The Men
- Downloads：3310
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-14 04:19:46
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Sandra Newman
- ISBN：B09JTS2RTL
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Amy
，
I had a $25 gift card to a local book store burning a hole in my pocket and I bought The Men without checking Goodreads first — doh！ There should have been a TERF warning label。 Or maybe I should have realized: the erasure of trans people is right there in the title。 Throughout the book， “the men” refers to people with a Y chromosome who were unilaterally banished to hell。 There are some weak， seemingly tacked-on mentions of trans people and non-binary people， but the premise of the book is fund I had a $25 gift card to a local book store burning a hole in my pocket and I bought The Men without checking Goodreads first — doh！ There should have been a TERF warning label。 Or maybe I should have realized: the erasure of trans people is right there in the title。 Throughout the book， “the men” refers to people with a Y chromosome who were unilaterally banished to hell。 There are some weak， seemingly tacked-on mentions of trans people and non-binary people， but the premise of the book is fundamentally transphobic: Y chromosome = man = evil。 There are lots of other issues， too。 Ana Mardoll wrote in-depth critiques linked here: http://www。anamardoll。com/2022/03/ind。。。 I loved the pace and the style of the prose which made me even more frustrated about the flawed foundations of the book and the many plot holes。 But I’m glad I read it （+ articles about the book and trans-exclusive radical feminism） because it helped me examine and clarify my understanding of gender。 。。。more
chantalsbookstuff
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Every single person with a Y chromosome disappears。 No one knows why， how or where。 Looking at that piece from the synopsis I feel this books plot line was not as it was described。 It starts off with this "bang" factor and then a whole different storyline comes into action。 I really struggled getting to know the characters as all the other topic's discussed kind of overshadowed the actual plot line and character building。 I was hoping for a "cool end of the world" book。 I really did like the nar Every single person with a Y chromosome disappears。 No one knows why， how or where。 Looking at that piece from the synopsis I feel this books plot line was not as it was described。 It starts off with this "bang" factor and then a whole different storyline comes into action。 I really struggled getting to know the characters as all the other topic's discussed kind of overshadowed the actual plot line and character building。 I was hoping for a "cool end of the world" book。 I really did like the narrator， she was fantastic with a great voice。 Thank you Netgalley and RB Media for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion。 。。。more
Laura
，
The Men has a high-concept premise: everybody with a Y chromosome suddenly disappears from the world， and those left behind have to rebuild it。 Despite this， I'm not sure that Sandra Newman actually needed a world without men （and trans women and some intersex and non-binary people） to tell the story she wanted to tell。 This novel focuses on two captivatingly flawed women drawn into a close relationship with each other: Jane， a white convicted sex offender who was exploited by an older man when The Men has a high-concept premise: everybody with a Y chromosome suddenly disappears from the world， and those left behind have to rebuild it。 Despite this， I'm not sure that Sandra Newman actually needed a world without men （and trans women and some intersex and non-binary people） to tell the story she wanted to tell。 This novel focuses on two captivatingly flawed women drawn into a close relationship with each other: Jane， a white convicted sex offender who was exploited by an older man when she was a teenager and took the rap for his crimes， and Evangelyne， a black woman who was imprisoned for more than a decade for shooting the cops that killed her family。 The Men spends almost as much time on these women's backstories prior to the Y-chromosome-only Rapture， than it does on exploring a world without men。 When Jane and Evangelyne meet at college， Evangelyne is already famous for the text she wrote in prison on commensalism， arguing that this biological concept can be applied to human society to show that it is ethical to 'eat the rich'， as wealthy people derive little benefit from being so wealthy。 （Newman is good at inventing a radical literary trajectory for Evangelyne; her more personal essay 'The White Girl' is her other most famous work， describing the events that led up to her shooting incident）。 Evangelyne then becomes the leader of a group called ComPA which rises to power as society reorganises in light of the Rapture。All this reminded me much more of books about all-female groups trying to build utopias， like Sarah Hall's excellent The Carhullan Army， than books that play with sex and gender， like Nicola Griffiths' Ammonite and Ursula Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness。 Indeed， I got the impression that Newman isn't that interested in writing about sex/gender constructs， despite a couple of insightful lines （'the concept of "men" had always been religious。 All women were sold the idea of men as superior beings。。。 Trans men could be masculine without making sex into a two-tier system， as cis men always had。 We could love one another face-to-face， where before we had loved only through a glass darkly: so the ComPAs said'）。 This， I think， is why most of the mentions of trans and non-binary people feel so crowbarred in; gender isn't Newman's focus。 Parts of the novel are also truly beautiful and hypnotic， even as they feel disconnected from the story at hand: 'We pondered， the cozy， uncomfortable hum of the bus all around and a heavy East Texas rain making lines of wavy light on the windows， lines that trembled and were deformed in wind。。。 We have no real face; they are masks that are borrowed and passed on， that live for millennia and are what a human is。'However， although The Men is original and insightful， it's also frankly bizarre。 The narrative is weird and disjointed。 Much of the novel is narrated by Jane， a straightforward choice that makes sense， but it trails into bits from other narrators who seem to have little to do with the main thrust of the plot。 Many women are obsessed with watching a TV show called 'The Men' that shows naked men wandering a blasted landscape peopled with strange beasts， but the purpose of these interludes is not clear。 Some reviewers have suggested that The Men is gender-essentialist and transphobic; while I largely disagree （view spoiler）[ - I don't think that Poppy's belief that people with Y chromosomes were removed by demons to purify the world is meant to be taken seriously - （hide spoiler）]， it certainly struggles to make sense of all the ideas flung into its melting pot。 I think it's also fair to say that it wasn't a great plan to tackle such a controversial premise when you don't have a lot to say about gender。 Because of this unevenness， this book is very hard to rate， but I did find it engrossing。 3。5 stars。I received a free proof copy of this novel from the publisher for review。 。。。more
Annarella
，
I think it's one of those book that you have to re-read to make sense of what you read and appreciate the characters。I liked the concept and the style of writing but didn't like the book that left confused and wondering about what I read。Not my cup of teaMany thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine I think it's one of those book that you have to re-read to make sense of what you read and appreciate the characters。I liked the concept and the style of writing but didn't like the book that left confused and wondering about what I read。Not my cup of teaMany thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Amanda
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 First off， thanks to NetGalley for the free eARC。Now for the review。It’s fine？Ok。 So。 I read this book largely because of the forceful criticism it’s received， and because I had just read that OTHER sex apocalypse novel that just came out。 I was fully expecting this to be an awful， virulently transphobic mess。 Instead， it’s just a self-centered mess。 It’s not actively transphobic， though I guess certain elements of it are passively transphobic in the way that not being actively anti-racist is be First off， thanks to NetGalley for the free eARC。Now for the review。It’s fine？Ok。 So。 I read this book largely because of the forceful criticism it’s received， and because I had just read that OTHER sex apocalypse novel that just came out。 I was fully expecting this to be an awful， virulently transphobic mess。 Instead， it’s just a self-centered mess。 It’s not actively transphobic， though I guess certain elements of it are passively transphobic in the way that not being actively anti-racist is being passively racist。 There are no real trans characters。 I don’t actually mind this， because better to not center someone than to mess it up with a horrible stereotype。 It feels both like the author knew she wasn’t capable of doing a good job handling her premise from that viewpoint， and like she wasn’t particularly interested in tackling the viewpoint of a trans man— and if she had， it would have been a very different book in many ways。 Ultimately， the book is about a selfish woman who hides from her past while letting it define her。 There’s honestly no GOOD narrative reason for the disappearance of men except to give her a reason to reflect on her past and to live separately from her family through no fault or choice of her own。 It’s an entertaining story at times， and attempts to tackle issues with underage sex， racism and attraction to the other， cults and religion and the power of sacrifice， all through a quasi-feminist… or maybe feminisht？… lens。 It’s bloated and suffers from too many disparate storylines in the early parts， with a lack of conclusion in the end。 Plus， the main protagonist is both unlikeable but also too boring to hate。 She’s written in a somewhat detached way， which makes sense with her history of trauma， but which makes it hard to care about her and tedious to follow her。 Also， the end but just doesn’t work for me— the transition from point A to point B by just… what， walking and the world goes fuzzy and pops？ No。 That’s silly。 The most unrealistic part to me was how quickly society restore itself and got a supply chain working。 Or maybe it was the minimization of violence or drugs or theft among the general population。 But to supply chain issues— After Covid， I don’t care how motivated people are， half the population being gone means goodbye supply chain。 And without electricity or a working supply chain， a lot of the foundation aspects of the second half would simply not have been possible。 It’s just too much of a stretch。 I can suspend my belief for the fantasy aspects， but I can’t suspend my belief that a world in which AIRPLANES WERE FALLING OUT OF THE SKY got its shit together again in less than a month。 。。。more
nathan
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ending was really impactful
Katya
，
I can't believe I was even interested in picking this up， when the premise （sudden disappearance of all people with Y-chromosomes from the world） should have made me more cautious than I was。 It took me two days of rage-reading to understand what a mess this book was， and just horrible to read most of the time。I had no idea what this book was trying to do， or what I was supposed to feel at the end of the book。 The resolution was not even bitter-sweet， nor was it actually a "resolution"; it was j I can't believe I was even interested in picking this up， when the premise （sudden disappearance of all people with Y-chromosomes from the world） should have made me more cautious than I was。 It took me two days of rage-reading to understand what a mess this book was， and just horrible to read most of the time。I had no idea what this book was trying to do， or what I was supposed to feel at the end of the book。 The resolution was not even bitter-sweet， nor was it actually a "resolution"; it was just awful and tragic。 And trigger warnings abound in this book， many of which I believe arise from the author's inability to dissect their own ideas and notice extremely problematic implications （of which there are plenty）。 Violence， sexual violence， rape， childhood sexual assault， transphobia and transphobic violence， racism。。。 Honestly， I can't （and don't want to） go into detail about all of these， but if you do want to know the extent of them， please read Ana Mardoll's insightful and in-depth review here。 It really helped clarify my thoughts on this book， and highlighted a lot of the awfulness that I missed。So with the above horribleness， coupled with flat characters， a meandering plot， and passive pacing， this was not enjoyable in the slightest。 I only had the grim satisfaction of powering through it with the mindset of a JCB。 I wish I'd spent two days in bed reading something else。 。。。more
Rajni Rani
，
I'm not here to review the book but to decide whether to pick this one or not。 And I'm not going to。On the one hand， when I'm reading Post Box No。 203 Nala Sopara पोस्ट बॉक्स नं。 203 नाला सोपारा by an exemplary，award winning writer Chitra Mudgal which tells the discriminatory & dilapidated state of transgender community in India， it just so hard to pick one with transphobic premise。 I'm not here to review the book but to decide whether to pick this one or not。 And I'm not going to。On the one hand， when I'm reading Post Box No。 203 Nala Sopara पोस्ट बॉक्स नं。 203 नाला सोपारा by an exemplary，award winning writer Chitra Mudgal which tells the discriminatory & dilapidated state of transgender community in India， it just so hard to pick one with transphobic premise。 。。。more
Adam Gent
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Extraordinary， profound and shocking
Kathleen Gray
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There's a lot of hate out there for this book but most of isn't about the novel itself， but rather about whether Newman is transphobic。 Leaving that and political matters aside， it's not a great book， in part because the basic plot line has been done before and better， notably in the End of Men。 I admit to having given up on this because I kept hearing echos of other novels。 That said， Newman is an interesting writer who uses language in powerful ways。 Thanks to netgalley for the ARC。 There's a lot of hate out there for this book but most of isn't about the novel itself， but rather about whether Newman is transphobic。 Leaving that and political matters aside， it's not a great book， in part because the basic plot line has been done before and better， notably in the End of Men。 I admit to having given up on this because I kept hearing echos of other novels。 That said， Newman is an interesting writer who uses language in powerful ways。 Thanks to netgalley for the ARC。 。。。more
Rebecca Williams
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If you want to read a sci-fi book about an apocalyptic event， this is not the book to read。 The event itself seemed interesting and I would have liked to have actually read a book about it。 This book felt like three rough ideas of short stories slapped together。 Jane’s story was interesting up until she married Leo。 Evangelyne’s story was also interesting。 Both backstories were devastating and could have been stand-alone books with better character and plot development。 If you take away those tw If you want to read a sci-fi book about an apocalyptic event， this is not the book to read。 The event itself seemed interesting and I would have liked to have actually read a book about it。 This book felt like three rough ideas of short stories slapped together。 Jane’s story was interesting up until she married Leo。 Evangelyne’s story was also interesting。 Both backstories were devastating and could have been stand-alone books with better character and plot development。 If you take away those two backstories and dive into the event of the men being taken by a demonic force， that would have been its own story which， essentially， is what I thought that this book was actually going to be。 The one character （Poppy） who is integral in the event was the least developed。 So much potential， but incredibly disjointed book。 。。。more
Stacy
，
I know Sandra， but her new book unexpectedly fits into a category of book I've been reading lately and I had no idea that it would。 （I've been so caught up in my own research I haven't talked to her about what she was working on。） I don't have a name for the category yet， but the best examples of it are The Glass Hotel by Emily St。 John Mandel and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson。 I'm not talking about structure， I hope I remember to come back here to explain just what it is I am talking about w I know Sandra， but her new book unexpectedly fits into a category of book I've been reading lately and I had no idea that it would。 （I've been so caught up in my own research I haven't talked to her about what she was working on。） I don't have a name for the category yet， but the best examples of it are The Glass Hotel by Emily St。 John Mandel and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson。 I'm not talking about structure， I hope I remember to come back here to explain just what it is I am talking about when I can speak about it more coherently。But I will say that The Men is the kind of book you finish in one sitting if you can， and you close the book saying something along the lines of， "Holy shit。" But a good holy shit。 It took my breath away it was so exquisite。 And comforting， but not a false comfort。 Still， I feel like I can rest easier now， even in the face of terrible times。 。。。more
Jessica Paul
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I don’t really know what to say about this。 The concept of ‘The Men’ interested me and this is my first （and definitely last） foray into the ‘gender apocalypse’ sub genre。 It's set in a world just like ours where everyone with a ‘Y’ chromosome disappears。 Even if you ignore the obvious transphobic issue this raises （the author recently announced they are non binary and I therefore assumed this would lead to an inclusive and different point of view， I was so wrong） - if half the population disapp I don’t really know what to say about this。 The concept of ‘The Men’ interested me and this is my first （and definitely last） foray into the ‘gender apocalypse’ sub genre。 It's set in a world just like ours where everyone with a ‘Y’ chromosome disappears。 Even if you ignore the obvious transphobic issue this raises （the author recently announced they are non binary and I therefore assumed this would lead to an inclusive and different point of view， I was so wrong） - if half the population disappears overnight how on earth could the country be back on its feet again within 10 days？？ I guess I was just hoping for a more intelligent analysis of what this could mean for society。 The side characters were unmemorable and uninspiring and added nothing to the plot。 The main characters had wild backstories and actually the book would have been much better if it dropped the main premise of the gender apocalypse （which it actually doesn’t deal with at all） and just delved into the lives of the two women。 Finally， the ending was so terrible I wanted to throw the book at the wall。 The Men messed with my head in more ways than one。 Am I glad I read it？ Yes， I tried something different and it made me really think。 Would I ever recommend it or read it again？ Hell no。 。。。more
Lori
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An interesting and extremely polarizing （based on the reviews that were left on goodreads） read about the aftermath of a strange event in which all men suddenly vanish。 Just poof， disappear without a trace。 In The Men， we are with Jane， who was napping in a hammock while her husband and five year old son are cooking and hanging out camping in the woods， as she awakens to find them missing。 Isolated from the rest of the town， she doesn't understand what has happened， believing them to have gone f An interesting and extremely polarizing （based on the reviews that were left on goodreads） read about the aftermath of a strange event in which all men suddenly vanish。 Just poof， disappear without a trace。 In The Men， we are with Jane， who was napping in a hammock while her husband and five year old son are cooking and hanging out camping in the woods， as she awakens to find them missing。 Isolated from the rest of the town， she doesn't understand what has happened， believing them to have gone for a walk and gotten lost or hurt， or worse。 After 10 days of screaming for them and endlessly searching the woods， it isn't until she drives down off the mountain that the reality of the situation finally starts to sink in。 As Jane begins to catch up with the rest of the world， the immediate panic everyone else was thrown into has begun to settle and we see women adapting to the men's absence。 Sure， they miss their hubands and sons and brothers and friends。 And yes， planes fell from the sky， and people died on operating tables， and the power and water failed for a while。 But as society grieves， so do they also pull together to keep things going。 Jane discovers an ex-girlfriend is leading a new rising political power called ComPA and as they reunite， and as we are treated to much of their backstories， both in their times before and with each other， we are also introduced introduced to a few other women who begin watching The Men， which is widely believed to be deepfake live-streaming footage of the men marching through a barren， damaged place and accompanied by creepy， alien-like animals。 But at end of each of these clips， the names of all of those who were filmed appear in the credits， and many women become glued to the tv， waiting and hoping， or perhaps not hoping？， to see if their men are there。What is this strange footage？ Is it a hoax？ From where is it streaming？ Where have the men really gone？ Not to worry， folks。 Readers who hang in there seeking the answers to those questions will be rewarded at the end。A quirky and fractured spin on the female-only dystopia genre。 。。。more
Gill James
，
Brilliant novel。 Ignore the TRA comments。
Clare McHugh
，
Poignant， dramatic， beautifully written。 A book of science fiction that is also a careful study of character and grief。
Doon
，
I received an eArc of The Men in exchange for an honest review。 As others have noted， the story deals with sensitive ideas clumsily and insensitively。 There is a lot of ableist and transphobic language and ideas causally thrown about。 It is also odd to read a book that has all female characters where none have any agency。 While the idea of The Men as travelling through an unfamiliar almost fantasy landscape is intriguing， the main characters are very thin， with stacks of backstory replacing any I received an eArc of The Men in exchange for an honest review。 As others have noted， the story deals with sensitive ideas clumsily and insensitively。 There is a lot of ableist and transphobic language and ideas causally thrown about。 It is also odd to read a book that has all female characters where none have any agency。 While the idea of The Men as travelling through an unfamiliar almost fantasy landscape is intriguing， the main characters are very thin， with stacks of backstory replacing any emotional development。 The final act introduces a twist that is both irritating and just serves to make the end of the novel much less satisfying。 The author was clearly trying to make an important point， but I couldn’t figure out what it was。 I hope that the book receives another edit before publication because the story is a mess。 There’s a ton of word for word repetition across the multiple POVs。 The action flips between the past and the present， while some action is verbally reported almost diary style。 There’s no indicators to note the change in POV or tone so it takes a while to reorient yourself in the story whenever it flips POV。It’s similar to The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird and I Who Have Never Known by Jacqueline Halpern （both of which I preferred to The Men） and Femlandia by Christina Dalcher （which I also did not enjoy）。 。。。more
Alwynne
，
Controversial before it even appeared in print， Sandra Newman’s novel’s an awkward， sometimes perplexing mix of speculative fiction and trauma fantasy。 Her plot opens with a whole swathe of people suddenly disappearing from the known/charted world， their only shared characteristic that they were all capable or “potentially capable” of producing sperm。 Central to the narrative is Jane Pearson a convicted sex offender， who as a teenager was groomed and exploited， and then falsely assumed to be in Controversial before it even appeared in print， Sandra Newman’s novel’s an awkward， sometimes perplexing mix of speculative fiction and trauma fantasy。 Her plot opens with a whole swathe of people suddenly disappearing from the known/charted world， their only shared characteristic that they were all capable or “potentially capable” of producing sperm。 Central to the narrative is Jane Pearson a convicted sex offender， who as a teenager was groomed and exploited， and then falsely assumed to be in cahoots with her victimiser。 Alongside Jane， Newman includes a host of other， more peripheral recurring figures， but Jane’s the only one whose story’s recounted in the first person。 It’s not clear what’s happened to the lost population but an online streaming site offers access to a series called ‘The Men’ a possible reality show in which the lost seem to be existing in a kind of hellish parallel world， at the mercy of strange， unclassifiable creatures。 Newman’s novel’s been slated for its portrayal of gender identity particularly when it comes to the trans community， and I think I can see why that's the case， although what Newman actually intended to communicate isn’t easy to fathom - I found her representation of gender and gender identity overall here surprisingly clumsy， confused and confusing。 Newman’s been explicit about the fact that she’s writing in relation to a long and specific history of feminist SF fiction from Herland to The Female Man and the book features a number of references to canonical SF texts including The Island of Dr Moreau but the structuring of the material is convoluted， the way the action shifts between an array of characters doesn’t help with that， just as one is established， another’s introduced。 The ending too is a rather bewildering one。 I think on some level this is intended as a kind of ironic， social commentary/satire about contemporary America in relation to racism and gender-based oppression – there’s something slightly Nabokovian about Jane’s backstory - but I couldn’t really connect with it or it could be that it simply misfires。 It may be that others will see things in this that I’ve managed to miss or overlook but my overall impression was a less than positive one。 There are some intriguing elements and some well-written or inventive passages but I didn’t find the social critique particularly engaging or convincing， and Jane’s story didn’t work for me。 Ultimately this was just too heavy-handed for my taste and at times I found the pace excruciatingly slow。 Thanks to Netgalley and Granta for an ARCRating: 1。5 rounded up 。。。more
Rhiannon Johnson
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。The book I thought I was going to read and the book that I actually read are very VERY different。 I was expecting a feminist dystopia somewhere along the lines of Christina Sweeney-Baird's The End of Men， with a world trying to reorganize in the wake of the disappearance of all men。 Let's just say that the similarity between the two books ends there。 The Men was a long ride through an unsettling world where I kept I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review。The book I thought I was going to read and the book that I actually read are very VERY different。 I was expecting a feminist dystopia somewhere along the lines of Christina Sweeney-Baird's The End of Men， with a world trying to reorganize in the wake of the disappearance of all men。 Let's just say that the similarity between the two books ends there。 The Men was a long ride through an unsettling world where I kept reading because I wanted to know where this fever dream was going。 After finishing， I thought "hmmm， I need to chew on this one for a while" because while I liked some of the scenes， writing， metaphors， and ideas， there were also some BIG problems。 It is impossible to address these without spoilers so here is a fair warning。**SPOILERS AHEAD**Big Problem #1 is how the author included trans people in this work。 Originally I thought that including nonbinary， trans men/women， and people whose genetic makeup does not solely fall into the XY category in a story that focuses on a genetic Rapture was great， especially after reading criticisms about the exclusion of these marginalized groups in previous works of this style。 The author even directly addressed this in the text"We also debated whether it was ever acceptable to call those who were taken “men” （as 99 percent of people did） when that erased all the trans women， intersex people， and nonbinary folks who’d gone。"However， the inclusion is problematic and traumatic。 This aspect of who was and who was not included in the story has led to a lot of blowback from readers， with numerous lengthy reviews posted to Goodreads and arguments on Twitter。 I tried to read as many of these opinions as possible to gather other POVs。 I'm simply going to say that as I was reading the novel， I thought the author was making major strides within the genre by acknowledging and including trans， non-binary， and intersexed people， but I now see how authors can do more。 Giant Problem #2 was the "crazy ex-girlfriend" trope。 Poppy has mental health needs that not only aren't being addressed， they're reduced to jokes （Evangeline， her brother， and cousin laughing while mimicking Poppy's screams and "Everyone in lesbian Seattle had a story about calling 911 on Poppy。"） The author then sets Poppy up as some sort of visionary for opening the "Door" that started the disappearance and I started questioning the layers to the story。 Were we inside Poppy's mind à la The Cell？There were some other things that I just didn't understand。The ending。 The "it was all a dream" trope is one of the lamest story styles ever but is that what is happening here？ If Jane stays in her dream Evangeline won't die？ Or by choosing to stay at the campground she is choosing her life as a woman shunned by society but "safe" in the roles of wife and mother， rather than risking it all to live in a utopia with Evangeline？Was the live stream show of "The Men" supposed to be a metaphor for living in the past by not letting go of those who've disappeared？ Who was behind the account？ How was it unable to be traced but only women who watched would see their loved ones。 And then the watchers disappeared when the men returned。 Is that to represent how a woman can disappear into the roles of girlfriend/wife/mother？Toward the end of the story， readers are told that Blanca is a "mutant" Blanca talked the most， about her father and the house they’d had in El Paso with a tall dog gate around the kitchen， where Blanca would lurk and wait for her father to come home with women late at night。。。。One white lady flinched from the sight of Blanca， saying， “What’s that？”。。。It wasn’t his fault she was born a mutant。So， Blanca's appearance is so startling that a woman calls her a "what" when the only other information we are given is that Blanca has had to have heart surgery at the beginning of the novel-- but that would have been after these scenes with her father and the women he brought home。 This is just a single example of something being dropped into the story but never expanded on （there were so many that I can't recount them all here。）I feel like this review is both too long and too short。 There are just so many more things to discuss and dissect。 Overall， I felt like there were too many loose ends and unexplained storylines。 Also， the detailed inclusion of a brutal attack of a trans man， serial rape， allusions to incest， police raids， and gruesome murders just added up to too much trauma porn for my taste。 Come chat with me about books here， too: Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest 。。。more
Bob Hughes
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Having loved Sandra Newman's book 'The Heavens'， I was very excited for this book， which is equally ambitious in scope。However， although I couldn't fault the scale or writing skill of this book， I occasionally found myself a bit lost。The idea of the book is that everyone with a Y chromosome suddenly disappears overnight， and society suddenly scrambles to deal with not only the loss caused by this， but also the potential for reordering society， especially now that the population is now a majority Having loved Sandra Newman's book 'The Heavens'， I was very excited for this book， which is equally ambitious in scope。However， although I couldn't fault the scale or writing skill of this book， I occasionally found myself a bit lost。The idea of the book is that everyone with a Y chromosome suddenly disappears overnight， and society suddenly scrambles to deal with not only the loss caused by this， but also the potential for reordering society， especially now that the population is now a majority of cisgender women who do not feel the need to correct and contort themselves around cisgender men and specific gender roles。I found some of the writing around these parts profound- what cis women would do if they were no longer looking over their shoulders at night， and how much freer they would feel。However， for me the plot then started to get a little convoluted， with flashbacks and changes of characters interrupting the parts I was most enjoying。 At times this also made the 'new world' of the book feel less fleshed out， because there was almost too much going on at once， and so some of the points of the book didn't hit home like I was hoping。Many reviewers have also pointed to the ending of the book， which I won't spoil here， but which left me a little cold， and felt like it undermined some of the propulsive energy of the opening pages。 I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Ian Kirkpatrick
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The whole thing is just a dream， but then Jane realizes she hates men， so she's going to divorce her husband and abandon her son。 The whole thing is just a dream， but then Jane realizes she hates men， so she's going to divorce her husband and abandon her son。 。。。more
Jade Diamond
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review。 All opinions in this review are my own。This is a difficult book to review because I kinda enjoyed it while also having a lot of issues with it。 The concept of all the men on earth suddenly disappearing is compelling and set off all sorts of ‘what if’s in my thought process。 I was excited to find out what happened。 While this is a very intriguing and thought-provoking story that had me turning the pages to find out what was I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review。 All opinions in this review are my own。This is a difficult book to review because I kinda enjoyed it while also having a lot of issues with it。 The concept of all the men on earth suddenly disappearing is compelling and set off all sorts of ‘what if’s in my thought process。 I was excited to find out what happened。 While this is a very intriguing and thought-provoking story that had me turning the pages to find out what was going on in this strange book， I think it’s about time we lay to rest these ‘gender apocalypse’ type of stories， which has proven to be a consistent dumping ground for TERF-like rhetoric。 This book is rather ambitious but sometimes very clumsily executed。 Every person with Y chromosomes disappearing， including trans women and non-binary people， this is not the inclusive piece of work the author clearly thought it was。I couldn’t help but feel like the author had a political agenda of her own that she was trying to push onto us – the readers。 The author attempts to add racial， gender and sexual diversity in a rather tokenistic and outdated way， in a way that actually does more harm than good to the marginalized shown， that could even be described possibly as a hateful vibe throughout the story。 She portrays these very complicated issues in a black and white way with not a lot of depth， showing the lack of research that went into creating this story。There are several narrators in this book， having multiple perspectives， in my opinion， was unnecessary。 All the characters， except Jane and Evangelyne， were incredibly flat， the other characters shown were not given much depth。 We learn about their relationships with men and that’s about it。 Instead， we follow these characters and learn about their trauma through their backstories。I thoroughly enjoyed the start of this book， but as the pages turned I started wondering where it was even going。 I felt a little lost， with too many storylines and perspectives。 It’s a shame， because the writing is beautiful， and some of the characters – mainly Jane and Evangelyne – were crafted and fleshed out quite well。 The relationship between the two women， that develops both before and after， is interesting。This book depicts a world of only women as being a utopia and the disappeared men as mindless in a demon-like world。 I really wanted to know more about why they disappeared。 It’s pretty far from me to advocate for “political correctness” in fiction， for perfect fiction depicting nothing but innocent people being perfectly good， that would be pretty far from enjoyable。 However， without a shred of decency to any of the characters or even towards the minorities being portrayed， a book becomes almost unreadable。I was conflicted about the ending， and felt that it was a bit abrupt。 The book pulled a classic “It Was All A Dream” twist on us， but it seems to indicate that the events we’ve read about did indeed happen， but in some kind of alternate timeline or shared dream world。Overall， This was definitely an interesting novel about the variety of ways in which humans damage each other whether intentionally or through misunderstandings。 I just felt that the author lacks understanding about basic genetics， as well as the lack of knowledge and understanding about the marginalised groups being portrayed。 。。。more
Anneke
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Book Review: The MenAuthor: Sandra NewmanPublisher: Grove Atlantic/Grove PressPublication Date: June 14， 2022Review Date: May 11， 2022I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。From the blurb:“From the author of The Heavens， a dazzling， mindbending novel in which all people with a Y chromosome mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth。Deep in the California woods on an evening in late August， Jane Pearson is camping with her husband Leo and their Book Review: The MenAuthor: Sandra NewmanPublisher: Grove Atlantic/Grove PressPublication Date: June 14， 2022Review Date: May 11， 2022I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。From the blurb:“From the author of The Heavens， a dazzling， mindbending novel in which all people with a Y chromosome mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth。Deep in the California woods on an evening in late August， Jane Pearson is camping with her husband Leo and their five-year-old son Benjamin。 As dusk sets in， she drifts softly to sleep in a hammock strung outside the tent where Leo and Benjamin are preparing for bed。 At that moment， every single person with a Y chromosome vanishes around the world， disappearing from operating theaters mid-surgery， from behind the wheels of cars， from arguments and acts of love。 Children， adults， even fetuses are gone in an instant。 Leo and Benjamin are gone。 No one knows why， how， or where。 After the Disappearance， Jane forces herself to enter a world she barely recognizes， one where women must create new ways of living while coping with devastating grief。 As people come together to rebuild depopulated industries and distribute scarce resources， Jane focuses on reuniting with an old college girlfriend， Evangelyne Moreau， leader of the Commensalist Party of America， a rising political force in this new world。 Meanwhile， strange video footage called “The Men” is being broadcast online showing images of the vanished men marching through barren， otherworldly landscapes。 Is this just a hoax， or could it hold the key to the Disappearance？From the author of The Heavens， The Men is a gripping， beautiful， and disquieting novel of feminist utopias and impossible sacrifices that interrogates the dream of a perfect society and the conflict between individual desire and the good of the community。———I stopped reading this book at 64%。 The good: the writing， the language is quite beautiful in places。 Very lyrical and imaginative。 Some of the characters were well fleshed out。 But the plot， for me， became too complicated。 Too many story lines。 I got lost， and then lost interest and called it quits。 Also， much of the story was just too bizarre for me。 I love speculative fiction， but this was just plain odd。 IMHO。I’d recommend this book if you can get it from the library， once it’s published。 I wouldn’t spend good money on it。 I guess I’d give it a 3。 Beautiful imagery and interesting characters， but the plot needs work， maybe the help of another editor。 Just my 2cents。Thank you to Grove Atlantic for giving me access to this book， and best of luck to the author， Sandra Newman with her continued literary career。This review will be posted on NetGalley and Goodreads。。#netgalley #themen #sandranewman #groveatlantic 。。。more
Rowan MacBean
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There was a kerfuffle over this book on social media， so I requested an ARC from NetGalley and was approved。 I managed to read approximately a third of the book before I decided not to continue with something that felt like a chore。 I found absolutely nothing to recommend in this book。
Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer
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Published today 2-6-22 This book and its reception overall remind me of two thingsFirstly （and rather obviously） the author’s previous book “The Heavens” which could hardly be faulted for ambition， but certainly could for execution and seemed to be several novels in one: a relatively standard/derivative dystopian science fiction scenario （here the idea of time travel to the past altering the present） presented in a way which seemed to draw heavily on Dr Who; with some historical fiction （which Published today 2-6-22 This book and its reception overall remind me of two thingsFirstly （and rather obviously） the author’s previous book “The Heavens” which could hardly be faulted for ambition， but certainly could for execution and seemed to be several novels in one: a relatively standard/derivative dystopian science fiction scenario （here the idea of time travel to the past altering the present） presented in a way which seemed to draw heavily on Dr Who; with some historical fiction （which walked on the edge between some cringey prithee-heavy dialogue and some actually very beautiful writing）; political commentary （here on why we accept the world as it is while also believing it can be changed）; an examination of abusive relationships; and a actually moving description of mental illness。 Secondly （perhaps less obviously） “American Dirt” a novel which， both in its writing and in the choice of marketing publicity， was open to heavy criticism but where much of the actual criticism directed， both in mainstream media and here on Goodreads， was either by people who had not really read the book （and were reacting second hand） or by others who seemed to overtly focus on some scenes in the book which to be honest they had， mis or at least over-interpreted （I would like to think by accident due to their hurt/sensitivity to the issues it raised for them）。This book is also I think a rather ambitious but sometimes very clumsily executed mix of:Relatively standard/derivative dystopian （possibly utopian） science fiction （the particular trope here being the sudden rapture-style disappearance of men）;A twist on this aspect which rather than really spending too much time trying to add some pseudo-science to explain it – instead goes for much more of a X-Factor/spooky/mystical/open-ended explanation with a series of strange and videos of those who disappeared （which give the book its title） which fuel various conspiracy theories， and a resolution which will I think prove very controversial with some readers （and give those looking for an excuse to criticise the book some ammunition）;Two very involved back stories for the two main characters （which feel like they could and possibly should have been a novel in themselves） – one serving as a quote troubling examination of an abusive grooming-style relationship in ballet， and the other as an examination of American societal/police racism against an African-American traditional religious movement as well as of an radical form of politics based on mixing the Biological concept of Commensalism with a view that additional wealth adds effectively zero Utility。 I say clumsily executed because in the disappearance story the author （and possibly publishers） attempt to add racial diversity and to address issues of gender fluidity seems （to me） rather tokenistic and also appears to have backfired。 Overall definitely an interesting novel which is already dividing opinion in readers and on which I have decidedly mixed opinions。 。。。more
Penny Adrian
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I just pre-ordered this book for $30。Why？Because of all the grossly unfair accusations of "transphobia" by Woke Zombies。Every time a female author is accused of being a TERF， I buy her book。Why？Because accusations of trans phobia are usually made by Handmaids & Misogynists， and directed at women with a backbone。 I would never have even heard of this book had it not been for the misogynistic attacks on this author。She should give a commission to the ignorant fools who attacked her。Oh， and thank y I just pre-ordered this book for $30。Why？Because of all the grossly unfair accusations of "transphobia" by Woke Zombies。Every time a female author is accused of being a TERF， I buy her book。Why？Because accusations of trans phobia are usually made by Handmaids & Misogynists， and directed at women with a backbone。 I would never have even heard of this book had it not been for the misogynistic attacks on this author。She should give a commission to the ignorant fools who attacked her。Oh， and thank you for introducing me to the brilliant Lauren Hough as well。Her brilliant book of essays is amazing， and deserving of many awards。 。。。more
Nicole
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the amount of reviews of individuals who didn’t read it is immense。 lots of sour grapes and bitterness in the comments。 don’t judge this book by its reviews and give it a read yourself。 stop letting others tell you what to think。
James Jefferson
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Transphobic bullshit。
Elaine
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Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Men。 The Men is what one star reviews were made for。Look， I love post-apocalyptic books， usually when zombies and monsters are running around， and though the premise of The Men is nothing new （it seems there are a glut of books featuring a planet with no men on it lately）， I'm always interested if an author has a fresh and original take on the 'no men in the world' plot device。 ** Minor spoilers ahead ** One evening， all the men in the world di Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Men。 The Men is what one star reviews were made for。Look， I love post-apocalyptic books， usually when zombies and monsters are running around， and though the premise of The Men is nothing new （it seems there are a glut of books featuring a planet with no men on it lately）， I'm always interested if an author has a fresh and original take on the 'no men in the world' plot device。 ** Minor spoilers ahead ** One evening， all the men in the world disappear and the world immediately changes （obviously）。 Three women become the focus of the narrative， the points of view shifting constantly so we can glean a bit of what their life is like after the Disappearance。This is a difficult book to review because I really wanted to like it， and I didn't。I skimmed most of it。There was no cohesiveness to it， no set narrative。 So many things were going on， and most of it didn't relate to The Disappearance。 In fact， The Disappearance is superfluous to what the author really wants to write about; the trauma and drama Jane and Evangelyne endured when the world was normal。There's a bizarre video circulating on social media about what happens to the men and its origins are speculated; the images are violent， disturbing， and features men Jane and others recognize; their sons and husbands， brothers and colleagues。As I was trying to read this， I couldn't help feeling the author had a political agenda of her own and she was trying to convey her political beliefs through her novel。There's an almost hateful vibe running throughout the story， and I didn't like it one bit。There are a lot of character， but no one memorable。 I can barely recall anyone's names。Then that ending。。。reminds me of the plot in a spy movie when the spy has no memory of what he or she did before and after going through a series of grueling obstacles and battling other spies， realizes she/he didn't remember they had agreed to extracting their memories in the first place。Did the author want the ending to be some sort of Black Mirror-esque ending？Well， it doesn't work。 Like this whole novel。 It doesn't work。 I wouldn't even give this one star， but you work with what you got。Hey， Goodreads， seriously， consider giving reviewers the no star option。 。。。more
Dawn
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