not what you expect

makes you question your morals, your survival techniques, would people miss you and really is this possible. whole way through I was rechallenged with thoughts every chapter.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

why

struggled to start. took a number of attempts. i felt frustrated not to find out why they were taken and treated so badly??? i don't get it???

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Supreme piece of storytelling! Powerful!

This will go down in history as one of Australia's greatest literary pieces.

very moving and provocative

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Remember to breathe - this book is exquisite!

What have you done Charlotte Wood? You have made Golding’s Lord of the Flies for this century and you have made it so very thrilling and real.

Verla wakes from a drugged sleep. She doesn’t know where she is, nor why she’s there. Another woman is thrust into the room - Yolanda. Verla and Yolanda are two of ten women who find themselves in the middle of the desert. Their heads are soon shaved and they are clothed in coarse, modest but completely impractical skirts, shirts and bonnets that act as blinders.

The dread begins from the first scenes and Wood never lets up. The girls are always on guard, and so are we.

The women are jailed in a compound in outback Australia, surrounded by an electric fence powerful enough to kill. Their jailers are a brutal, coarse idiot, and a stoner hippie. They are joined by Nancy the “nurse” who has no medical qualifications nor even a basic knowledge of first aid.

One evening the electricity at the compound goes off. The food begins to run out. Things were already bad and they are about to get worse.

There is nothing about this book that is predictable. Wood keeps us guessing and second guessing at every turn. It is exquisite, the sort of book where you need to remind yourself to breathe. Do not be fooled by the beautiful cover of the book. Wood’s story is ugly, ugly, ugly. It is the very worst of ourselves.

The book won the 2016 Stella Award (Australia’s top award for Women’s Literature) and is shortlisted for Australia’s most prestigious award, the Miles Franklin Award.

Alisa Piper gives the characters a powerful Aussie twang, perfectly suited to the women (and men) Wood has written. Piper draws you in quickly and performs the voices of each character superbly.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I actually finished it!

I find it very difficult to finish any books at all, thus must congratulate this audio book for getting me through. The narration was done excellently and the story was captivating.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great story. .unexpected and intriguing

a story that draws you in and keeps you listening. highly recommended. disturbing and intriguing exploration of the essence of humanity, and the relationships between men and women, power and surrender, friendship and sex

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

A surprising gem

This audio book was in my 'recommended' list for a long time, and I would read the summary, consider it, and decide it wasn't for me. I finally downloaded and listened this week and I am so glad I did. It is a unique, fascinating, totally weird, thought provoking, heart rending book and utterly beautiful written. Great narration.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I regret listening to this book

Dystopian? More like an unlikely nightmare without redemption. The narrator did a wonderful job. Yes, for the most part, the book is well written. However, the female group dynamics set in a post-modern era seem to be completely unrealistic. A very unsatisfying tome.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

But why were they taken?

The story pulls you right in, you are taken on a journey of friendship, power, fear and growth. They entire time I wondered why they just didn’t over power the men? Then I realised we are so badly engrained with the belief that as women, we come second. Then I realise just how powerful this book was.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Absolutely nothing ‘stood out most’

What did I like or dislike? Can’t help thinking this was a book designed to shock and that was all. Gratuitous unpleasantness. No real story. We already have Lord of the flies, no need to try it again.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!