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Widowland by C. J. Carey

Widowland

Widowland #1

by C. J. Carey

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Readers' Rating (20):
  • Published:
  • Aug 2022, 432 pages
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Gurram Manasa

Widowland
At first I thought it was a boring to read, but I came to appreciate the concept of this book and I really like it.....
Rory A. (Ventura, CA)

Sobering what-if
How far did we come to the precipice? What if we hadn't made it through and fell back into a dark world such as the one presented in "Widowland"? Rose Ransom is an interesting view into a society where great novels are edited so as to prevent individual thought, but there are times when the seriousness of this world is constantly pounded upon the reader, and it sometimes loses its potency by that repetitiveness.
Rebecca K. (Chicagoland)

Fascinating alternate history
While historical fiction isn't my usual forte, I was interested in Widowland as soon as I read the description. It's an alternate history about what it might be like if Germany won World War II.

In this world, the US remained neutral during the war. Now, Great Britain is part of a Grand Alliance with Germany. Though residents outside of mainland Europe are unaware of the existence of concentration camps, they share ideologies including a strict caste system for women. The highest classes are reserved for those of childbearing age, to increase the population. Those beyond this point in their lives are relegated tomore
Power Reviewer
Dorothy L. (Manalapan, NJ)

Alternate Truths in Widowland
I enjoyed reading this book. There are many good things in Widowland. I liked the dystopian premise. I kept thinking: If America had not been attacked and remained isolationist during WWII, would England have survived? In this book, England never engages in battle but submits when other countries are vanquished. I was interested to see how the plot developed but I was disappointed in the ending. I actually turned the page expecting more. I feel the conclusion was too abrupt and although we surmise what will happen to Rose there should have been more clarification as to what will happen in the future to England.more
Cathy

Germany in control.
This tale of control and cancel culture comes at a time when we are experiencing both. In this alternative history England has capitulated to the Germans without a shot being fired. The English government handed Germany the power to change English culture. In an attempt to control the British citizens, the German Protectorate set about eliminating everything England stood for.

Freedom was restricted by creating a caste system, discriminating against women, and limiting resources. Control, control, control. And it worked for years. But Great Britain is known for its tenacity and stiff upper lip attitude.

Sometimesmore
Jessamyn R. (Odenton, MD)

Alt-History meets Dystopia
Rose Ransom lives in London a dozen years into the Alliance formed between Nazi Germany and Great Britain, enjoying the perks of her Class 1A female rating, editing classic literature to make it more ideologically palatable, and feeling increasingly disenchanted in her affair with an assistant minister of the Protectorate. It's a great hook! I though the book initially plodded through some overly complicated world building that seemed heavily cribbed from other novels (especially The Handmaid's Tale with the named and color coded classifications of women), but picked up as Rose met the residents of the titularmore
Elizabeth T. (Bradenton, FL)

Widowland by C.J. Carey
Widowland is an engaging, page turner of a novel that crosses genres- feminist, historical, dystopian and challenges the reader to imagine what if… women were classified, literature was "corrected" and history could be re-written. Certainly these topics are not new, but they are timely and Carey's vividly imagined world will resonate with many readers.

The novel is set in a post World War II Great Britain that is bleak and unsettling. England did not fight Germany, but instead chose to form an Alliance with Nazis. It is this dystopian setting that provides the framework for the ideas the novel examines. Themore
Madhuri

Widowland
"Widowland" is a powerful tale that presents an alternate history of the aftermath of the Nazi invasion of Europe and conquest of Europe and the UK. The main character, Rose, a young British woman initially accepts, like other countrymen, the "Alliance" (as the German control of UK is called). However, in her position in the Culture Ministry she becomes increasingly aware of horrors around her. In this world, women are classified by beauty and usefulness to the "Alliance." Living necessities (housing, jobs, and food) are dispensed by class with the lowest class of women receiving barely enough food to survive.more
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