Reviews

The Book of Etta by Meg Elison

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burningupasun's review against another edition

4.0

I love this book for it's depictions of gender nuances in a new world. But it is also very dark at times and that makes it hard to get through, hard to LOVE in the same way I might love another book. This book went into the sex slaving even more than the first one, so that was a lot. But it was still a really interesting book.

katiescho741's review against another edition

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2.0

I discovered The Book of the Unnamed Midwife earlier this year on Kindle Unlimited. I loved it so much that it got a 5* rating from me. When I saw the two sequels were also on KU, I figured I’d give them a go. I sort of wish I hadn’t.
There is some interesting stuff in this book, such as the changing ideas of gender, gender-roles, and sexuality in the event of an apocalypse, but there’s not enough good stuff to make this a good book. The gender-roles idea brought some good tidbits such as the society where men make beautiful quilts and women hunt. Also how the new and dangerous world brought with it assumptions that women shouldn’t waste their motherhood potential by being gay.
There is so much about gender and sexuality that it takes over the story and becomes the story: so many descriptions of sex, sex slavery, genital mutilation, how each community thinks of men and women. There just wasn’t much of a story among all this. The only thing I can say is it’s a story of Etta trying to find herself and deal with the conflicting sides of who she is, but even that becomes a bit stretched when the different faces she presents (Etta and Eddy) start talking to each other.
Perhaps as a standalone, this book would have looked better, unfortunately, it looks really poor next to Unnamed Midwife. The Unnamed is mentioned and it’s interesting to see how her legacy has lasted and how people think of her, but this book was nowhere near as good. The title alone is confusing because Etta hardly writes in her journal and what she does write is brief and superficial. One of the things I loved about Unnamed Midwife was how it alternated between first-person diary entries and third-person. But this one dispenses with that technique and is just a lot of walking and inner turmoil about boring topics.
I admit I skimmed the final 20% due to boredom.

Spoiler

I just didn’t understand the weird cult of Alma or the way that Etta magically ended up in a boat after collapsing on the shore, and then she got out of it and then miraculously she was found…I just didn’t buy it!

If you liked Unnamed Midwife, don’t bother with this one. Needless to say, I won’t be reading The Book of Flora!

wats1602's review against another edition

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2.5

2.5. Disappointing after the first book. The beginning dragged and the ending was rushed. Also the main character was extremely unlikeable. However, the world is interesting and frightening.

bublet011's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Large time jump from the first book makes the story feel more alien than desperate compared to the first book. Which is interesting in how the main character describes things we know as panic attacks, split personality disorders, and lgbtq. The world building works very similar to the first book which I liked. The main character travelling and experiencing how people reformed their societies which are unique and interesting to consider.

The main character was somewhat annoying to me with how black and white they saw the world having clearly been so well traveled already in the beginning. As the story progresses it becomes more clear why they are that way and the character arc starts to make more sense.

My main issue with the story is the side characters. They talk to the main character in a way that poses them as intelligent and considerate of circumstances outside their own. However, as soon as they're posed with real world problems they insist on the dumbest decisions.

immabehazzie's review against another edition

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4.0

‘The Book of Etta’ is the second book in ‘The Road to Nowhere’. The story takes place nearly one hundred years after the events of ‘The Book of The Unnamed Midwife’. It follows the story of Etta, a young woman born and raised in Nowhere who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where women and children die more often than not during childbirth. The few women, adults, and children both, are marginalized and treated as property. Etta challenges the societal expectations that are set out for her and set out on a journey of self-discovery and rebellion against oppressive forces. Throughout the novel, Etta encounters dangers, forms alliances, and confronts her own inner demons, all while striving to create a better life for herself and others.

‘The Book of The Unnamed Midwife’ was a phenomenal book and had set my expectations high for any sequels. While I think that it should have been a stand-alone, I still enjoyed ‘The Book of Etta’. Etta is a compelling character who drives the story so well that it makes it hard to put the book down. This novel also expands the world that we were first shown in ‘The Book of The Unnamed Midwife’. Through Etta, we learn about life in Nowhere and of other towns and villages. We see how others suffer and get on with life and how things have changed.

While Etta is the main character, every other character that is introduced is just as complex and fleshed out. Whether they are only in the story for a few pages or the entire novel their presence holds weight and impacts the reader and Etta herself.

While the first novel was about survival, ‘The Book of Etta’ explores gender and societal oppression. Throughout Etta often questions if she has a choice in who she is or if anyone really has a choice in this post-apocalyptic world. The message is heavy-handed and isn’t subtle at all but for a story like this, I think subtlety wouldn’t work. I thought the inclusion of sexuality and transgender people in such a harsh post-apocalyptic world shows how much thought Meg Elison put into this story and the world she was building.

My problems with ‘The Book of Etta’ is that it felt very franchise-like. By that I mean this story has the same elements of ‘The Book of The Unnamed Midwife’ but has more action in ways that I don’t think suit the story that it is trying to tell. Secondly, in some parts it was confusing, and instead of explaining certain things readers are either expected to already know or stew in their confusion until it’s explained briefly later on.

Overall, ‘The Book of Etta’ was a really good novel and I would definitely recommend it. However, don’t go into it expecting it to be like ‘The Book of The Unnamed Midwife’