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The Terrorists of Irustan
On the planet of Irustan, where women have few rights, mendicant Zahra IbSada helps her friend Kalen retrieve Kalen's daughter from an abusive marriage, an act of terrorism that comes to have life-changing consequences for the women of the planet. Reprint.
340 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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402 people want to read
About the author
Louise Marley
35 books129 followersLouise Marley, a former concert and opera singer, has published nineteen novels. As Louise Marley, she writes fantasy and science fiction, including THE TERRORISTS OF IRUSTAN and THE CHILD GODDESS. Writing as Cate Campbell, she published the historical trilogy BENEDICT HALL.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
December 20, 2012
this is my third or so read of this book, so, not a first impression...
this is a maybe uncategorizable novel--it has SF elements, certainly (civilization on a distant planet), dystopian ones (a society in which women are veiled, largely uneducated, pretty much property although not called slaves), feminist ones in droves, and social commentary up the wazoo. so what is it?
i don't know, but it's unique, and it's heartbreaking, and it will remain on my shelves forever.
as i read through this time, i kept up a running argument in my head with a young man of my acquaintance who resists fiercely the observations of feminism. that would never happen here, he says in my head. not possible, the legal system would never permit it, and so on. but many of these things have happened here, do happen here, will happen here.
tales like this and The Handmaid's Tale are often dismissed as a form of literary hysteria--a collective female nightmare erupting into print. but women who pay attention will hear Irustani whispers in the daily news, in learned screeds, in voices both international and local. the issues the book covers, despite the Irustani setting, are endemic wherever there are humans.
some day i hope that this book will truly be an artifact, an anachronism.
i'm not holding my breath that it will happen in my lifetime.
this is a maybe uncategorizable novel--it has SF elements, certainly (civilization on a distant planet), dystopian ones (a society in which women are veiled, largely uneducated, pretty much property although not called slaves), feminist ones in droves, and social commentary up the wazoo. so what is it?
i don't know, but it's unique, and it's heartbreaking, and it will remain on my shelves forever.
as i read through this time, i kept up a running argument in my head with a young man of my acquaintance who resists fiercely the observations of feminism. that would never happen here, he says in my head. not possible, the legal system would never permit it, and so on. but many of these things have happened here, do happen here, will happen here.
tales like this and The Handmaid's Tale are often dismissed as a form of literary hysteria--a collective female nightmare erupting into print. but women who pay attention will hear Irustani whispers in the daily news, in learned screeds, in voices both international and local. the issues the book covers, despite the Irustani setting, are endemic wherever there are humans.
some day i hope that this book will truly be an artifact, an anachronism.
i'm not holding my breath that it will happen in my lifetime.
June 23, 2021
The Terrorists of Irustan is a really excellent science fiction novel. It makes a good case for feminist philosophies without sacrificing story for political dogmatism. The setting is quite convincing, as is the society, with characters that are achingly sympathetic. It's probably not too soon to call it an overlooked classic.
August 29, 2012
I didn't think they wrote feminist SF like this anymore. Okay, I know this book is not particularly recent, but it feels like it should be from the 80s. Not that I am complaining. It's a Handmaid's Tale sort of dystopia, one that in this case is a fictional future far-right take on Islam. With, yes, veiled women. Our heroine, Zahra, is a "medicant" (please note, in case you have done the same thing, that I read this as "mendicant" about five times; no, that would be a different sort of book) who is, basically, a doctor -- but one less well-trained than the doctors they have on Earth. Because here on this colony planet Irustan they have basically: mines, and a nasty prion disease that comes from breathing in dust in the mines. Also health care is, in Irustan's culture, exclusively the province of women.
The novel devotes a lot of time to showing how much the culture hurts Zahra and her apprentice and her friends; it's slow-moving, but still a compelling read that kept me up past my bedtime. The women don't manage to completely break Irustani society by the end of the book, but they sure try; you can see it coming from a long way away, but this is the kind of book where it doesn't really matter. Also, I should point out that it ends about as happily as possible in a book where the theme is basically "the patriarchy crushes everyone, let's kill it" -- which is to say, not very. There are also some hints at queerness, which, given the resolution, is more poignant than anything, but I am always happy to see same-sex themes in my reading.
Overall, I really liked the author's style, and I can't believe that somehow I missed this entirely the last time I was reading my way through feminist SF. I will definitely have to read more of her books.
The novel devotes a lot of time to showing how much the culture hurts Zahra and her apprentice and her friends; it's slow-moving, but still a compelling read that kept me up past my bedtime. The women don't manage to completely break Irustani society by the end of the book, but they sure try; you can see it coming from a long way away, but this is the kind of book where it doesn't really matter. Also, I should point out that it ends about as happily as possible in a book where the theme is basically "the patriarchy crushes everyone, let's kill it" -- which is to say, not very. There are also some hints at queerness, which, given the resolution, is more poignant than anything, but I am always happy to see same-sex themes in my reading.
Overall, I really liked the author's style, and I can't believe that somehow I missed this entirely the last time I was reading my way through feminist SF. I will definitely have to read more of her books.
November 21, 2020
Somewhere between 1.5 and 2 stars
I got this as part of a "Feminist SF" bundle and while it is a feminist text, it's a very....Eurocentric and orientalist one. And the latter is not the only way in which it deals in stereotypes.
Add to this a number of veeeery convenient coincidences needed to move the plot forward and....well...let's say I wasn't impressed. The only reason I'm giving this more than 1 star is that I did find the main character compelling.
I got this as part of a "Feminist SF" bundle and while it is a feminist text, it's a very....Eurocentric and orientalist one. And the latter is not the only way in which it deals in stereotypes.
Add to this a number of veeeery convenient coincidences needed to move the plot forward and....well...let's say I wasn't impressed. The only reason I'm giving this more than 1 star is that I did find the main character compelling.
abandoned
August 22, 2017The writing is excellent, but what a horrible world: where women are chattel, subjugated, and abused by men. An entire planet where this is the law of the land. I don't think I can go there right now.
October 3, 2012
How many times in your life do you get to read an unforgettable book that makes an impression on you? As a lifelong reader, I've read and forgotten more books than I could count. Only a precious few end up on my "recommend to the book club ladies" list. I made them read this one and they agreed it was a marvelous choice for discussion.
In a setting that favors Earth's Middle East both in lands and customs, the struggle for women not to just survive but thrive somehow in a male dominated society can be a touch and go tangle of subtlety. Our heroines have little to call their own. Some act misguidedly using their womanly feelings of hate or motherly protectiveness. Some others are more deliberate in trying to shape the system to a better vision for their daughters. Naturally, a heavy price is paid when the women are discovered.
Read this book! Understand how women need to voice their opinions and be part of the community leaders and vote in the political process. Never forget that in America, at least, we have our voice! And our voices matter for many, many reasons.
In a setting that favors Earth's Middle East both in lands and customs, the struggle for women not to just survive but thrive somehow in a male dominated society can be a touch and go tangle of subtlety. Our heroines have little to call their own. Some act misguidedly using their womanly feelings of hate or motherly protectiveness. Some others are more deliberate in trying to shape the system to a better vision for their daughters. Naturally, a heavy price is paid when the women are discovered.
Read this book! Understand how women need to voice their opinions and be part of the community leaders and vote in the political process. Never forget that in America, at least, we have our voice! And our voices matter for many, many reasons.
August 19, 2012
Take a far-right, imagined extremist version of Islam, dump it on a futuristic mining planet, add a hefty helping of additional gendered slavery, and season with fed-up female resistance, and you have the strange brew that is The Terrorists of Irustan. In Margret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, there's a line somewhere about how extremist Eastern religions are not that far from extremist Western religions, and The Terrorists of Irustan is a little bit what I imagine a faux-Middle Eastern counterpart to Atwood's dystopia would look like.
Obviously, speculative fiction/science fiction writers can use imagined futures in order to work out the social issues of the present, and I see The Terrorists of Irustan as Louise Marley's head-scratching over how to go about changing religious-linked oppressive social structures. In Marley's invented world, there's an important catch: women are the only medical professionals in this society, and it's this gendered delegation of all bodily concerns to women that Marley imagines as the key to a complicated lock. Unfortunately, I don't think she ultimately provides much of a hopeful path forward -- other than a kind of "It sucks, it takes a long time, and lots of people will suffer tremendously before things change" message. Which is quite possibly accurate, albeit really damn depressing.
Obviously, speculative fiction/science fiction writers can use imagined futures in order to work out the social issues of the present, and I see The Terrorists of Irustan as Louise Marley's head-scratching over how to go about changing religious-linked oppressive social structures. In Marley's invented world, there's an important catch: women are the only medical professionals in this society, and it's this gendered delegation of all bodily concerns to women that Marley imagines as the key to a complicated lock. Unfortunately, I don't think she ultimately provides much of a hopeful path forward -- other than a kind of "It sucks, it takes a long time, and lots of people will suffer tremendously before things change" message. Which is quite possibly accurate, albeit really damn depressing.
September 2, 2010
I quite enjoyed this book. It was a pleasant little feminist queer surprise in a genre heavily populated by straight white men. Especially considering that I just picked it up rather randomly as the library was closing.
That said, I'm troubled with the use of the veil as a symbol of women's subjugation. It's not the main subject of the book, but it is used as dramatic effect to symbolize and reinforce the fact that the women are powerless and confined. I suppose that is the historical meaning of the veil for many women, and it's certainly true for the women in this book, however it's an easy trope and somewhat irresponsibly used. It's easy for white western feminists to create the image of the veiled woman (read: Muslim woman) as the powerless, exploited Other without examining any other meanings the veil may have for that woman.
Anyway, thankfully the book focused much more on the systematic subjugation of the women and their struggle for justice, instead of hitting you over the head with veil=bad. And I don't think that it created a myth of "eastern" society = bad for women, "western" society = good for women. We see that women are treated poorly in both the offworld colonies, as well on earth. I'll have to read it again more slowly so I can appreciate it more fully. I'd be interested in seeing a sequel set on the same planet 50-100 years later.
And yay for unexpected queer themes!
That said, I'm troubled with the use of the veil as a symbol of women's subjugation. It's not the main subject of the book, but it is used as dramatic effect to symbolize and reinforce the fact that the women are powerless and confined. I suppose that is the historical meaning of the veil for many women, and it's certainly true for the women in this book, however it's an easy trope and somewhat irresponsibly used. It's easy for white western feminists to create the image of the veiled woman (read: Muslim woman) as the powerless, exploited Other without examining any other meanings the veil may have for that woman.
Anyway, thankfully the book focused much more on the systematic subjugation of the women and their struggle for justice, instead of hitting you over the head with veil=bad. And I don't think that it created a myth of "eastern" society = bad for women, "western" society = good for women. We see that women are treated poorly in both the offworld colonies, as well on earth. I'll have to read it again more slowly so I can appreciate it more fully. I'd be interested in seeing a sequel set on the same planet 50-100 years later.
And yay for unexpected queer themes!
July 7, 2017
Like Handmaid's Tale, a terrifying portrayal of how theocratic totalitarianism can enslave women. This is a society on a far planet in a time with frequent space travel. The society mirrors the worst extremes of Taliban style Islam and Sharia law. Women are veiled, are the property of their father or husband, and have no rights.
The writing is good, the characters have depth and subtlety. Within this extremely patriarchal society, a range of male-female relationships are portrayed. There are husbands who kill their wives (not a crime). There are husbands who beat their wives. And there are husbands who truly love their wives and try to do their best for them. But even these husbands are so constrained, that they do not see that their best is infantilizing or denigrating. The central marriage relationship is shown changing over time, gradually being diminished as the wife gets more restive under the restraints, and then being redeemed.
One of the strengths of this book is that it does not just portray Islam style society as bad and Western society is good. One of the other main characters is from Earth and came to Irustan to escape the lack of freedoms on Earth.
It is not a cheerful book though and it suggests that violent revolution is the only way that these women can change their lot.
The writing is good, the characters have depth and subtlety. Within this extremely patriarchal society, a range of male-female relationships are portrayed. There are husbands who kill their wives (not a crime). There are husbands who beat their wives. And there are husbands who truly love their wives and try to do their best for them. But even these husbands are so constrained, that they do not see that their best is infantilizing or denigrating. The central marriage relationship is shown changing over time, gradually being diminished as the wife gets more restive under the restraints, and then being redeemed.
One of the strengths of this book is that it does not just portray Islam style society as bad and Western society is good. One of the other main characters is from Earth and came to Irustan to escape the lack of freedoms on Earth.
It is not a cheerful book though and it suggests that violent revolution is the only way that these women can change their lot.
September 6, 2018
Squarely in the 'sci-fi that's really just here to teach us about our current world' genre, this book has it all. A fantastic, feminist heroine realizes her friends need help only she can provide in a world where women are quite literally nonentities (at least as far as official records are concerned). In helping the few, she starts on a course toward a global revolution. The characters are all interesting, the world-building credible even where it leaves unanswered questions. Certain descriptive fallbacks get a little tiresome, but that's not nearly enough to knock down this riveting story for me.
January 5, 2019
***Spoiler alert*** -- broad reference to the outcome of the story
I began this book with low expectations, as it came as part of a rather spotty bundle of science fiction written by women. The Terrorists of Irustan was thus a pleasant surprise: a thoughtful, well written novel about an offworld culture's misogyny and a small circle of women's battle against it.
Briefly, the plot centers on a female "medicant" (read: physician) who, along with her circle of friends, goes to extraordinary lengths to protect other women and children from abuse at the hands of the men who hold tremendous power over them. I was initially put off by Irustan's cultural parallels with fundamentalist Islam, as it came across as fictionalized polemic inspired by recent world events. Thus, I was surprised to find that the book was published in 1999--before the events of 2001 that so polarized the US. Hence, although some elements of the Irustan culture are clearly drawn from Muslim tradition, one may feel fairly comfortable reading the book as dystopian fantasy and not political invective.
The book's generally careful and evenly paced plot deals with themes of women's identity and justice in an unjust world, examined through the actions of its central character, Zahra, and the women and men who surround her. Marley is careful to emphasize the diversity and complexity of even the most oppressive societies: On Irustan, not all men are demons, and not all oppressed are women. She also does not flinch from portraying the flaws of her protagonists, particularly the moral dangers of even well placed zealotry. She uses symbolism deftly, particularly with respect to disease, disguise, and physical constraint. The book's final scene is especially moving: character flaws are not forgiven, but they can nonetheless open doors.
Its strengths notwithstanding, the book does have a couple of flaws. Most annoying is the role of Jing-Li, a worker in the Earth-based mining corporation on which Irustan's economy is based. The character is necessary to the plot, but the twists surrounding Jing-Li are not; they often come across as tangential and heavy handed. Some other characters, most notably the members of Zahra's friendship circle are also somewhat two-dimensional. Thus, given the option, I'd give this book 3.5 stars.
Despite its flaws, The Terrorists of Irustan is an engrossing and thoughtful story about strength and the lengths to which women will go to resist oppression. Recommended.
I began this book with low expectations, as it came as part of a rather spotty bundle of science fiction written by women. The Terrorists of Irustan was thus a pleasant surprise: a thoughtful, well written novel about an offworld culture's misogyny and a small circle of women's battle against it.
Briefly, the plot centers on a female "medicant" (read: physician) who, along with her circle of friends, goes to extraordinary lengths to protect other women and children from abuse at the hands of the men who hold tremendous power over them. I was initially put off by Irustan's cultural parallels with fundamentalist Islam, as it came across as fictionalized polemic inspired by recent world events. Thus, I was surprised to find that the book was published in 1999--before the events of 2001 that so polarized the US. Hence, although some elements of the Irustan culture are clearly drawn from Muslim tradition, one may feel fairly comfortable reading the book as dystopian fantasy and not political invective.
The book's generally careful and evenly paced plot deals with themes of women's identity and justice in an unjust world, examined through the actions of its central character, Zahra, and the women and men who surround her. Marley is careful to emphasize the diversity and complexity of even the most oppressive societies: On Irustan, not all men are demons, and not all oppressed are women. She also does not flinch from portraying the flaws of her protagonists, particularly the moral dangers of even well placed zealotry. She uses symbolism deftly, particularly with respect to disease, disguise, and physical constraint. The book's final scene is especially moving: character flaws are not forgiven, but they can nonetheless open doors.
Its strengths notwithstanding, the book does have a couple of flaws. Most annoying is the role of Jing-Li, a worker in the Earth-based mining corporation on which Irustan's economy is based. The character is necessary to the plot, but the twists surrounding Jing-Li are not; they often come across as tangential and heavy handed. Some other characters, most notably the members of Zahra's friendship circle are also somewhat two-dimensional. Thus, given the option, I'd give this book 3.5 stars.
Despite its flaws, The Terrorists of Irustan is an engrossing and thoughtful story about strength and the lengths to which women will go to resist oppression. Recommended.
July 31, 2022
I read this approx 20 years ago. Before 9/11. As a very young woman. It was a very different world then. I loved reading it then. Soon I forgot the title and the author and spent the next 18 years hunting for it. Having found it again I read it in a short time period. I forgot how compelling, how intense these characters are. Tradition can be harmful. No change means no improvement.
I'm not saying I agree with what these women did, but I did understand their desperation.
Fascinating, compelling, read. I'm so glad I've found it again.
I'm not saying I agree with what these women did, but I did understand their desperation.
Fascinating, compelling, read. I'm so glad I've found it again.
June 7, 2018
I don't know if I'm getting old, if I was particularly tired, or just that the book is good, I had actualy tears almost at the end of the book. What a way to go, really really loved it, the setting, the develpment, the character interaction, the characters, well, the whole deal
Definitely highly recommended from me!!!
Definitely highly recommended from me!!!
September 18, 2017
Man this book was so good! I couldn't put it down!!
July 29, 2018
I liked this. It's well written, with engaging, convincing characters and plotting. I got it in a book-batch of womens Sci Fi, and it's the best one so far.
May 14, 2020
Tiptree longlist 1999
January 17, 2023
Here is my review:
https://bookadept.com/2023/01/12/subv...
https://bookadept.com/2023/01/12/subv...
January 5, 2016
I enjoy fantasy and science fiction stories which pull setting material from cultures other than western Europe and the U.S., since I feel like I learn a bit about those cultures and the unfamiliar feel of the setting makes the story feel fresher (books that come to mind in this category include Enchantment, later entries in the Ranger's Apprentice series which start with The Ruins of Gorlan, The Blue Sword, and The Thief). If you couldn't tell from the cover, this is another of that sort, although I would have enjoyed it more had it communicated even more of the desert-Muslim culture it's directly drawn from.
There are some really good ideas in here about male-female relationships in a society where the genders are treated very differently from one another, and about dealing with things outside your control in general. In the second half, the main character finds a way to use the predominant prejudices to favor herself, and that kind of adaptation is intriguing and fun to read. Unfortunately, the author was too eager to focus on the female disadvantage in such a society, and most of the picture is painted too black-and-white for my taste. It ends up shutting out most of the opportunities for adaptation and finding ways to achieve your goals in such a society. The main character feels only the lack of freedom she doesn't have and repeatedly ignores things she can do to improve her lot. I suspect this is a fundamental flaw in the perception of anyone trying to write about living in a male-dominated society who doesn't actually live in one. The main character also exhibits extreme and self-destructive behavior, and as far as I can tell this is never depicted as anything other than noble and necessary in a "the end justifies the means" kind of way. It can be hard to tell whether this is just the character or whether it's a blind spot on the part of the author, especially since there are also a number of opportunities for the main character to improve her lot in a more normal way, and she seems almost to realize it. However, those avenues are always dropped and never really pursued.
For storytelling that includes so many pages dedicated to self-reflection and inner monologue, I suspect the above is a weakness in the author's view, or some of the story's analysis would have acknowledged the missed opportunities. The fact that only the more extreme of the main character's friends are detailed enough to have personality reinforces this. The author may simply have been too focused on getting her point across and accidentally overdone it. I won't bother complaining that all the men in the book are oppressive morons, and the only two who aren't are excluded from being men one way or another. This is not the kind of book that is interested in other kinds of men. And the ending is kind of hokey wish-fulfillment, which is one of my pet peeves. Also, the chapters begin with quotes from a "Second Prophet", and I restate that I have never read "excerpts" included in a story that didn't detract from the overall story more than they contributed (and yes, that includes Dune).
A friend of mine who read this wrote the following in her review: "In a setting that favors Earth's Middle East both in lands and customs, the struggle for women not to just survive but thrive somehow in a male dominated society can be a touch and go tangle of subtlety." That is a great statement and exactly what I was hoping for, but I felt this book skipped most of the touch-and-go subtlety. If the primary characters (all female) had been a little more nuanced, I would probably have given this four stars ("openly recommended to anyone") instead of three ("worth my time to read").
There are some really good ideas in here about male-female relationships in a society where the genders are treated very differently from one another, and about dealing with things outside your control in general. In the second half, the main character finds a way to use the predominant prejudices to favor herself, and that kind of adaptation is intriguing and fun to read. Unfortunately, the author was too eager to focus on the female disadvantage in such a society, and most of the picture is painted too black-and-white for my taste. It ends up shutting out most of the opportunities for adaptation and finding ways to achieve your goals in such a society. The main character feels only the lack of freedom she doesn't have and repeatedly ignores things she can do to improve her lot. I suspect this is a fundamental flaw in the perception of anyone trying to write about living in a male-dominated society who doesn't actually live in one. The main character also exhibits extreme and self-destructive behavior, and as far as I can tell this is never depicted as anything other than noble and necessary in a "the end justifies the means" kind of way. It can be hard to tell whether this is just the character or whether it's a blind spot on the part of the author, especially since there are also a number of opportunities for the main character to improve her lot in a more normal way, and she seems almost to realize it. However, those avenues are always dropped and never really pursued.
For storytelling that includes so many pages dedicated to self-reflection and inner monologue, I suspect the above is a weakness in the author's view, or some of the story's analysis would have acknowledged the missed opportunities. The fact that only the more extreme of the main character's friends are detailed enough to have personality reinforces this. The author may simply have been too focused on getting her point across and accidentally overdone it. I won't bother complaining that all the men in the book are oppressive morons, and the only two who aren't are excluded from being men one way or another. This is not the kind of book that is interested in other kinds of men. And the ending is kind of hokey wish-fulfillment, which is one of my pet peeves. Also, the chapters begin with quotes from a "Second Prophet", and I restate that I have never read "excerpts" included in a story that didn't detract from the overall story more than they contributed (and yes, that includes Dune).
A friend of mine who read this wrote the following in her review: "In a setting that favors Earth's Middle East both in lands and customs, the struggle for women not to just survive but thrive somehow in a male dominated society can be a touch and go tangle of subtlety." That is a great statement and exactly what I was hoping for, but I felt this book skipped most of the touch-and-go subtlety. If the primary characters (all female) had been a little more nuanced, I would probably have given this four stars ("openly recommended to anyone") instead of three ("worth my time to read").
May 5, 2020
On a harsh, patriarchal desert planet, medical practitioner Zahra Ibsada saves a 14-year-old girl from an abusive marriage by poisoning the groom, then must prevent a wholesale slaughter of similar offending males by their wives, while foiling an unexpected interplanetary murder investigation.
May 10, 2012
Using the servant's tools to dismantle the master's house.
Irustan is a world where all the women are veiled and all the men are conscripted into service in the mines that make the planet profitable. The gender lines are extremely sharp. Men are the public, working face, and women are hidden, behind the scenes. Men also have nothing to do with the needs of the body. Women are responsible for cooking, cleaning, washing, and crucially, healthcare.
I have seen several commentators talk about the religion of Irustan, but I suspect it is not. Allah is never mentioned, nor any actual beliefs, just rules. Instead, I suspect it is a constructed religion disseminated by the company that does the mining. COINCIDENTALLY it works out that the religion rewards the miners with young, pretty, powerless wives after their stint in the mines, but women are completely unavailable if you haven't worked in the mines. And it keeps women as veiled chattel who cannot conduct any of the business of life without a male escort. That's not a religion, it's an incentive system.
The medicant, her apprentice, and her household are at the crest of a breaking wave of rebellion against this system. The long-suppressed prion disease of the planet is reappearing, and the Company is very frightened, because the mines are essential to them. All the company cares about is making sure the disease isn't about to take out their workforce. Zahra cares about the health of the people she is taking care of, and the fact that she cannot prevent harm from coming to women because of their position in society. For "Johnnie", a port-worker, it's a mystery/romance, but for Zahra it is not simple, but deadly.
I liked this book for its tight plot, well thought-through world, and emotional depth. I loved all the details of the women's world, like the three parts of a veil and the ever-present fear of corrective rape. It was sometimes hard to read, but I never doubted it was worth it.
Read if: You are interested in stories of unusual revolutions, you want a less-sexualized view of a women's dystopia than Handmaid's Tale, you like interesting new cultures.
Skip if: You are currently depressed about women's rights, you can't read about gendered slavery.
Irustan is a world where all the women are veiled and all the men are conscripted into service in the mines that make the planet profitable. The gender lines are extremely sharp. Men are the public, working face, and women are hidden, behind the scenes. Men also have nothing to do with the needs of the body. Women are responsible for cooking, cleaning, washing, and crucially, healthcare.
I have seen several commentators talk about the religion of Irustan, but I suspect it is not. Allah is never mentioned, nor any actual beliefs, just rules. Instead, I suspect it is a constructed religion disseminated by the company that does the mining. COINCIDENTALLY it works out that the religion rewards the miners with young, pretty, powerless wives after their stint in the mines, but women are completely unavailable if you haven't worked in the mines. And it keeps women as veiled chattel who cannot conduct any of the business of life without a male escort. That's not a religion, it's an incentive system.
The medicant, her apprentice, and her household are at the crest of a breaking wave of rebellion against this system. The long-suppressed prion disease of the planet is reappearing, and the Company is very frightened, because the mines are essential to them. All the company cares about is making sure the disease isn't about to take out their workforce. Zahra cares about the health of the people she is taking care of, and the fact that she cannot prevent harm from coming to women because of their position in society. For "Johnnie", a port-worker, it's a mystery/romance, but for Zahra it is not simple, but deadly.
I liked this book for its tight plot, well thought-through world, and emotional depth. I loved all the details of the women's world, like the three parts of a veil and the ever-present fear of corrective rape. It was sometimes hard to read, but I never doubted it was worth it.
Read if: You are interested in stories of unusual revolutions, you want a less-sexualized view of a women's dystopia than Handmaid's Tale, you like interesting new cultures.
Skip if: You are currently depressed about women's rights, you can't read about gendered slavery.
May 9, 2012
I felt very much the same way Sarah (reviewed 9/2/10) did about this book. It started off slow for me; the exposition was somewhat clunky and took me out of the story a bit. Also, I was trying to decide how I felt about the subject matter as tackled by the author: does it cross the line from storytelling into stereotype, fetishization and/or appropriation? I spent the first few chapters with this running through my thoughts, but ultimately decided to put that aside, and I was able to get into the story. It would have remained only interesting and not compelling if two things had not happened. The first was Zahra's use of contraception, which really established her character as radically, subversively feminist. The second was Jin-Li's reveal and subsequent arc, which I totally dug. As Sarah said, what a "pleasant queer feminist surprise"! I didn't expect that at all, and it really is unusual for sci-fi to overlap with feminism and gender politics so seamlessly. Furthermore, considering it was written in 1999, I thought its take on the fluidity of gender/sexuality was really forward-thinking. I felt similarly about its grasp of personal electronics - the "readers" felt like a natural part of the story in our age of tablets and smartphones. Well done!
That said, I'm still on the fence about this author tackling a culture that is (presumably) not her own, especially one as easily misinterpreted as Middle Eastern/Muslim culture. I cannot speak for members of those cultures from which the inspiration for the Irustanis is drawn, so I can't know if the book was/would be well received or not.
Problematic nature aside, I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up on a whim at a used paperback shop (oh, yes, those apparently still exist around here) and I'm really glad I did!
That said, I'm still on the fence about this author tackling a culture that is (presumably) not her own, especially one as easily misinterpreted as Middle Eastern/Muslim culture. I cannot speak for members of those cultures from which the inspiration for the Irustanis is drawn, so I can't know if the book was/would be well received or not.
Problematic nature aside, I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up on a whim at a used paperback shop (oh, yes, those apparently still exist around here) and I'm really glad I did!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2007
Marley does an excellent job of setting up a horribly claustrophobic society in which women are veiled, sheltered, set aside, property. Through an interesting quirk, the women are also the healers, and the men want nothing to do with dealings of the body. It's this prejudice of the men that Zahra is able to exploit to make her statement and do what she can for the women around her.
That said, it's a flawed book. The two women of Zahra's circle in the worst domestic situation are the two married to much older men. (If this were a society already moving toward change, this could be understood, but the society is portrayed as more-than-static, this is one carved in stone with artisans coming back from time to time to reinforce lines dulled by wind and weather.)
The relationship with Jin-Li is also troublesome. On a whole base of Earthers stationed there to handle import & export, only one person bothers to understand Irustani customs? Only one culturally sensitive person, and yet this person develops a fascination with Zahra, a fascination that seems to be heading in a sexual direction. Then we find out that Jin-Li *spoiler* and the whole thing just seems shabby. Yes, this puts Jin-Li in a position to be even more sympathetic, but again, someone has to be in a situation like that to see customs and to empathise with the damage they cause? It didn't have to be "on-screen"; it didn't have to go into great detail. It could've been covered in Jin-Li's thought process.
Overall, the book is good, a good read. But it could've been better.
That said, it's a flawed book. The two women of Zahra's circle in the worst domestic situation are the two married to much older men. (If this were a society already moving toward change, this could be understood, but the society is portrayed as more-than-static, this is one carved in stone with artisans coming back from time to time to reinforce lines dulled by wind and weather.)
The relationship with Jin-Li is also troublesome. On a whole base of Earthers stationed there to handle import & export, only one person bothers to understand Irustani customs? Only one culturally sensitive person, and yet this person develops a fascination with Zahra, a fascination that seems to be heading in a sexual direction. Then we find out that Jin-Li *spoiler* and the whole thing just seems shabby. Yes, this puts Jin-Li in a position to be even more sympathetic, but again, someone has to be in a situation like that to see customs and to empathise with the damage they cause? It didn't have to be "on-screen"; it didn't have to go into great detail. It could've been covered in Jin-Li's thought process.
Overall, the book is good, a good read. But it could've been better.
March 5, 2008
Strange that I pick up this book at the time that I'm currently writing Kathryn's Hero. Why? Cause the two are 'closely' linked in many ways.
This is a dystopia piece of literature, that I found hard to read (the subject matter) but unable to put down. Every time I stop reading I'm drawn right back to the book. I guess that means it's good and I can tell you it's got me thinking.
I'm about halfway through and I like it. I like how even the characters you're supposed to view as bad guys have a 'human' side to them that you can't help but liking them to some degree. You feel for them even though they're bad. Not all the 'bad' guys, but Zahra's husband and a few of the other characters. I'm very anxious to finish the story.
**SPOILER**
I knew...had this feeling, that the ending wouldn't, couldn't be happy. Hopefully, but still sad. I don't see how else the author could have ended it and stayed true to the characters and kept the believable consequences, but it was still sad to read. Interesting book on a dystopia society and how it goes about trying to change itself.
This is a dystopia piece of literature, that I found hard to read (the subject matter) but unable to put down. Every time I stop reading I'm drawn right back to the book. I guess that means it's good and I can tell you it's got me thinking.
I'm about halfway through and I like it. I like how even the characters you're supposed to view as bad guys have a 'human' side to them that you can't help but liking them to some degree. You feel for them even though they're bad. Not all the 'bad' guys, but Zahra's husband and a few of the other characters. I'm very anxious to finish the story.
**SPOILER**
I knew...had this feeling, that the ending wouldn't, couldn't be happy. Hopefully, but still sad. I don't see how else the author could have ended it and stayed true to the characters and kept the believable consequences, but it was still sad to read. Interesting book on a dystopia society and how it goes about trying to change itself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2014
Powerful, thought provoking and disturbing. I read this when it came out and gave it to my nieces. The characters and the story are very affecting and have stayed with me all this time.
To another reviewer below, the veil exists to repress and control women and, most egregiously, (try to) make women responsible for the misbehavior of men--ie, women are responsible for "enticing" men to lust for them, "dishonor" them, rape, gang rape, stone, kill them. They see women as unholy, lesser creatures in the eyes of god, themselves responsible for any bad things that happen to them.
Any suggestion that the veil is a choice women make freely is a sad attempt to excuse unacceptable male domination. Those women confined in such cultures may try to rationalize it in order to survive emotionally in a culture they can't escape, but it should be seen as the slave rationalizing the behavior of the master over whom they have no control, nothing else.
People should stop falling for the idea that clear wrongs can somehow be excused under the guise of cultural tolerance.
To another reviewer below, the veil exists to repress and control women and, most egregiously, (try to) make women responsible for the misbehavior of men--ie, women are responsible for "enticing" men to lust for them, "dishonor" them, rape, gang rape, stone, kill them. They see women as unholy, lesser creatures in the eyes of god, themselves responsible for any bad things that happen to them.
Any suggestion that the veil is a choice women make freely is a sad attempt to excuse unacceptable male domination. Those women confined in such cultures may try to rationalize it in order to survive emotionally in a culture they can't escape, but it should be seen as the slave rationalizing the behavior of the master over whom they have no control, nothing else.
People should stop falling for the idea that clear wrongs can somehow be excused under the guise of cultural tolerance.
August 18, 2011
The first time I read this book I don't think I really understood its significance. It's easy to identify with the characters and the reader suffers through their hardships and celebrates their triumphs. The women of Irustan are the same women who suffer injustice and lack freedom in our world today. Zahra, the main character, gives these women a voice and shows how women can take hold and change their fate with education, determination, and love. Terrorists of Irustan is a testament to the strength of women and its message is so very, very important.
July 5, 2011
An interesting but sad book. It was a bit hard to read sometimes, since the female characters are so helpless to protect themselves in so many ways. Still, it's an interesting commentary on womens' lives in the Middle East (though of course it was a fictional, future sci-fi colony modeled on the current Middle East) and the way religion and tradition shape society.
December 15, 2007
I learned a lot about Prion diseases reading this book, I actually ended up reading about Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease because of it, but the characters and story are rather shallow and predictable and there's a certain heavy handed morality to the whole thing that is just a little off-putting.
November 11, 2010
A fantastic portrayal of suffragettes all over the world. This is about a veiled society that defines different as terrorist. It is not what we now know to be TERRORISTS but one can see how a culture has to change when the rules of old hold it in stasis. It will fail.
July 13, 2012
This book is incredible. It is powerful, with graphic, emotional detail. I haven't read this book in two or three years, since it's out of print, and I still am enthralled by it, and the story inside. Definitely worth the read.
February 6, 2008
I read this a while ago, but it remains in my mind as one of those really great reads.
If you liked A Handmaid's Tale, you'll probably enjoy this.
If you liked A Handmaid's Tale, you'll probably enjoy this.
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