Shore of Women, by Pamela Sargent
Book Review by Phillip A. Ellis
Have you read this book?
Shore of Women is speculative fiction of a
high order. It speculates, that is, what may happen
after a nuclear war, where women and men have become
segregated and live apart. It is women who live in
cities, and it is they who keep the men in a
semi-barbaric state. And, when men develop too far,
they are destroyed. The old order, and the destruction
of humanity, must be averted at all costs, and this
occurs through the subjugation of men.
So, when two women are expelled from the city, the results are such that this fragile order becomes threatened. A relationship develops, an honest, real relationship, between one of these exiles, Birana, and Avril, a young man. And they seek a haven where men and women can co-exist in equality and peace, the shore of women of the title.
Shore of Women is both an excellent example of speculative, and of feminist fiction. It asks the necessary "What if?" and, in answering, critiques our assumptions of human behaviour, male and female. It takes the processes of binary opposition, and challenges the resultant assumptions. And, in doing so, it never becomes didactic, less than fiction: this is far more than mere propaganda.
Shore of Women is ill-served if only read by feminists, even, mainly, women. It is a rich book, a wise book that fulfills what many speculative fictions promise but fail to deliver. This is one book I want to share with friends, family, you.
Shore of Women has been called a classic of feminist science fiction: it is more, it is classic science fiction, full stop.
So, when two women are expelled from the city, the results are such that this fragile order becomes threatened. A relationship develops, an honest, real relationship, between one of these exiles, Birana, and Avril, a young man. And they seek a haven where men and women can co-exist in equality and peace, the shore of women of the title.
Shore of Women is both an excellent example of speculative, and of feminist fiction. It asks the necessary "What if?" and, in answering, critiques our assumptions of human behaviour, male and female. It takes the processes of binary opposition, and challenges the resultant assumptions. And, in doing so, it never becomes didactic, less than fiction: this is far more than mere propaganda.
Shore of Women is ill-served if only read by feminists, even, mainly, women. It is a rich book, a wise book that fulfills what many speculative fictions promise but fail to deliver. This is one book I want to share with friends, family, you.
Shore of Women has been called a classic of feminist science fiction: it is more, it is classic science fiction, full stop.
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Comment on Shore of Women, by Pamela Sargent
| Comments on Shore of Women, by Pamela Sargent |
| Posted by anon on 3/30/2007 |
| This review is a little suspicious. Five stars for such a tired plot device? It reads more like an add than a review. |
