"Megan Giddings's prose is brimming with wonder. The Women Could Fly is a candid appraisal of grief, inheritance, and the merits of unruliness." - Raven Leilani Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Deborah Harkness, and Octavia E. Butler, The Women Could Fly is a feminist speculative novel that speaks to our times. A piercing dystopian tale about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her absent mother, set in a world in which magic is real and single women are closely monitored in case they are shown to be ...
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"Megan Giddings's prose is brimming with wonder. The Women Could Fly is a candid appraisal of grief, inheritance, and the merits of unruliness." - Raven Leilani Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Deborah Harkness, and Octavia E. Butler, The Women Could Fly is a feminist speculative novel that speaks to our times. A piercing dystopian tale about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her absent mother, set in a world in which magic is real and single women are closely monitored in case they are shown to be witches . . . Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother's disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge, because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behaviour raises suspicions and a woman - especially a Black woman - can find herself on trial for witchcraft. But fourteen years have passed since her mother's disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of thirty - or enrol in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At twenty-eight, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has never understood her mother more. When she's offered the opportunity to honour one last request from her mother's will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time. In this powerful and timely novel, Megan Giddings explores the limits women face - and the powers they have to transgress and transcend them. 'It can be tempting to read The Women Could Fly, which comes in the shadow of the recent Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and call the book timely. But the relationship at the heart of this novel - between Jo and her mercurial mother - is much closer to timeless.' - The New York Times
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Add this copy of The Women Could Fly: a Novel to cart. $1.03, good condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Amistad.
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Good. Gently used with minimal wear on the corners and cover. A few pages may contain light highlighting or writing but the text remains fully legible. Dust jacket may be missing and supplemental materials like CDs or codes may not be included. May be ex-library with library markings. Ships promptly!
Add this copy of The Women Could Fly: a Novel to cart. $1.03, fair condition, Sold by Dream Books Co. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Amistad.
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Fair. This copy has clearly been enjoyed-expect noticeable shelf wear and some minor creases to the cover. Binding is strong and all pages are legible. May contain previous library markings or stamps.
Add this copy of The Women Could Fly: a Novel to cart. $2.03, good condition, Sold by Seattle Goodwill rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Seattle, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Amistad Press.
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Add this copy of The Women Could Fly to cart. $2.22, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Amistad Press.
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Add this copy of The Women Could Fly: a Novel to cart. $3.42, good condition, Sold by Central Valley Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fresno, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Amistad Press.
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I had The Women Could Fly on my TBR for quite a while, but I was very excited to read it. With comparisons being made to The Handmaiden's Tale and having read some great feminist books this year (eg: The Change) I couldn't wait to dive in. It was perhaps with these very high expectations I found that The Women Could Fly to be a bit of a disappointment.
I think one of my main issues was the world-building aspect. I didn't really understand how we had come into a world where not only was magic real, but women were ok with seeing their own perpetrated for being accused of it. With so many real-life examples to draw on such as the Salem witch trials, I thought this was a bit of a missed opportunity.
I also didn't feel that I had much empathy for our main character of Jo, she made a lot of bad decisions but also some choices that didn't seem to make any sense. I didn't understand why she did a lot of the things she did, even down to leaving the Island. She didn't seem to like or trust any of the other characters throughout and we flip-flopped between potential love interests with too much frequency for me to get attached to anyone else. The narrative also skipped between flashbacks and cutesy fairy-tale type stories which did little to further the plot along. Although it is quite a short book, it felt like it dragged.
Overall, The Women Could Fly was a disappointment for me - no world building, a slow-moving plot and unlikeable characters. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
