The blurb for this sounded so interesting but it honestly started to go downhill on page one when Medea started making bloodcakes with period blood . I had to read the multiple times because I kept thinking I must be reading it wrong .

Just not for me

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review

A very odd book about a matriarchal society that has eliminated all but 11% of men. I found it fascinating all the ways the author turned patriarchy on its head. Labeling men as dangerous and dim-witted and good for nothing but pleasure and occasionally reproduction, to be kept in "Centers" like drug-addled cattle, was really dark....and yet, when you consider just how many novels and movies and other media exists where the women are kept and treated as inconsequential cattle, this doesn't seem so far-fetched. Patriarchy destroyed the world, and women have been battling ever since to restore the planet to a better state. I loved all the little details, especially the fact that this matriarchal society used rounded structures and bases to build their society - straight lines and edges represented the patriarchy and were being knocked down and rebuilt to reflect this new society.

But biggest issue was the characters themselves. I did not find most of them likeable. Wicca in particular was unbearable. Very selfish and self-centered and did not care at all about anyone else around her. She left a bad taste in my mouth. Medea was interesting, as were Silence and especially Eva, and it was fun to read about how their lives intersected.

In a future version of our world, the patriarchal system of government, thought, and even species has been upended. The world is now completely run by women, with males being relegated to clinics, where they are trained and drugged to be compliant and non-aggressive. But four women, Medea, Wicca, Silence, and Eva are all experiencing this world in different ways. Medea, a snake breeder and witch, sees the decline of the males as a perversion of the balance of nature. Wicca, a priestess who's firm religious beliefs blind her to anyone's problems but her own. Silence, a non-verbal young woman who's plagued by guilt over a childhood experience. And Eva, a clinic technician who trains the young males at the clinic, but is hiding a secret to could destroy them all.

An interesting and thought-provoking exploration of what happens when you take today's political and societal atmosphere of a male-dominated world and invert it completely, does our society thrive or stagnate?

Thank you to Netgalley and SMP for the arc!

Unfortunately, Eleven Percent was just not for me and I've read some weird shit.

i was interested after reading the description. The beginning about Lilith and Eden was interesting but I quickly became confused.

This book was chaotic and intriguing. The four stories of Medea, Wicca, Silence, and Eva interconnect in a unique way, and through their stories, we get to see different facets of society and how the world has changed hundreds of years into the future after the "Evolution." It takes place in Denmark and is a novel in translation - which might be why some of the chapters come off as choppy? We see life through the lens of witches, female priestesses (Christianity has been changed back to its "original" form to worship the Mother), childhood, and ladymen. While there are mentions about how schooling has changed, how sex and female relationships have evolved, and deteriorating patriarchal structures, I wish there would've been more mention about how the government changed - how was the world organized? What did the change look like during the Evolution? Why were there so many people living in the slums? It felt communal, but also like there was some kind of crisis going on that wasn't addressed. I liked the book - it made me think, and brought up a lot of questions. I just wish more was answered within the book about their world. Definitely stuck with me! Thank you for the ARC!

Eleven Percent by Maren Uthaug, I was super excited to read this world ran by women but once I dived in, all I wanted to do was get the hell out. I knew from the beginning this book was translated from Danish and as those are some of my favorite reads I couldn’t wait the world of women seems like a world worse than one ran by “the patriarchy“ the book is mainly focused on Madea who lives in a rundown convent although she is a witch she lives there with silence, another woman named Elder, a little boy in a menagerie of snakes and a couple of dogs. Madea is secretly involved with a priest named Wicka and for those who want to be with men there’s brothel type houses where men are, but they also have transgender women with prosthetic you know whats. in the book it seems like having your flow is more a religious occurrence as opposed to a bodily function Madea even makes period cookies and for the life of me despite reading the whole book I have no idea why she does this. They save their menstrual cycles in a cup for her the snakes are also used in a religious scenario they’re just a lot happening in the book and I would love to tell you a good summary but I would be lying because for the most part I have no idea what was happening. I know by the end her python Pithia is very ill and can only be OK if she has the blood of a man but the point and or overall theme of the book escapes me. A lot of things in this book are ridiculous from the fact they don’t want anything made by a man and they seem worse than men because they keep the males as sex slaves. I wanted so much to love this book and although I continued reading I can honestly say there was a lot of stuff I either didn’t understand or it was outright confusing. I feel so bad when I don’t like a book because I know authors spend a lot of time writing it and they’re so proud of it and I’m sure if I could read this in its original language maybe that would make it better or more digestible but I cannot and so this is my opinion on the translated version. #NetGalley,#TheBlindReviewer, #MyReview,#MarenUthaug, #ElevenPercent,

Eleven Percent flips the Handmaid's Tale script and imagines a world where women are the majority, and only 11 percent of the population is male (the very bare minimum they have to keep to stay genetically healthy). Maren Uthaug deftly maneuvers the pros and cons of anyone having all power - even women.

In the New Time, men are locked in "spas" and women rule the mostly round communities. Some women take issue with the treatment of the men, and others feel the system is working the best it can. Following four different women, Eleven Percent examines the many angles of religion, the patriarchy and socially enforced gender roles in the midst of a truly entertaining sci-fi plot.

DNF @8%

To start, I loved the little blip of the creation story and wish it would have been expanded because it was really short and quick. After that, everything goes downhill for me. We start the story with menstrual blood baked into cakes and feeding stillborn puppies to snakes in the first couple of pages. Writing wise, there were abrupt ends to scenes and I just felt eternally confused about everything. I know I didn't give it much time to even out but I was confused enough that I couldn't get into the story at all or understand what was happening. I don't think I'll pick this book up again.

Review goes live May 5

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

This book made me really sad. I do realize that dystopian fiction is not likely to be bright and happy, but I think I went into this book with some misconceptions. I think I saw the phrase 'inverse Handmaid's Tale,' and glossed over the rest.
Some of the lore that set up this "feminist haven" was really interesting - the roots of Christianity are brought back, while the history of how religion became so patriarchal in the first place was really interesting. The obsession with snakes was weird at first, but even that made sense in the end.
And if the sign of a good book is one you can't stop thinking about, then this one definitely hit the mark. I didn't always love the language of the book, but the author (and translator) did an amazing job of creating a world unlike our own. But also weird similar? It's definitely a thought-provoking book, but please know that some trigger warnings do apply, and I wish I had known about them. These include (but aren't limited to): child abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and transphobia. While none of these (except the last one) are discussed in great detail, the last section is going to be the hardest to read, especially if you've experienced (or know someone who has) any kind of gender dysphoria. I cried basically the entire way through the last section, and I'm cisgender.
I did enjoy the way the author unraveled the story, even when I didn't like elements of the story.
If dystopia is your jam or if you like thought-provoking books, I think you'll like this, even if it wasn't for me, and I probably wouldn't read it again.

The concept of this one sounded great. However, the info dumping and menstrual blood cakes quickly lost me from the start. I set it down and couldn't bring myself to pick it up again.

Reading this book, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a poem I was made to read in university, The Lady’s Dressing Room by Jonathan Swift. The poem itself was first published in 1732, and seeks (through comedy) to convey the ridiculousness of inherent feminine “goodness” or innocence by pointing out that women can be just as disgusting as men. Eleven Percent is basically the same premise, just with a dystopian twist.
Personally, while I admired the message behind this book; that without regard to intersectional bias women are not any more equipped to run the world than men are—the way in which that message was conveyed just made this book feel like a chauvenist’s fevered nightmare. Basically, the world building is thus, women have taken over but their unified front is very much restricted to the same sort of racial, economical, and theological power dynamics that plague our patriarchal society. As a result, nothing has really changed except a newfound push to destroy and break down everything to do with the “old ways” (i.e. anything associated with men), even if it means having to rebuild it at a deficit.
I suppose, if you aren’t super familiar with intersectional feminism as a theory, this narrative would be a lot more groundbreaking. However, for me, it was just a little too surface level. As a modern feminist I already understand that radicalized white-centric feminism isn’t the answer to solving all the world’s problems, and that power will corrupt anyone, regardless of gender. As a result Eleven Percent comes off as a little preachy with how blunt it is.

This story felt wholly original but at the same time believable (not unlike reading 'The Handmaid's Tale' or 'Manhunt'). In this dystopia future, men are essentially held in captivity because of scientific advances believed regarding their testosterone -- and women largely populate and dominate the world.

The four main characters (and a minor character, Lars) weaved together quite seamlessly in a way that sometimes felt predictable but ultimately served the main story so well. Each character felt wholly shaped with light and dark, making them feel intensely real and human. The story flew by quickly and I found myself wanting to know more about where all of these characters ended up.

Ultimately, I liked this much more than I was initially expecting during the first few pages -- this is the epitome of a slow start, strong finish for me. Highly recommend if you enjoy female-dominated dystopia stories.

I decided to DNF this book at 20%. While the writing was good and the book was easy to follow, unfortunately this book just couldn't capture me. While the premise is great, the world of priestesses with their snakes wasn't interesting to me at all. I found myself dreading picking up this book to read and ultimately decided it was best I moved on. I appreciate the opportunity to read this one! I will rate this at a 3 so my personal preference doesn't skew the book down.

The beginning of this book is very info dumpy and I’m really not enjoying it. The concept of this book seemed really cool but I can’t get past the first chapter.

I'm still not sure if this book is utopian or distopian. It was somehow both beautiful and horrifying. I think it will appeal to readers of literary fiction and women's fiction. I'll definitely be recommending it to my customers!

This was... difficult to rate, honestly. Ultimately, I rated it due to a combination of factors:

First off, the writing was gorgeous. The prose, even translated, was incredible and it was easy to see this world in my mind's eye. Each character was unique and well developed with their own unique voice. The story was interesting, fairly unique, and overall just fascinating.

But beyond that, it was (as it should be) disturbing and very deep. I had to read something lighter with it just so I didn't exhaust myself emotionally. It was hard to read. I can also see the possibility of some things triggering people in some capacity or another.

Overall it was well written and the translation is rather timely. I'm glad I read it, but I'll also be glad to read something a bit lighter for a bit.

This was really really weird, and really disturbing at times. I'm not entirely sure what I just read. The premise is interesting and the world building is fantastic. Just a truly bizarre book to make you think.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I have this one my best shot, but I could barely get through it. The plot was so slow, and just so boring I really had to force myself to keep picking it back up. I did not understand the world-building either.

I don’t know if maybe there was something lost in translation (originally published in Dutch), but I did not like the writing style either.

Eleven Percent by Maren Uthaug

"An inverse The Handmaid’s Tale that asks: What if women took over the world?"

Summary: It is the New Time, a time not so different from our own except that the men are gone. All but eleven percent of them, that is, the minimum required to avoid inbreeding. But they are safely under lock and key in “spa” centers for women’s pleasure and procreation, few women protest that the males should be treated better. Priestesses speak in tongues, inspired by snake venom, but all social engineering has its costs...

Four different lives intersect: Each will discover the cracks in this women's paradise.

Review: Sadly this book missed the mark. I really tried and kept reading but it was just uncomfortable and couldn't finish. Read some transphobic and fat phobic language. Again sadly, not worth it.