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Daughters of the North by Sarah Hall

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As a rule, I have a tendency to love dystopian novels - 1984, Brave New World, Children of Men, and so on. Daughters of the North is another work that slides quite nicely into that genre, albeit with a considerably feminist agenda. Cumbria (read: England) has deteriorated into a colony filled with disease and anarchy. Women are fitted with metal coils to keep from reproducing and there is no sense of personal freedom. The protagonist, Sister, escapes from her home and sets out to join Carhullan, an all female commune located far outside city limits. Once there, she becomes indoctrinated into the organization, only to find that its agenda has changed to more terrorist matters.


Overall, a good read, though the ending occurs rather abruptly. As a heroine, Sister is kind of annoying, simply because she rambles on a lot over things that probably could be stated in a few words. Oh well.
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