Rife with transphobia and heteronormative ideas of what is is to "be a woman," Uthaug misses a chance to truly reinvent the Handmaid Tale wheel. An interesting concept that fails its execution in a way that makes one wonder how deep internal misogyny can truly run. It does one thing well and that is that women are just as capable of evil as anyone. I get what Uthaug was trying to do, I just wish that even in this case women were not once again the root of all evil. Like most books I dislike on first rad, I will reread and see if I was wrong and for the unique tale that this novel has, I hope that I am.

**Features**
- Dystopia set in a world where women are in power and make up the majority of the population
- Feminist iconography with a biblical/religious bent
- Thought experiment and cautionary tale

**Synopsis:**

The old, patriarchal world is gone, slowly being reclaimed by nature as women rebuild. The few men that remain are kept safely locked away in “spas” to be used for procreation and pleasure. Yet the balance of the world remains a delicate thing as Medea already knows. What remains of her order is quickly crumbling away along with the old world building in which they live. While Medea fights to keep the convent afloat, her mute sister Silence is on a mission of her own. Meanwhile, a priestess named Wicca mourns the death of her pregnant lover and a doctor named Eva finds herself grappling with questions about the spa in which she works. All have their secrets, but will they lead society into a brighter future or its demise?

**Thoughts:**

This is one of those books that I will probably find more interesting to discuss than I did reading. As a thought experiment, this story leans more philosophical (and occasionally theological) than theoretical and presents some interesting ideas. The world and characters are composed with clear intention, but it is definitely a more extreme depiction of a world run by women. Despite the feminist iconography and matriarchal structure, this is also far from a complementary view. Personally, it was not my kind of weird and I felt alienated from this world for most of the book. That being said, I found the way Uthaug represents different ideas fascinating even though the story didn’t resonate with me as a whole.

This book has been described as the “inverse” of The Handmaid’s Tale and I would say this is only true in the overall concept. The Handmaid’s Tale, despite its extremes, feels very connected to our current reality whereas Eleven Percent feels more conceptual and post-apocalyptic. Even though we get a view of the “spas” through Eva’s perspective, the repression of men in this society is never explored in any meaningful way and isn’t really the focus of the story. This book is still worth a try if you are interested in exploring feminism in a different way, but it is a very different reading experience overall.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy. I was super hyped for the premise but the way it presented was just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was not "it" for me but am sure many others will enjoy it

This book has the coolest story concept and I really appreciate how thought provoking it was. I understand that this was to be framed as an extreme take on feminism and a completely matriarchal society, but some details actually seemed to diminish the successful nature of a female run society, which could go either way to support this author’s point. This will have you feeling feelings, but I’m not sure I liked how I felt reading this. Overall, I think I’m neutral after reading this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!!
I don't know how I feel about this book. It is well written with a super interesting premise. However, I think I wanted more from the ending. This ends in a way that feels unresolved although every plotline is closed and snipped off.
On the other hand, absolutely a great book about dystopia and being just a person in that. There is no "hero", no "antagonist" that is easily seen. It's just a book about life hundreds of years after the end of our current civilization.

In a world where men make up 11% of the population and are only allowed to exist in carefully controlled captivity (you know, that pesky testosterone makes them so emotional), we follow the lives of a group of women whose lives are woven together. Medea is a witch whose powers lay with her ability to work with snakes and create herbal remedies. Wicca is a priestess from a prestigious line of women, Eva is a doctor at a Center (where men are kept), and Silence is a reclusive soul trying to atone for past mistakes. What the women don’t know is how they’re all connected and how much they’ll need each other.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The concept of a matriarchal society in the future is an interesting concept, though I consider myself more of a feminist who believes in equality over a specific gender claiming dominance. This book just never got going for me – the story moved slowly and there was too much focus on sex/genitalia. I think it would have been beneficial to have more of a history of how the current society came to be and maybe have a male’s perspective from one of the Centers.

While I appreciate the creativity of the author and the unique futuristic world they built, it did not resonate with me.

A very interesting read. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It wasn't really for me, but I am sure that it will be loed by the right audience.

⋆⋆¾ — honestly, i was neutral towards this until the scat kink episode. and then it went downhill from there. all in all, i'm just not really a fan of matriarchal stories where science and math and architecture are framed as masculine evil, and the matriarchy is just nature magic astrology woo woo and period blood cookies. it just doesn't feel subversive or thought-provoking in any way. insert that one ursula k. le guin quote here. and if you add how many times the phrase "the patriarchy" was used (i will die on the hill that it's different from saying "patriarchy" by itself), it reads like a 12-year-old on tumblr's first foray into radical feminism. of course, with the way the liberal feminist divine feminine energy people move, if we ever achieve a womanist society, that's probably what it will look like.

I LOVED THIS BOOK.
I was recommending this book to friends and followers before I was seen finished because I could not talk about it enough!! I love that the story is broken up into different perspectives and how the author has done that. It's different than a multi POV book. All of the characters had me so emotionally invested and I was wildly immersed the entire time!
I'd say fans on Handmaids Tale would for sure enjoy this almost reverse story. They are definitely not the same story and are not a direct reversal of the story, but it's along the same lines as one gender is held above another and one is used for breeding purposes.
There were so many relevant scientific points in this story and you could really tell how much thought Uthaug put into this story.
Highly recommend!

Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Eleven Percent by Maren Uthaug!

Content warnings that I felt could have been made: transphobia as well as a LOT of genitalia talk, child/animal abuse, blood

This was certainly a fascinating read. I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book, especially given the political climate we are in right now. The story follows several main characters who hold different roles in society, switching between them. Though each character was engaging and well-fleshed-out, this made it a little challenging for me to keep going with the book, as felt like more of a cautionary tale than a "happy" story (which, to be fair, makes sense in this context!). Additionally, a lot of worldbuilding context was given as we got further into the story., which was sometimes confusing. That being said, I think there were some really interesting points made by the author. I only wish the plot was fleshed out a bit more.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was....something. I'm not sure I'm the right audience for this book, but I definitely did not enjoy it.

Thanks to the publihser for the advanced copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc. It has been two weeks since I read this and I haven't stopped thinking about it and still don't know what to say. It's fascinating, thought-provoking and very weird. This is a very unique take on what a matriarchal society could look like, deftly exploring the implications of one gender having absolute power. While the world is gendered, this novel dives into what that means for trans people and those born male. It's hard to talk about without spoiling anything, but I really recommend it.
Will be reviewed on Instagram closer to publication.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of this book was very intriguing to me, especially after consuming Handmaid's Tale content for the past couple of years.

The longer I sit with the book, the more I find myself coming to terms with the fact that it was meant to be a very ugly story. I think it's really easy to think that the author shares the mindset of her characters, but did we do that to Margaret Atwood? No. So I'm choosing to believe that this author is not transphobic, or has any other outlandish prejudice.

Once I get passed that, I can appreciate the commentary this book offers.

It follows several, very different, POV characters, which allows you to view this world through the lenses of women who benefit or suffer greatly under the matriarchy they live under.

Finally, the prose is beautiful. This was recently translated to English but the beauty of the writing comes through wonderfully in the translation.

I will say trigger warning for trasphobia, blood used in cooking, animal abuse, child abuse, mutilation, and probably more (this book could due with a proper look by a sensitivity reader to better warn audiences of the content).

Thank you to Maren Uthaug, Net Galley, and St. Martin’s Press for this arc of Eleven Percent, out April 22, 2025!

📜Quick Summary: It’s the New Time. There are only eleven percent of men left in the world… in a world run by women. The men are in “spa like” facilities, where they’re available for whatever the women have in mind. Medea, a witch and a snake whisperer, takes care of the pythons and helps them procreate. In her home in the slums, the convent isn’t the best of living situations. Taking care of Eldest, her “sister”, was a job in itself; she was slowly declining and losing memories. Silence, another sister who lives with them, doesn’t speak a word to them. Wicca, is a self proclaimed master at “self pleasuring,” a course that they were taught in school.

❣️Initial Feels: I am feeling very confused… I know this book is translated into English, so maybe things are lost in translation? Or maybe…I’m not quite getting where this book is going.

👀Trigger Warnings: masturbation, menstrual blood, lots of penis talk

📖Read if you want: sci-fi, fantasy, women taking over the world, religious input, a lot of talk of orgasms and their magical powers, dystopian world

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: I loved learning about Silence not only through her silence in the convent, but the background of her life through the chapters from her point of view. When she spoke during those chapters, I felt like I could feel her voice through the pages…and learned why she was silent for so long. Her budding friendship with Chaplin, gave little bursts of happiness in Silence’s soul and I loved watching that beginning part unfurl.

🗨️Touching Words: “A woman’s weakest spot is that hse has too much empathy.”

“Bid your empathy welcome, dance with it, laugh at it, cry with it, but never follow it.”

💡Final Sentiments: This was an original Danish novel, being translated into English at it’s newest publication date! This was… so interesting. Men were in “camps” so to speak where they were held captive. There were breeding clinics women could go to if they were ready, but they were taught masterbation at some point as well during their courses. The menstrual blood in her baking recipes…was just so weird and gross. This book is definitely out there and you have to read it with a grain of salt…and almost let all your ideas and views on the world escape. It does incorporate government and religious views, which you can tie together with issues we have in our world today too. This was just so unique to anything I have ever read before…and I read a LOT!

🌟Overall Rating: I’m not even sure…maybe 3.5 stars?

This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the concept of a woman run world lol it was very interesting to read especially since it is a translated into English! Four lives, many secrets, and apparently magical menstrual cookies? All in all I did have a good time reading this but I don’t think it’s one I will be thinking about often.

This is the second "what if women became the dominant sex?" novel I've read, the first being Naomi Alderman's THE POWER, and like the first, I found this story to be lacking. There is not much to be said about the plot; all of the interesting bits of action take place in flashbacks as the reader is introduced to the rotating protagonists' backstories, and in the present of the novel, extremely few events actually take places, and those that do can scarcely be called engaging or exciting. There is very little forward momentum to carry the reader forward. We are told how things are, and how our protagonists think about how things are, and...that is largely it.

The characters themselves are varied and engaging. Having four points of view through which the reader is introduced to this strange new world was an excellent choice, as each perspective grants wild new insight that the previous perspectives lacked. That being said, these characters are little more than the points of view they provide. There is no real character development or growth; each of our protagonists is more or less the same person at the end of the story that they were at the beginning. As with the plot, most of the interesting bits of these characters' stories happens in flashbacks or backstory, which makes reading the "present" feel like a waste of time. If anything, the current-day events of these characters' lives feel more like a slice-of-life picture, rather than a legitimate character arc.

The world that Maren Uthaug has created is certainly unique and well-detailed; I could feel how much time went into fleshing out this new society, how it operates, what its flaws and challenges are. I thought the balance of details presented to the audience was just right, enough to make this society feel real and tangible, but not too much that the reader is bogged down with too many things to remember or care about. The structure of this society also felt honest, not like your standard science fiction-level hyperorganization that may be intelligent or interesting but not necessary accurate to the way that humans tend to organize ourselves. I was left with some questions at the end of this book, most of them "good" questions that made me want to learn more, rather than "bad" questions that annoy me. That being said, we're not really given much explanation as to how human society ended up in where it is, though I understand that this book is the first in a series, so perhaps more answers will come in the future. I'm also unclear as to how so much basic scientific knowledge has been lost; for a while I thought this fictional society existed in the past, given how much was not known. Again, questions like these may be answered in future novels, though I don't believe I will be reading to find out.

Some final thoughts:

-The writing style was engaging and unique, but overall I wasn't blown away by it.
-There is a near-constant talk of genitalia and sex that gets very old very quickly.
-This book was, on the whole, very bleak, and oftentimes difficult to get through for this reason.
-I feel that pointing out the transphobia in this book is complicated, because gender identity and bodily autonomy in the society of this book are not necessarily analogous to that of our own world. That being said, those who are triggered by or sensitive to depictions of transphobia may find swaths of this book difficult to read.

Overall, I thought this book was a collection of interesting, unique, thought-provoking ideas, but I don't know how successful it is as a narrative. I think the plot and character arcs could have used some more attention, even if at the expense of the thorough world-building. As I said, I don't think I'll be continuing on with the series, but I can definitely imagine a reader who would be gripped by this world and absolutely need to know more.

Eleven Percent is a slow burn. The beginning of the book had me contemplating whether I should finish it or not, but I am glad I kept reading. The story follows four women, Medea, Wicca, Silence, and Eva, as they explore different ways of living in a world where only eleven percent of males are kept alive at "spas". I started to enjoy the book about half way through, as the four women's lives started becoming connected. I found the story felt more connected at that point and it became easier to imagine this world where women are in power. This novel was outside of my normal genres, and as such it did not hold my interest as much as I had hoped it would.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I can definitely see this being a controversial one, but sometimes it’s the most controversial stories that stay with you the longest. In what feels like it sprang from Margaret Atwood’s pen, Maren Uthaug imagines a dystopian future where men are rare and women rule the earth. So much of this world was unique and intriguing, from the gender-swapped version of Christianity to the spa centers and the eduction system focusing on personal pleasure.

Maren Uthaug offers a commentary on modern societal structures surrounding femininity, womanhood, transgender rights, and the patriarchy that feels incredibly poignant and thought-provoking. I actually feel like I could talk about this book for hours there is so much to deconstruct. There is also so much that is just weird! And I mean that in a good way! This book goes so many places which speaks to Uthaug’s ability to ensure that it endures.

A final note: this book can be difficult for people with body dysmorphia but that is also why it is so important for others to read to understand body dysmorphia. There are also some uncomfortable paragraphs about children’s bodies, which speaks to the dehumanization and objectification of young girls in modern society. Any and all uncomfortable bits in this book are necessary for the point they are trying to make.

This was not the book for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.