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Sonja Arlow's Reviews > Afterland
Afterland
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by
3.5 stars
I have read most of Lauren Beukes’s books and loved all of them.
She has always had this undefinable element to her stories that made them stand out. From the bizzaro world of Zoo City to the creepy thriller The Shining Girls. The fact that she is a fellow South African made reading her unique books even more of a treat.
With this latest installment however, I struggled to get completely lost in the story.
There is not one glaring specific thing that bothered me just a few things that niggled in my periphery while reading.
This is a world where 90% of men have been wiped out by a virus that targets only men and cause fatal cancer. Any remaining males are hoarded into secure facilities and tested on like lab rats.
In this world women had to step in the void left by men, and it was bothersome that most of these women were portrayed as nothing more than men with vaginas. Some of these characters reminded me of the main protagonist in Artemis, she was more male than some men I know.
If you take out the post-apocalyptic theme of the story and replaced it with, say a woman running away from an abusive partner, 75% of the story would still be the same.
Its not a bad story and I do not want to discourage anyone from reading it, but I think my expectations were sky-high.
I have read most of Lauren Beukes’s books and loved all of them.
She has always had this undefinable element to her stories that made them stand out. From the bizzaro world of Zoo City to the creepy thriller The Shining Girls. The fact that she is a fellow South African made reading her unique books even more of a treat.
With this latest installment however, I struggled to get completely lost in the story.
There is not one glaring specific thing that bothered me just a few things that niggled in my periphery while reading.
This is a world where 90% of men have been wiped out by a virus that targets only men and cause fatal cancer. Any remaining males are hoarded into secure facilities and tested on like lab rats.
In this world women had to step in the void left by men, and it was bothersome that most of these women were portrayed as nothing more than men with vaginas. Some of these characters reminded me of the main protagonist in Artemis, she was more male than some men I know.
If you take out the post-apocalyptic theme of the story and replaced it with, say a woman running away from an abusive partner, 75% of the story would still be the same.
Its not a bad story and I do not want to discourage anyone from reading it, but I think my expectations were sky-high.
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Reading Progress
December 16, 2018
– Shelved
December 16, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
December 16, 2018
– Shelved as:
sa-authors
December 16, 2018
– Shelved as:
sci-fi
April 5, 2020
–
Started Reading
April 6, 2020
–
1.2%
"Lauren Beukes has pre-released her new book to South Africa today!!! I could not be happier!! #lockdownday8947"
page
5
April 15, 2020
– Shelved as:
2020-read
April 15, 2020
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
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message 1:
by
Tania
(new)
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rated it 4 stars
Apr 16, 2020 10:01AM
Mmm, okay - I'll still give it a try, but will keep my expectations in check. Glad your loving your current read.
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Mmm, okay - I'll still give it a try, but will keep my expectations in check. Glad your loving your current read.
Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work in the context of the set-up of her particular dystopia, and what she was trying to say about a world run by women and based on feminist principles (but in a post-patriarchy PTSD kind of way). I loved the fact that Billie and Cole are sisters, and how the sibling rivalry between them becomes something so much darker. Is Billie simply a ‘male character with a vagina�? I didn’t get that, to be honest. My feelings towards her were ambivalent: She appalled me as much as I felt sorry for her. I think what Beukes is alluding to is that a woman can be as much of a badass as a guy. It doesn’t take testosterone to be stupid or lacking in judgement.
Gerhard wrote: "Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work in the context of the set-up of her particular dystopia, and what she was t..."I am glad you enjoyed this book! I found Billie's motivations understandable however as the story progressed it became a lot more blurred for me. I agree that you dont need testosterone to make bad decisions however the mannerisms and thought processes of most of the "bad guys" did not feel any different than had they been male. Some aspects were very well done - like the sisters of All Sorrows and even the Barbarella sex club as it felt like a lot of thought went into those parts. I wont discourage anyone from reading this at all but found her other work more to my taste.
Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work in the context of the set-up of her particular dystopia, an..."Hi Sonja. For me, Broken Monsters is my all-time favourite book by Lauren Beukes. Afterland is a much different beast. I do respect a writer who does not recycle successful books and always takes on different challenges. Yes, it is certainly worthwhile reading for all her fans. I also think it is probably her most ‘commercial� book to date, and is likely to increase her international audience even further. Which is great news.
I do get what you are saying about Billie and Cole. As far as I recall, we never find out exactly what Billie did to Cole and Miles in particular. It is hinted at, but we don’t even get that initial confrontation between the two. What was a false note for me at the end was how easily Cole welcomed Billie back into her life when they eventually make contact again � despite what had happened. Given their history, surely Cole should have been more sceptical of Billie’s motivations? [Boy, that ending though is supremely satisfying for the reader!]
What I did not touch on in my review was the running theme of black-market sperm, the wearing of baby bumps to mimic pregnancy, and how people ‘infantilised� their children by dressing them up, etc. There is certainly a lot of elements at play, and I do think Beukes juggles some more successfully than others.
Gerhard wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work in the context of the set-up of her particula..."You make a very good point about the black market and mock-pregnancies - I also think they could have been expanded on. My favourite by this author is Zoo City. Its not a perfect book by any means but it was so completely different than any other book I have read that I could not help but love it.
Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work in the context of the set-up ..."I loved Zoo City, have yet to read Moxyland (I managed to get Lauren Beukes to sign a copy for me at the Joburg Book Fair a couple of years ago.)
Gerhard wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work in the context ..."Ohhh the jealous green monster almost prevented me from replying. Would love to have a signed copy of anything from her :-)
Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Gerhard wrote: "Sonja, interesting comments! Beukes says the book started off with the main bad guy being a dude, but it just didn’t work..."Heh she was in a panel at ComicCon Africa 2019, with her daughter in tow. So lovely and friendly in person. And that hair. There is a wonderful line in Afterland where Cole identifies 'purple hair' as 'identifying our tribe' ...
There is a shout-out to the Jolly Roger in Parktown in Afterland as well. I see it has started a successful crowd-funding project to keep its workers paid during the lockdown.
