Book Synopsis:
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 her 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.
My Review:
The Woman Could Fly is an intelligent and powerful read that was very thought provoking.
Firstly I thought the world the author has created was very vivid and I enjoyed exploring it alongside the main character Jo. It is sadly a quite familiar world where women are inferior to men, feared and punished as witches. The thing I found most interesting about this world was that I recognised it both in an historical sense and in the present day with the overturning of legislation in the US that has been much discussed in the news. It seemed kind of timeless to me which was sad to realise that not much has changed.
I loved the main character Jo and enjoyed following her throughout the book. In a world where differences aren’t tolerated, Jo doesn’t stand much of a chance against the cruel leaders. It was tough to see her struggle against this and poignant to see what her future might hold.
The book does start off slowly as we are introduced to this new world but soon becomes very interesting as we follow Jo on the mission her mother set out in her will. The ending was unexpected and very good! I look forward to reading more from this author in future.
Huge thanks to Tracy for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Pan Macmillan for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Megan Giddings is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota. Her first novel, Lakewood, was one of New York Magazine’s top ten books of 2020, an NPR Best Book of 2020, a Michigan Notable book for 2021, a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards, and was a finalist for an LA Times Book Prize in the Ray Bradbury Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Speculative category. Megan’s writing has received funding and support from the Barbara Deming Foundation and Hedgebrook. She lives in the Midwest. The Women Could Fly is Megan’s latest spellbinding novel.
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