christina Dalcher!

This is clearly a case of wrong reader for this book.

Dystopian based novels used to be one of my favorite genres. That is, until the pandemic hit. As an RN I saw the unimaginable. Life is now starting to return to normal and I thought I could make my way back to the genre I left behind over a year ago.

But sadly no. I’m still not ready. By the 30% mark my anxiety was off the chart and I realized I’m not ready to dip my toe back into anything remotely dystopian. Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A book about a world of women. This is the novel I’ve been needing to read for a long time. I was absolutely transfixed by the storyline. I highly recommend this one.

Very conflicted. I’m a fan of feminist dystopias and was excited to read this one. Dalcher is an amazing writer, she really knows how to hook a reader, and the premise of the book is very interesting. I had a really hard time getting on board with this negative depiction of feminism and especially her use of the persecution flip trope. Maybe I’m just an angry feminist?

I was gifted this copy of Fenlandia from the Berkley Women's Fiction Shelf Awareness Sweepstakes. I was not monetarily compensated and all views are my own.

This book is very dark. I was expecting some hard subjects within the story due to it being a dystopian novel. What I received was very hard to read. Now saying that I have to put out there that the the writing was superb and the characters were well written. The plot was also complete and not difficult to follow. The area that I had a hard time with is the Feminism views were so overabundant that it took over the story. I felt that the message was more important that the story and who knows, the author might have intended that. This book was just not my cup of tea. I do not fault the writer but this story was so dark and violent that at times I had to put it down. for these reasons I give this book 3 stars.

Content warning: Please be aware that this story has numerous incidents of rape, incest and violence. If these are difficult topics for you, I advise skipping this book.

This was a good horror story and definitely a page turner, but it did feel predictable. As a dystopian novel of course you have to suspend disbelief, but the plot line surrounding Emma did feel a bit unlikely.

I had to sit on my thoughts about this book before I decided to write this review. I really needed to process everything I had just read because man, it is heavy.

The description covers the basics. The economy has collapsed and so has the government. The world is in chaos. People are killing each other to survive and those not strong enough are killing themselves. Miranda and her teenage daughter Emma are fleeing the city with nothing but the clothes on their back and a few basic staples. Their destination is a place called Femlandia. Femlandia is best described as a commune that Miranda's mother founded. Miranda's mother, Win, despised men and all that they represented. She and Miranda parted ways long ago because of her extremist views, but Miranda figures Femlandia is just as safe a place as any to seek refuge.

They make it to Femlandia, but it's not the utopia Win described. There is a price to pay for shutting yourself off from half of the world. It's not long before Miranda realizes she's gone from the frying pan into the fire. Again, this is a very difficult book to read so if you upset easily reading about abuse of any kind, skip it. I found it well written and a fascinating look at how cults are formed, how the abused can become abusers, how powerful extremist views can become, and so, so much more. I felt compassion, fear, outrage, shock....the whole gamut of emotions. This is a book that will stay with you long after finishing it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

4++stars

This is going to be a tough review to write. I don’t want to give spoilers but I am the first review and there is not even a book description on GoodReads yet.

Set in the near future, a national financial crises sets the country into chaos. Miranda and her 16 year old daughter Emma try to survive on their own but end up going to the women (or womyn) only compound Femlandia that Miranda’s mother Win founded 30 years ago.

Things are not idyllic when Miranda and Emma arrive at Femlandia and Miranda uncovers some frightening things. There are no men in the compound and only female babies are being born.

I liked Miranda as a main character. She was raised by a militant feminist mother who has a very narrow view of men. Miranda is not close with her mother and never had been. Win had always resented that Miranda wasn’t a staunch feminist and that she was a wealthy woman who enjoyed the perks of being well off. I did not care for Emma at all, nor Jen and Win.

Whenever I read dystopian books (which are my favorite), my first thought is to go load up on supplies from Costco. This is a well written book that keeps your attention. I highly recommend it.

If you enjoy this book, check out Girl One by Sara Flannery Murphy.