Synopsis: What would society be like if Britain had signed an alliance with Germany during WWII? This question is what Widowland explores, detailing a version of Britain where most of the young men have been sent to Germany and women are separated into castes based on factors such as appearance and family background, implementing a strong level of control over their lives.
The main character Rose works at the Ministry of Culture rewriting literature, so it reflects the values of the Protectorate. Being a Geli, the highest caste, and having an affair with a senior SS officer offers Rose a reasonably good life but she is aware that one misstep could result in her being reclassified. One day Rose is sent on a secret mission to Widowland, the run-down areas occupied by the lowest caste women, to uncover the insurgents who have been vandalising walls with graffiti made up of lines from subversive literature. As Rose undertakes her mission, she realises that she cannot ignore ideas from the past and begins to question where her loyalties lie.
Review: Reading this book immediately draws similarities to the Handmaid’s Tale, 1984 and other dystopian/alternate realities. The concept itself I thought was really interesting, even if it is similar to other stories, and I was intrigued about the editing of literature and separation of women into castes. The world-building was done extremely well, there was so much detail, and it was clear how and why this type of society had come into existence.
If anything, at times there was too much detail. I was often confused about the names of the different castes and found the first half of the book quite slow as the society was explained, meaning that it took a while to get to the main plot. This meant elements, such as the romance and Rose’s change in character, felt rushed.
I did enjoy reading this book, but my biggest issue was that the blurb felt somewhat misleading. The story didn’t get to the insurgency until the second half by which point there was not enough time to fully explore the subversive behaviour and how it impacted Rose’s outlook on life. I personally was expecting this to be the driving force of the plot and it was not given the importance I feel it should have been.
Because of this, the ending lost some of its impact. I still thought it was an interesting and fitting way the end the story, but it would have had more excitement if Rose’s character arc was more fully developed.
Overall, a really interesting premise but the story sometimes got lost in all the detail of the world-building.
Recommend: For those with an interest in alternate realities this book offers an interesting take on what could have happened if Britain had signed an alliance with Germany during WWII but its insurgency storyline was lacking in comparison to other dystopian fiction
Pages of Eden 