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A review by immabehazzie
The Book of Etta by Meg Elison
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’
‘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’