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The Movement
In this utopia, the feminist Movement has been successful and women rule the world. Men are trained at reeducation facilities to accept the new normal in this futuristic satire challenging our sexual norms.
The Movement's founding ideology emphasizes that women should be valued for their inner qualities, spirit, and character, and not for their physical attributes. Men have been forbidden to be attracted to women on the basis of their bodies. Some continue with unreformed attitudes but many submit--or are sent by their wives and daughters--to the Institute for internment and reeducation. However, the Movement also struggles with women and their "old attitudes," with many still undergoing illegal cosmetic surgeries and wearing makeup. Our narrator, an unapologetic guard at one of these reeducation facilities, describes how the Movement started, the challenges faced, her own personal journey, and what happens when a program fails. She is convinced the Movement is nearing its final victory--a time when everybody falls in line with its ideals. Outspoken, ambiguous, and terrifying, this socio-critical satire of our sexual norms sets the reader firmly outside of their comfort zone.
The Movement's founding ideology emphasizes that women should be valued for their inner qualities, spirit, and character, and not for their physical attributes. Men have been forbidden to be attracted to women on the basis of their bodies. Some continue with unreformed attitudes but many submit--or are sent by their wives and daughters--to the Institute for internment and reeducation. However, the Movement also struggles with women and their "old attitudes," with many still undergoing illegal cosmetic surgeries and wearing makeup. Our narrator, an unapologetic guard at one of these reeducation facilities, describes how the Movement started, the challenges faced, her own personal journey, and what happens when a program fails. She is convinced the Movement is nearing its final victory--a time when everybody falls in line with its ideals. Outspoken, ambiguous, and terrifying, this socio-critical satire of our sexual norms sets the reader firmly outside of their comfort zone.
145 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2018
19 people are currently reading
864 people want to read
About the author
Petra Hůlová
23 books77 followersPo maturitě na gymnáziu a neúspěšném pokusu studovat Fakultu sociálních věd Univerzity Karlovy studovala kulturologii na Filozofické fakultě téže univerzity, později přidala i mongolistiku. V letech 2000 až 2001 pobývala v Mongolsku, kde se odehrává děj jejího prvního románu, Paměť mojí babičce, jenž autorku proslavil.
Pobývala také ve Spojených státech amerických, kde se odehrává děj její knihy Cirkus Les Mémoires.
V současnosti studuje kulturologii na Filozofické fakultě Univerzity Karlovy v doktorandském programu. Od roku 2007 pravidelně přispívá do časopisu Respekt. Žije v Praze.
Ocenění
Spisovatelčin debut Paměť mojí babičce získal cenu Magnesia Litera v kategorii Objev roku a zvítězil v anketě Lidových novin Kniha roku. Próza Umělohmotný třípokoj získala Cenu Jiřího Ortena. Hůlová získala v roce 2008 Cena Josefa Škvoreckého za román Stanice Tajga.
Pobývala také ve Spojených státech amerických, kde se odehrává děj její knihy Cirkus Les Mémoires.
V současnosti studuje kulturologii na Filozofické fakultě Univerzity Karlovy v doktorandském programu. Od roku 2007 pravidelně přispívá do časopisu Respekt. Žije v Praze.
Ocenění
Spisovatelčin debut Paměť mojí babičce získal cenu Magnesia Litera v kategorii Objev roku a zvítězil v anketě Lidových novin Kniha roku. Próza Umělohmotný třípokoj získala Cenu Jiřího Ortena. Hůlová získala v roce 2008 Cena Josefa Škvoreckého za román Stanice Tajga.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
January 18, 2022
Petra Hůlová's Three Plastic Rooms was startling, grotesque, and revelatory--and it made me eager to read THE MOVEMENT. I didn't have the same visceral reaction to this novel. It didn't hit me in the gut the way Three Plastic Rooms did. It felt far more intellectual and I could hold it at arm's length and not be moved by it as I read. I think Three Plastic Rooms is one of the bravest books I've ever read, and however extreme the images and events were I never stopped feeling the protagonist's humanity. I just didn't connect the same way here. Three stars though for the absolute smartness of the author's vision.
October 6, 2021
Czech writer Petra Hulova’s The Movement is a dystopian novel written as a memoir penned by Vera, a former decorator at Pornjoy, a company producing of sex dolls, and now an educator in one of the correction Institutes established by The Movement. The Movement is an organisation that fights the sexualised, objectified images of women that proliferate in our world (which many women embrace) while promoting body positivity, a way of looking at a woman’s inner beauty despite age and body looks. Having gained power on the territory, The Movement has opened correction Institutes where men are reformed and taught to look at inner beauty: This is Vera’s world, and she takes us by the hand to explore the reform process from start to finish. . I was expecting a champion of #metoo and of the body positive movement, but I was immediately taken aback by the sadistic, grotesque techniques implemented to obtain the conversion. So what is going on?
Let's be clear. The Movement is a desecrating, sharp, multi-layered political and satirical novel that tackles gender-stereotypes, body politics and the objectification of women and the way women are complicit. Hulova identifies the problem but also investigates how problems can be instrumentalised and manipulated not in general terms but depending on the context they arise in -- in this case in a former Eastern Bloc country, where the past is not tooo distant and populism a temptation. The result is a political novel that deeply engages with contemporary issues: while trying to promote equality, the Movement’s politics also seek to exploit people's sentiment and discontent, conceal its authoritarian ways behind a liberal facade, promote repression and control over minds and bodies up to the most intimate level, redirect toward the traditional family (which in real life is a hallmark of conservative governments), promotes the cult of personality (Rita, the founder), quarantines the Romas and tries to convert Islamic refugees to its practices. Told from the point of view of one of its apparatchiks, a disempowered woman who has found purpose in the Movement, the novel has all the flavour of Soviet style re-education facilities and of the great Czech (and Russian) satirical novel (think of Hasek’s The Good Soldier).
In the Movement the whole reeducation relies on Pavlovian-style conditioning and on the fruition of porn images, and the novel contains nudity and related descriptions. These scenes are unsettling, disturbing and can make you uncomfortable but are relevant in a Czech novel on body politics. As mentioned, Vera worked in the porn industry: pornography was illegal in Czechoslovakia during the Communist regime but was legalised after the 1989 Velvet revolution. Since then, the Czech Republic has developed a thriving porn industry, one that sparks debate at the intersection of empowerment, freedom, objectification, neoliberalism and exploitation.. Possibly, it is as if Hulova wanted to point out the inability to promote freedom and values from within, or address the Czech involvement in this industry.
An intelligent, dark satire, a dystopia and a political novel firmly grounded in contemporary politics, The Movement problematises the present and expresses deep discomfort with it. (coincidentally written at the same time as Kalfar’s 2017 Spaceman of Bohemia, also expressing political pessimism in speculative form).
According to the publisher, the image in the cover represent the dangers of a society that conforms to gender stereotypes but also the dangers of addressing these issues through re-education and brainwashing. A message that can be misunderstood, as someone may be looking at only one side of the story and consider this text offensive. It must be said it is not a perfect novel: It is disturbing shocking, a bit repetitive, and parts could have been shorter, but it is duplicity that is the very essence of this complex novel, which is interesting, outrageous and original. 3.5
My thanks to World Edition Books for translating thought-provoking literature into English and for an ARC of this novel via Netgalley.
Let's be clear. The Movement is a desecrating, sharp, multi-layered political and satirical novel that tackles gender-stereotypes, body politics and the objectification of women and the way women are complicit. Hulova identifies the problem but also investigates how problems can be instrumentalised and manipulated not in general terms but depending on the context they arise in -- in this case in a former Eastern Bloc country, where the past is not tooo distant and populism a temptation. The result is a political novel that deeply engages with contemporary issues: while trying to promote equality, the Movement’s politics also seek to exploit people's sentiment and discontent, conceal its authoritarian ways behind a liberal facade, promote repression and control over minds and bodies up to the most intimate level, redirect toward the traditional family (which in real life is a hallmark of conservative governments), promotes the cult of personality (Rita, the founder), quarantines the Romas and tries to convert Islamic refugees to its practices. Told from the point of view of one of its apparatchiks, a disempowered woman who has found purpose in the Movement, the novel has all the flavour of Soviet style re-education facilities and of the great Czech (and Russian) satirical novel (think of Hasek’s The Good Soldier).
In the Movement the whole reeducation relies on Pavlovian-style conditioning and on the fruition of porn images, and the novel contains nudity and related descriptions. These scenes are unsettling, disturbing and can make you uncomfortable but are relevant in a Czech novel on body politics. As mentioned, Vera worked in the porn industry: pornography was illegal in Czechoslovakia during the Communist regime but was legalised after the 1989 Velvet revolution. Since then, the Czech Republic has developed a thriving porn industry, one that sparks debate at the intersection of empowerment, freedom, objectification, neoliberalism and exploitation.. Possibly, it is as if Hulova wanted to point out the inability to promote freedom and values from within, or address the Czech involvement in this industry.
An intelligent, dark satire, a dystopia and a political novel firmly grounded in contemporary politics, The Movement problematises the present and expresses deep discomfort with it. (coincidentally written at the same time as Kalfar’s 2017 Spaceman of Bohemia, also expressing political pessimism in speculative form).
According to the publisher, the image in the cover represent the dangers of a society that conforms to gender stereotypes but also the dangers of addressing these issues through re-education and brainwashing. A message that can be misunderstood, as someone may be looking at only one side of the story and consider this text offensive. It must be said it is not a perfect novel: It is disturbing shocking, a bit repetitive, and parts could have been shorter, but it is duplicity that is the very essence of this complex novel, which is interesting, outrageous and original. 3.5
My thanks to World Edition Books for translating thought-provoking literature into English and for an ARC of this novel via Netgalley.
June 12, 2021
Przy tej książce świetnie się bawiłam, czułam się czasem niekomfortowo, czasem miałam ochotę odwrócić wzrok, a czasem śmiałam się pod nosem. Wymyślając sobie świat po rewolucji – kulturowej i seksualnej – autorka nie tyle chce nas wciągnąć w miejsce akcji wymyślone przez siebie, a bardziej powiedzieć nam coś o świecie, w którym żyjemy teraz. Wyolbrzymiając i przerysowując nowe zasady moralne panujące w świecie po przewrocie, przypomina nam, że czasami nie dostrzegamy już absurdów tego, na jakich zasadach działa ten znany nam świat.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/59pf...
https://open.spotify.com/episode/59pf...
October 24, 2021
It was the cover of the book which first attracted my attention, then I read the blurb and wanted to read it straightaway.
The blurb immediately made me think of Margaret Attwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, but a reversal of the situation with women being in charge. Men being the one’s treat as the lower class, the ones that are wrong. It was also quite a feasible storyline in a futuristic world. I think most women have been sexually objectified in one way or another on more than one occasion. This book felt especially relevant with news articles about women being followed and murdered etc. I was looking forward to a society where women were in control for a change, having the upper hand and re-educating men about where they are going wrong.
The book describes how “The Movement” first began, how it has grown and how it developed into what it is in the “present day” within the book, with large facilities dedicated to re-educating men.
The book is told from point of view of one of the women workers, a guard at one of the larger re-education centres as she goes about her job. She tells the reader about the facility she works in, how it looks, where the males live whilst there in dormitory style rooms, though there are some smaller and single occupancy rooms too. The guard describes her surroundings, where she resides within the building, what she does in her spare time, as well as what her work entails. There are set tasks the men have to work through to gain more luxuries/freedoms and take steps to be being “graduating” as reformed. There are craft and hobby tasks for the men’s free time when they are not in specific classes or counselling sessions. The facility has open days where women can visit and take a look around before enrolling their husbands, partners or male relatives there. It isn’t a free solution, the women/men pay for the service that The Movement supply.
I started the book, interested in what to me, had seemed an intriguing, futuristic society. I managed to read around 30% of the book before the language and descriptions of “therapies” the men endured and had to react, or in some cases not react to pass and progress. I am not a prude and it wasn’t really just the explicit language and descriptions that put me off as much as the monotonous of the book. There wasn’t enough plot, or anything it just seemed fixated on the men’s reactions to different images of women of different ages and dressed in different ways.
I put the book down and went off and read others and then returned to give this book another try on at least three occasions before I finally decided I just couldn’t force myself to read any more of this book. It was frustrating that the female guard didn’t have a name revealed to perhaps humanise her a bit. At times both she and the book felt robotic.
I would have much preferred to have had more of the story of the earlier days of the Movement and the women involved in that, with perhaps stories of how the first men were re-educated. As well as what had happened in the world to encourage and accept such institutions being built.
I was disappointed to not continue reading the book to the end but there comes a point when you know no matter how many times you try to read a book you just are just not going to be able to wade through it. I honestly can’t foresee myself ever going back to it and finishing it at all. I read that the book has been translated from another language so perhaps some of the flow of the plot.
Summing up, I seriously had high hopes for this book imagining some equivalent institution, perhaps comparable to that of the handmaids training centre in Margaret Attwoods book. This book just felt like it was going on and on, repeating and labouring the same point. Some of the scenes told in excruciatingly detailed ways. Sadly this book just wasn’t what I had thought it may be and didn’t improve enough to continue reading or continue to revisit anymore.
The blurb immediately made me think of Margaret Attwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, but a reversal of the situation with women being in charge. Men being the one’s treat as the lower class, the ones that are wrong. It was also quite a feasible storyline in a futuristic world. I think most women have been sexually objectified in one way or another on more than one occasion. This book felt especially relevant with news articles about women being followed and murdered etc. I was looking forward to a society where women were in control for a change, having the upper hand and re-educating men about where they are going wrong.
The book describes how “The Movement” first began, how it has grown and how it developed into what it is in the “present day” within the book, with large facilities dedicated to re-educating men.
The book is told from point of view of one of the women workers, a guard at one of the larger re-education centres as she goes about her job. She tells the reader about the facility she works in, how it looks, where the males live whilst there in dormitory style rooms, though there are some smaller and single occupancy rooms too. The guard describes her surroundings, where she resides within the building, what she does in her spare time, as well as what her work entails. There are set tasks the men have to work through to gain more luxuries/freedoms and take steps to be being “graduating” as reformed. There are craft and hobby tasks for the men’s free time when they are not in specific classes or counselling sessions. The facility has open days where women can visit and take a look around before enrolling their husbands, partners or male relatives there. It isn’t a free solution, the women/men pay for the service that The Movement supply.
I started the book, interested in what to me, had seemed an intriguing, futuristic society. I managed to read around 30% of the book before the language and descriptions of “therapies” the men endured and had to react, or in some cases not react to pass and progress. I am not a prude and it wasn’t really just the explicit language and descriptions that put me off as much as the monotonous of the book. There wasn’t enough plot, or anything it just seemed fixated on the men’s reactions to different images of women of different ages and dressed in different ways.
I put the book down and went off and read others and then returned to give this book another try on at least three occasions before I finally decided I just couldn’t force myself to read any more of this book. It was frustrating that the female guard didn’t have a name revealed to perhaps humanise her a bit. At times both she and the book felt robotic.
I would have much preferred to have had more of the story of the earlier days of the Movement and the women involved in that, with perhaps stories of how the first men were re-educated. As well as what had happened in the world to encourage and accept such institutions being built.
I was disappointed to not continue reading the book to the end but there comes a point when you know no matter how many times you try to read a book you just are just not going to be able to wade through it. I honestly can’t foresee myself ever going back to it and finishing it at all. I read that the book has been translated from another language so perhaps some of the flow of the plot.
Summing up, I seriously had high hopes for this book imagining some equivalent institution, perhaps comparable to that of the handmaids training centre in Margaret Attwoods book. This book just felt like it was going on and on, repeating and labouring the same point. Some of the scenes told in excruciatingly detailed ways. Sadly this book just wasn’t what I had thought it may be and didn’t improve enough to continue reading or continue to revisit anymore.
September 10, 2021
What a truly dismal book. What has the potential to be a dystopian female-run world is a covert critique of feminism, combined with a blatant disregard for the ageing process, unnecessary Islamophobia and normalised sexual assault.
I was so surprised by the angle taken. Granted, there were moments that encourage the reader to reflect - including the very obvious fact that radicalism on any side of a spectrum can have dark consequences and that it's easy in echo chambers not to see the bigger picture, however the potential simply wasn't delivered.
The plot, aimed at desexualising youth by forcing men to desire elderly women was written by repeatedly outlining all the things unpleasant about a woman's body over the age of 20. The book repeatedly explained why men wouldn't enjoy the body and why this view should change, vs actually offering self-love. Reading through the lines, I'd say there was a lot of self-hatred coming through.
Additionally, the version of 'feminism' offered was a caricature of third-wave feminism at best but read more like someone who didn't know what feminism was and believed it was 'man hating'. Popping out of reality for a world of only women sounded appealing, but read as though the reader was being punished for even having an interest in the topic.
Really poor work, a disappointing read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
I was so surprised by the angle taken. Granted, there were moments that encourage the reader to reflect - including the very obvious fact that radicalism on any side of a spectrum can have dark consequences and that it's easy in echo chambers not to see the bigger picture, however the potential simply wasn't delivered.
The plot, aimed at desexualising youth by forcing men to desire elderly women was written by repeatedly outlining all the things unpleasant about a woman's body over the age of 20. The book repeatedly explained why men wouldn't enjoy the body and why this view should change, vs actually offering self-love. Reading through the lines, I'd say there was a lot of self-hatred coming through.
Additionally, the version of 'feminism' offered was a caricature of third-wave feminism at best but read more like someone who didn't know what feminism was and believed it was 'man hating'. Popping out of reality for a world of only women sounded appealing, but read as though the reader was being punished for even having an interest in the topic.
Really poor work, a disappointing read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
April 10, 2024
For real now, what in the name of Lucifer was this? It wasn't good. It made weird points. I thought it was building towards something but it wasn't. I mean, obviously it has incredibly low average ratings on goodreads but I didn't think it would be that bad, maybe a bit controversial. Now I would say it is indeed that bad and likely controversial.
This is a dystopia, our MC shares her writing with us, sort of memoir like, where she describes this glorious new world with us. See, the Movement was this feminist push towards a world where women no longer are valued by their looks but by their wonderful personalities, or at least that's what synopsis and MC are trying to make it seem. She works at reeducation center for men, the pillar of this new society, where men are trained to no longer be turned on by women's physical experience because apparently that's all it requires to create a more equal society... The methods used are atrocious and disgusting, I hope purposefully so but I am confused on the messages this novel is trying to send out into the world. Because now men get trained to masturbate to pics of old and ugly women. And their final exam, when the reconditioning is complete, is to not get a boner when seeing a young, naked woman. Yep.
There are also camps for children (we don't learn much about those) and for women where they learn to not care about their looks anymore and forego things like make-up and pretty clothes. The whole story I was expecting our MC to steer towards some realization about the pitfalls and wrong-goings of her new society, a big pivotal revelation or a personal moment that would make her see clear, but Nothing. Ever. Happens. She is the same devoted to the new ways person as she was in the beginning and the world still makes not much sense.
And what was this even trying to say? Be careful what you wish for as a feminist? Feminism is bad? Don't go too far with your political agendas? Because the complaints raised about the Old World (our current reality) are all very valid but this solution is disgusting. So what are you saying book? That we should question the methods to achieve societal change? Extremism is wrong? This is what we would get if we listen to our current social justice warriors? Centers to recondition people are the worst? Masturbation is the key to control men? For a while I though this was supposed to be a mirror to medical treatments of the past where women experienced electroshock therapy and even lobotomies to "cure" hysteria. But there is too little here to support that, and it would be a bit of moot point, wouldn't it? As much as we still have a bit further to go in terms of equality, I feel like that is not something we need a big dystopian discussion on. Or is there some interwoven criticism of Czechian society that I simply can't see?
I honestly don't know or care anymore. If it was at least not so boring but it sure was. I only kept reading because I felt like this must be building to some sort of blow up. But nope.
Also:
how would being conditioned to only be able to feel sexual arousal by staring at the picture of an old woman create a society where men value women's personalities? Supposedly they go back to their wives and live happy lives with them but this conditioning does nothing to make a man value someone's personality?!?!
This is a dystopia, our MC shares her writing with us, sort of memoir like, where she describes this glorious new world with us. See, the Movement was this feminist push towards a world where women no longer are valued by their looks but by their wonderful personalities, or at least that's what synopsis and MC are trying to make it seem. She works at reeducation center for men, the pillar of this new society, where men are trained to no longer be turned on by women's physical experience because apparently that's all it requires to create a more equal society... The methods used are atrocious and disgusting, I hope purposefully so but I am confused on the messages this novel is trying to send out into the world. Because now men get trained to masturbate to pics of old and ugly women. And their final exam, when the reconditioning is complete, is to not get a boner when seeing a young, naked woman. Yep.
There are also camps for children (we don't learn much about those) and for women where they learn to not care about their looks anymore and forego things like make-up and pretty clothes. The whole story I was expecting our MC to steer towards some realization about the pitfalls and wrong-goings of her new society, a big pivotal revelation or a personal moment that would make her see clear, but Nothing. Ever. Happens. She is the same devoted to the new ways person as she was in the beginning and the world still makes not much sense.
And what was this even trying to say? Be careful what you wish for as a feminist? Feminism is bad? Don't go too far with your political agendas? Because the complaints raised about the Old World (our current reality) are all very valid but this solution is disgusting. So what are you saying book? That we should question the methods to achieve societal change? Extremism is wrong? This is what we would get if we listen to our current social justice warriors? Centers to recondition people are the worst? Masturbation is the key to control men? For a while I though this was supposed to be a mirror to medical treatments of the past where women experienced electroshock therapy and even lobotomies to "cure" hysteria. But there is too little here to support that, and it would be a bit of moot point, wouldn't it? As much as we still have a bit further to go in terms of equality, I feel like that is not something we need a big dystopian discussion on. Or is there some interwoven criticism of Czechian society that I simply can't see?
I honestly don't know or care anymore. If it was at least not so boring but it sure was. I only kept reading because I felt like this must be building to some sort of blow up. But nope.
Also:
how would being conditioned to only be able to feel sexual arousal by staring at the picture of an old woman create a society where men value women's personalities? Supposedly they go back to their wives and live happy lives with them but this conditioning does nothing to make a man value someone's personality?!?!
August 11, 2021
Wow, I am learning that I like these dystopian stories that seem so bizarre yet kind of scary! This book was a little crazy but I liked the idea behind the story. I was thinking of a few ways I had hoped it would go to add to the overall story, so the ending was a little flat for me. Also if your like me and like "reading until the next chapter", you'll be disappointed because the first half of the book is one long section.
"Little girls should be focused on looking out at the world,not how somebody else looks at them, or on outward appearances, the way their mothers often were, worrying if they looked sexy enough."
The Movement was established to retrain men to see woman differently. They shouldn't be viewed as objects but as equals to men. Any form of plastic surgery is forbidden and if a man tries to push his wife to have any done, to wear makeup or even dress a certain way a wife can sign her husband up for treatment. The Movement is vert strict and the men are watched constantly. They must go through many stages of the training process to reprogram their brains to see women differently. Posters will be hung in their rooms for night time "self-stimulation but they are of real women. Older women with real bodies, wrinkles, loose skin, scars, hair, and the men must learn to relieve themselves to this type of woman or their stay will be extended. They go through workshops and all sorts of training to make sure they are ready to go back home to their wife and children.
In The Movement women rule the world and the men must do what's asked of them or risk staying long term.
"Little girls should be focused on looking out at the world,not how somebody else looks at them, or on outward appearances, the way their mothers often were, worrying if they looked sexy enough."
The Movement was established to retrain men to see woman differently. They shouldn't be viewed as objects but as equals to men. Any form of plastic surgery is forbidden and if a man tries to push his wife to have any done, to wear makeup or even dress a certain way a wife can sign her husband up for treatment. The Movement is vert strict and the men are watched constantly. They must go through many stages of the training process to reprogram their brains to see women differently. Posters will be hung in their rooms for night time "self-stimulation but they are of real women. Older women with real bodies, wrinkles, loose skin, scars, hair, and the men must learn to relieve themselves to this type of woman or their stay will be extended. They go through workshops and all sorts of training to make sure they are ready to go back home to their wife and children.
In The Movement women rule the world and the men must do what's asked of them or risk staying long term.
August 30, 2021
XD @ ludzie którzy oceniają wysoko, bo och ach wspaniale, liczy się wnętrze i tych co oceniają nisko, bo gdzie tu niby poprawa
Krótka historia ruchu to prowokacyjna satyra, opisująca rządy autorytarnego matriarchatu. Tytułowy Ruch prowadzi ośrodki resocjalizacyjne dla krnąbrnych jednostek. Główną bohaterką, a zarazem narratorką, jest pracoholiczna pracownica jednego z takich zakładów. Przesiąknięta ideologią władzy zachwyca się postępami swoich podopiecznych, którzy kolejno ulegają praniu mózgu.
Książkę czytało mi się trudno. Nie przez słabe pisarstwo, a przez szczegółowe opisy rozmaitej przemocy (także seksualnej), której poddawani byli podopieczni i podopieczne Ośrodków. Z drugiej strony reakcje narratorki lub opisywany świat bywały nieraz tak groteskowe, że mimowolnie parskałam pod nosem. Ot mozaika.
Suma sumarum wychodzi interesujący średniaczek. Za ciężki, żeby się przy nim zrelaksować i zbyt miałki by na dłużej zatrzymać.
Krótka historia ruchu to prowokacyjna satyra, opisująca rządy autorytarnego matriarchatu. Tytułowy Ruch prowadzi ośrodki resocjalizacyjne dla krnąbrnych jednostek. Główną bohaterką, a zarazem narratorką, jest pracoholiczna pracownica jednego z takich zakładów. Przesiąknięta ideologią władzy zachwyca się postępami swoich podopiecznych, którzy kolejno ulegają praniu mózgu.
Książkę czytało mi się trudno. Nie przez słabe pisarstwo, a przez szczegółowe opisy rozmaitej przemocy (także seksualnej), której poddawani byli podopieczni i podopieczne Ośrodków. Z drugiej strony reakcje narratorki lub opisywany świat bywały nieraz tak groteskowe, że mimowolnie parskałam pod nosem. Ot mozaika.
Suma sumarum wychodzi interesujący średniaczek. Za ciężki, żeby się przy nim zrelaksować i zbyt miałki by na dłużej zatrzymać.
August 17, 2021
So this is a glimpse of what happens in a fictional world where the feminist movement wins. Men are placed in reeducation facilities where they are trained/conditioned to value a woman for her inner qualities and not for their physical appearance. I found it disturbing honestly. Men are punished for having a physical reaction to a young beautiful woman and rewarded for being able to pleasure themselves to pictures of graying elderly women or simply older unattractive women. I agree that the portrayal of young beautiful women used to sell everything is wrong and should be changed I think this story takes it to the extreme. I felt sorry for the men in many of their situations. Disturbing yet somewhat timely.
May 8, 2019
Nepodařilo se mi pořádně zorientovat. Je to ironie proti feminismu? Nebo ironie namířená proti chlapům? A nebo je to jakože jenom sranda? Nebo celkem nijaká nadsázka? A nebavilo mě to proto, že se na to čučím pohledem klučičím? A bavilo by mě to jako holku? Naštěstí to byla knížka tenká. Ten jeden bod navíc ale dostala autorka za krásný popis teplákovky, kterou v jejím románu holky nosí, aby nebyly sexy.
November 4, 2021
Harsh and trustworthy book with some very valid points. Makes the Handmaid's Tale look tame by comparison.
August 22, 2021
This thought-provoking near-future dystopia depicts a world in which men are re-programmed to value women for their inner qualities and not their physical attributes and appearance. Men are forbidden from being attracted to women on the basis of their bodies and women are forbidden to use make-up or undergo cosmetic surgery to make themselves more attractive for men. In this brave new world women too need to be re-educated. The Movement of the title is the feminist revolution that has taken over control of the ideology and has set-up Institutes to which men are compelled to go if they are unable or unwilling to accept the new ways. The story is narrated by an instructor and guard at one of these re-education facilities and she describes, in often graphic detail, how this re-programming is to be achieved. The narrator is a true believer and feels sure the Movement is on its way to complete victory, when all outdated and damaging attitudes will be overcome. The central premise of the book is laudable and it all starts promisingly enough, but descriptions of the treatment become increasingly repetitive and unconvincing, and the men involved are no more than ciphers. The narrator herself, although obviously unreliable, is portrayed without nuance and comes across as very unsympathetic and one-dimensional, although on the odd occasion we get glimpses of what has brought her to her current convictions. My main problem with the book is that I couldn’t see how such radical transformation would actually make for a better world. The men’s indoctrination is at the very least distasteful and although the ideas behind the book are both timely and relevant, and we can only applaud the author exploring the shallowness of society’s attitudes towards women, overall the book has so little humanity in it that it loses any possible impact.
May 22, 2021
3,5. Wraz z główną bohaterką przenosimy się w inny świat, nam nieznany. W świecie tym na drugi plan schodzi postrzeganie i ocenianie kobiet poprzez ich wygląd i wiek. Kobiety nie musza martwić się już o to, czy są atrakcyjne dla płci przeciwnej, nie muszą się przejmować mankamentami ciała, ubiorem, fryzurą, tym w jakim stanie jest ich ciało, dietami, głodówkami, ćwiczeniami. Nie robią operacji plastycznych, nie wklepują tony kosmetyków w każdy centymetr ciała. Są od tego uwolnione, od całej presji związanej z wyglądem. Nie ma kanonu piękna, do nikogo się nie porównują, ważniejsze jest wnętrze niż wygląd zewnętrzny. Tylko czy mężczyźnie się na to godzą? Otóż niekoniecznie, ale są do tego przystosowywani w specjalnych Instytucjach naprawczych, w sposób według mnie bardzo kontrowersyjny. Ale czy w tej książce najważniejsze jest to, że mężczyźni na siłę przechodzą rehabilitacje, aby mogli żyć i funkcjonować w nowych realiach? Wydaje mi się, że kluczowym aspektem było zwrócenie uwagi na to, ze każdy zasługuje na akceptacje, bez względu na to jak wygląda. Każdy też ma prawo do miłości, nie ma wyznaczonego wieku, do którego można kochać i być kochanym, psychicznie i fizycznie. W dobie Internetu kobiety są przytłoczone wyidealizowanym wyglądem i życiem innych. Dążymy czasem w pocie czoła do wzorca, który tak naprawdę nie istnieje. Samoakceptacja i pewność siebie kuleje. Autorka skłania do refleksji, prowokuje, rozbawia, nie boi się poruszać kontrowersyjnych tematów i nazywać rzeczy po imieniu. Wszystkie jesteśmy piękne i wyjątkowe, tego się trzymajmy, nikt nam nie wmówi, że jest inaczej.
November 10, 2023
In this dystopian fiction under female rule, men are sent to institutions to be trained to be indifferent to female physical appearance and focus on inner qualities.
From reading the blurb I had Handmaids Tale vibes and was really looking forward to this book. However I felt that whilst the concept was original, and intriguing the execution was poor and lacked style and warmth in the writing.
Written in first person from the perspective of a female guard, the tone was unapologetically cold and brutal. I understand that it was necessary to depict the character in this way, but I’m not being able to endear myself to the principal character it made for a more difficult read.
This coupled with the brutality, and overly detailed methods of training (I’m not particularly prudish but it was a little too much for me!) made me squirm without anything to look particularly forward to in the book.
I think if the author had added a little more satire, or a little more humanity into the book it would have packed a bigger punch.
Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Overall, it’s disappointing, but I can’t give this more than a 2🐾 and that’s for the concept not for the execution.
From reading the blurb I had Handmaids Tale vibes and was really looking forward to this book. However I felt that whilst the concept was original, and intriguing the execution was poor and lacked style and warmth in the writing.
Written in first person from the perspective of a female guard, the tone was unapologetically cold and brutal. I understand that it was necessary to depict the character in this way, but I’m not being able to endear myself to the principal character it made for a more difficult read.
This coupled with the brutality, and overly detailed methods of training (I’m not particularly prudish but it was a little too much for me!) made me squirm without anything to look particularly forward to in the book.
I think if the author had added a little more satire, or a little more humanity into the book it would have packed a bigger punch.
Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
Overall, it’s disappointing, but I can’t give this more than a 2🐾 and that’s for the concept not for the execution.
July 12, 2022
Zapowiedź znacznie atrakcyjniejsza od samej książki. Hůlová bawi się koncepcją utopii i dystopii, tworząc z nich, ciężką do ponownego rozdzielenia, nijaką jedność. Utopia jednej grupy staje się dystopijna względem niej samej i jest to w pewnym sensie paradoks, z którego czerpie cała narracja. Nie wiem czy to forma gorzko-słodkiej satyry, czy próba ukazania "utopijnej niemożliwości", aż do granic totalnego absurdu. Być może są to te dwie opcje naraz. Tak czy inaczej, lektura jest dość męcząca - akcja z początku wydaje się być dynamiczna, jednak ostatecznie dominują w niej żmudne opisy historii i działań podejmowanych przez tytułową instytucję, które, nie mogąc odmówić autorce błyskotliwości, aż do ostatniej części, zdają się nas dokądś prowadzić. Historia nie prowadzi nas jednak nigdzie i sprawia wrażenie niedokończonej, urwanej w połowie, jeśli w ogóle gdzieś jest jej początek...
dnf
October 6, 2022ties 82 psl. tiesiog pavargau.
January 14, 2026
Cosa gli incel pensano sia il femminismo
October 12, 2021
I do love a dystopian novel, particularly when it comes to exploring gender issues. Not in this case though. The book is set too far into an alternate future to have any grounding in reality, and have that "scary" or "what if this could really happen" feeling. The main premise that the author presents is valid; women should be admired for their internal qualities like intelligence rather than based on looks alone. However how this is developed turns rather into unpleasant reading. There are factions who opposed "The Movement" but we only hear the results and not the reasons why - I would have liked more backstory. The book is too focussed on the Re-Education of men and not the bigger picture.
October 11, 2021
Since my high school days, I have enjoyed reading dystopian novels immensely, especially the ones that raise voice against the status quo, the political environment or the mindset of the society. One of my favorites from this genre is The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood's most popular work. So when I read the synopsis of The Movement, I was naturally intrigued to find out more. And truly what an experience it has been going through the questions the author raises in every page against the way women are objectified and looked upon in our world, something that we have normalised to a major extent.
The Movement is a result of a fictitious revolution that came about to topple the current government and establish a new way of living where human beings are not looked upon as objects anymore or aren't treated differently based on their outer appearance. A world where men are sent to the Institute where they go through reeducation to learn the new way of life so they can accept women despite their change in appearance and women make their way to Communities that will help them adjust their pre-movement self- objectifying traits into a more self-accepting behaviour.
By the end of the book, I kept questioning myself if the current world we live in is any better than the corrective world the author makes us believe in. The way human beings are being churned out as self-deprecating replicas of each other, going through multiple filters on social media to make their lives seem less hollow than the other's. Could this be any better than the dystopia created in the book where men and women are fixed if they don't adhere to the ideal way of the world where looks shouldn't matter and gender equality is inclining more towards gender supremacy? The most thought-provoking question it left me with: if the world we are living in isn't quite similar to the dystopian worlds I read about in books?
The Movement is a result of a fictitious revolution that came about to topple the current government and establish a new way of living where human beings are not looked upon as objects anymore or aren't treated differently based on their outer appearance. A world where men are sent to the Institute where they go through reeducation to learn the new way of life so they can accept women despite their change in appearance and women make their way to Communities that will help them adjust their pre-movement self- objectifying traits into a more self-accepting behaviour.
By the end of the book, I kept questioning myself if the current world we live in is any better than the corrective world the author makes us believe in. The way human beings are being churned out as self-deprecating replicas of each other, going through multiple filters on social media to make their lives seem less hollow than the other's. Could this be any better than the dystopia created in the book where men and women are fixed if they don't adhere to the ideal way of the world where looks shouldn't matter and gender equality is inclining more towards gender supremacy? The most thought-provoking question it left me with: if the world we are living in isn't quite similar to the dystopian worlds I read about in books?
April 28, 2021
*ARC provided via #netgalley in exchange for an hornet review
In a future utopia, women have taken over a majority of countries and government. This new ideology wants women to be admired for their inner qualities instead of their appearance. Men who reject this new system & who cling to the “old world” ways are sent for rehabilitation at institutes worldwide, as are women who oppose. An unnamed narrator takes us through the days before the Movement, and what her time as a guard at an institute entails.
I was initially quite intrigued by the premise of this book, but the more that I read, the more disappointed and tedious this book became. That might have to do with the main setting of the book, which takes place in one of the institutes where the narrator works. We’re told a little bit about what the rest of the world is like now that the Movement is in charge, but we are never given the chance to see this for ourselves. The one time the narrator leaves, it’s to travel to another institute. I also would have loved to learn more about Rita, the icon of the Movement. All of her history and rise to power is portrayed second hand.
The narrator describes her duties as an instructor, and some of her tasks are graphic depictions of sexual acts and body parts, which may bother sensitive readers.
I’m trying to understand what the author was going for, a straight dystopian tale or a satire. The narrator also tends to go off into an often unrelated philosophical discussion while talking about a topic or example (in the same sentence mind you),and I not only found it confusing, but it also made the book hard to read. I ended up having to re read sentences and whole paragraphs over and over again to try and gauge an ounce of meaning.
In a future utopia, women have taken over a majority of countries and government. This new ideology wants women to be admired for their inner qualities instead of their appearance. Men who reject this new system & who cling to the “old world” ways are sent for rehabilitation at institutes worldwide, as are women who oppose. An unnamed narrator takes us through the days before the Movement, and what her time as a guard at an institute entails.
I was initially quite intrigued by the premise of this book, but the more that I read, the more disappointed and tedious this book became. That might have to do with the main setting of the book, which takes place in one of the institutes where the narrator works. We’re told a little bit about what the rest of the world is like now that the Movement is in charge, but we are never given the chance to see this for ourselves. The one time the narrator leaves, it’s to travel to another institute. I also would have loved to learn more about Rita, the icon of the Movement. All of her history and rise to power is portrayed second hand.
The narrator describes her duties as an instructor, and some of her tasks are graphic depictions of sexual acts and body parts, which may bother sensitive readers.
I’m trying to understand what the author was going for, a straight dystopian tale or a satire. The narrator also tends to go off into an often unrelated philosophical discussion while talking about a topic or example (in the same sentence mind you),and I not only found it confusing, but it also made the book hard to read. I ended up having to re read sentences and whole paragraphs over and over again to try and gauge an ounce of meaning.
October 7, 2021
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I love satire. (The Atmospherians, released earlier this year, was so smart.) I really thought The Movement would be similar but more intellectually in-depth satirical novel with its "feminist theory put into action" angle, but I found a lot of the story repetitive and wildly philosophical as well as slow-paced. The entire storyline is about a female-dominant society forcing men (and some women) to not find physical aspects of a woman's body desirable, instead turning their entire focus to a woman's character and personality. An interesting concept and tongue-in-cheek critique of heteronormative sexuality, this short book (just over 200 pages) would have worked better as a short story.
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I love satire. (The Atmospherians, released earlier this year, was so smart.) I really thought The Movement would be similar but more intellectually in-depth satirical novel with its "feminist theory put into action" angle, but I found a lot of the story repetitive and wildly philosophical as well as slow-paced. The entire storyline is about a female-dominant society forcing men (and some women) to not find physical aspects of a woman's body desirable, instead turning their entire focus to a woman's character and personality. An interesting concept and tongue-in-cheek critique of heteronormative sexuality, this short book (just over 200 pages) would have worked better as a short story.
Come chat with me about books here, too:
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
June 2, 2021
Nie wiem czego się spodziewałem po tej lekturze, ale na pewno nie dostałem nic z umieszczonej na okładce listy "Gorzka dystopia? Dowcipna prowokacja? Literatura zaangażowana?". W świecie przedstawionym uprzedmiotowieniu ulegają obie płcie, przy czym kobiety mają romans z opiekunkami a mężczyźni są przez nie gwałceni (jak inaczej nazwać nocną masturbację odurzonego podopiecznego). Wszystko to jest podlane bezrefleksyjnym sosem, pozostawiając danie, które ciężko przełknąć bo jest zwyczajnie niesmaczne.
November 2, 2019
Ne, prostě ne...
Dystopie mám ráda, a nevadí mi nadsázka vytahující do extrému, kam by mohly vést některé lidské povahové rysy. Tady jsem tomu ale prostě nevěřila.
Mj. bych ráda věděla, co dělal redaktor či korektor... estragon místo estrogenu, opakovaně hYpoterapie (to bude asi terapie za použití hrochů?)...
Dystopie mám ráda, a nevadí mi nadsázka vytahující do extrému, kam by mohly vést některé lidské povahové rysy. Tady jsem tomu ale prostě nevěřila.
Mj. bych ráda věděla, co dělal redaktor či korektor... estragon místo estrogenu, opakovaně hYpoterapie (to bude asi terapie za použití hrochů?)...
June 5, 2021
Zmarnowany potencjał
June 8, 2021
This felt like a mildly amusing joke that went on far too long.
That's basically the best way I can think to describe it.
Definitely unique and interesting,and more than a little odd.
That's basically the best way I can think to describe it.
Definitely unique and interesting,and more than a little odd.
October 19, 2025
This book. Was so boring.
I got it from a book festival and when I picked it up the woman at the table said she was just about to recommend it to me. So, I blame her.
Pros:
I read it in 3 days.
In one scene the author nails the flaw most mothers have where they say some weird ass upsetting shit that only hurts you personally as you are leaving a visit with them. So specific. So accurate.
Cons:
Everything else.
Paragraph after paragraph dragged, filled with so much unnecessary detail that the book could have been half it's size.
We don't even find out the narrator's name until page 200-something. She was bland, sounded absolutely brainwashed and clearly an extremist.
Now that could have been interesting, but the narrator was so up her own ass with no change in thought/behavior by the end of the book it just made all of it so boring to read.
And I was not prepared for the fixation on detailing sexual behavior. Every single time it felt nonconsenual. It read like the author kind of wanted to write revenge porn but at the same time hated herself for even existing on the same planet as porn. Now I recognize that's a pretty mean statement but I also think it was pretty mean of the author to put this book out into the world, making women look insane for wanting equality.
And how the hell is teaching men to be attracted to old women the same as teaching them to love a woman for her personality?? Literally the point of the Institution just falls flat so quickly that I kept waiting on the MC to have this realization. Which of course she does not.
This brings me to the main issue. What was the point?
Was it about "misandry" being as bad as misogyny (which is utter bullshit). Was it about extremist on either side being dangerous? Was it about people being easily brainwashed into being assholes? Was it about puritanical societies actually being super weird about sex to the point that everyone's just uncomfortable??
Do any of my questions even make sense?? B/c after reading this I feel so lost! This book was literally nothing. I can't believe it was written by a woman. This was the most anti-feminist nonsense I've ever read in book form, while also just being the weirdest idea with no real plot b/c nothing is different by the end of the book.
Also, what is with the last page?? What a weird way to end a book!
So disappointing. Such a waste of time.
I got it from a book festival and when I picked it up the woman at the table said she was just about to recommend it to me. So, I blame her.
Pros:
I read it in 3 days.
In one scene the author nails the flaw most mothers have where they say some weird ass upsetting shit that only hurts you personally as you are leaving a visit with them. So specific. So accurate.
Cons:
Everything else.
Paragraph after paragraph dragged, filled with so much unnecessary detail that the book could have been half it's size.
We don't even find out the narrator's name until page 200-something. She was bland, sounded absolutely brainwashed and clearly an extremist.
Now that could have been interesting, but the narrator was so up her own ass with no change in thought/behavior by the end of the book it just made all of it so boring to read.
And I was not prepared for the fixation on detailing sexual behavior. Every single time it felt nonconsenual. It read like the author kind of wanted to write revenge porn but at the same time hated herself for even existing on the same planet as porn. Now I recognize that's a pretty mean statement but I also think it was pretty mean of the author to put this book out into the world, making women look insane for wanting equality.
And how the hell is teaching men to be attracted to old women the same as teaching them to love a woman for her personality?? Literally the point of the Institution just falls flat so quickly that I kept waiting on the MC to have this realization. Which of course she does not.
This brings me to the main issue. What was the point?
Was it about "misandry" being as bad as misogyny (which is utter bullshit). Was it about extremist on either side being dangerous? Was it about people being easily brainwashed into being assholes? Was it about puritanical societies actually being super weird about sex to the point that everyone's just uncomfortable??
Do any of my questions even make sense?? B/c after reading this I feel so lost! This book was literally nothing. I can't believe it was written by a woman. This was the most anti-feminist nonsense I've ever read in book form, while also just being the weirdest idea with no real plot b/c nothing is different by the end of the book.
Also, what is with the last page?? What a weird way to end a book!
So disappointing. Such a waste of time.
April 17, 2023
wow I didn't think I could hate a book this much. this book reeks of xenophobia, islamophobia, ableism and consistently excludes trans women or women of colour from the plot, while mentioning them in passing just to check some boxes.
this book is set in a very near future where an institution called The Movement has risen to power (and acts undemocratically, while pretending to act very democratically) and it's reeducating men - and some women - by trying to turn off the constant objectification of women by men. this sounds great, doesn't it? well, for sure it does, until realising that this process involves the complete erasure of sexuality or sexual attraction and it is realised by repeatedly sexually abusing men until thay can't have an erection - yep, that's the final goal, making sure men can't have erections. how did we not think of that, duh?? oh, wait, we kinda did - you can just read The Scum Manifesto instead of this book, much more fun.
and honestly, I can get behind a dystopia, no matter how grotesque it is, as long as it makes some sense. however, my biggest issue with this book is that in the best case scenario, it has no meaning and in the worst case scenario, it's a terrible anti-feminist critique. what is it trying to say? is the dystopian world in this book a blueprint for what should be done? if yes, I am quite worried. is it a conservative critique of feminism disguised as progressive? if yes, I'm not worried at all because it's made such a poor strawman even Ben Shapiro would think it's merely a joke (and his arguments are generally very lacking to say the least). if neither of these, what is it then? is it just a "what if?" that is 1. impossible 2. not interesting enough to get over the fact that it couldn't really happen
I am amazed that I was able to finish it when I thought to drop it at every single paragraph 🙃🙃🙃
this book is set in a very near future where an institution called The Movement has risen to power (and acts undemocratically, while pretending to act very democratically) and it's reeducating men - and some women - by trying to turn off the constant objectification of women by men. this sounds great, doesn't it? well, for sure it does, until realising that this process involves the complete erasure of sexuality or sexual attraction and it is realised by repeatedly sexually abusing men until thay can't have an erection - yep, that's the final goal, making sure men can't have erections. how did we not think of that, duh?? oh, wait, we kinda did - you can just read The Scum Manifesto instead of this book, much more fun.
and honestly, I can get behind a dystopia, no matter how grotesque it is, as long as it makes some sense. however, my biggest issue with this book is that in the best case scenario, it has no meaning and in the worst case scenario, it's a terrible anti-feminist critique. what is it trying to say? is the dystopian world in this book a blueprint for what should be done? if yes, I am quite worried. is it a conservative critique of feminism disguised as progressive? if yes, I'm not worried at all because it's made such a poor strawman even Ben Shapiro would think it's merely a joke (and his arguments are generally very lacking to say the least). if neither of these, what is it then? is it just a "what if?" that is 1. impossible 2. not interesting enough to get over the fact that it couldn't really happen
I am amazed that I was able to finish it when I thought to drop it at every single paragraph 🙃🙃🙃
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
February 12, 2023Did I like this book? It is pleasant to read as in, it is descriptive, moves at a good pace, has a well-defined protagonist with objectives. It is well-written, but I felt that I was reading the journal of a totalitarian sycophant. She justifies her Movement and dismisses those who object to the Movement’s goals and methods, even if she couches her dismissals in the most understanding way, she is unswerving in her execution of her duties. In that way, the book is boring. There is a lot of text taken in describing the procedures, her duties, the advances of the Movement and the remaining threats to it. It was easy for me to imagine a devoted Communist in Czechoslovakia explaining their own worldview in similar ways.
As a feminist novel, I think it has a very narrow scope, focussing on the objectification of women’s bodies as the sole societal problem (and offering questionable re-education of men and some women). In this way, I don’t think Hůlová intended an “air-tight” picture of a feminist (or anti-feminist) dystopia. It seems more a thought experiment. Hůlová still makes her point about the dehumanizing experience of women in a Male-gaze world. I don’t think she seeks to imagine an actual practice for contemporary society to undertake that will alter that reality. In fact, I think she subtly infers that any actual re-education must occur on a more personal, individual level.
The point may simply be that women just want to looked at, and valued as human. The Movement, Vera’s work in the refurbished meat-packing plant, the 7-step re-education program (which doesn’t really break with “Old-World practices), the founder idolatry, and the additional autocratic aspects, may only highlight the severity with which Hůlová and others feel the discomfort of the male-gaze.
As a feminist novel, I think it has a very narrow scope, focussing on the objectification of women’s bodies as the sole societal problem (and offering questionable re-education of men and some women). In this way, I don’t think Hůlová intended an “air-tight” picture of a feminist (or anti-feminist) dystopia. It seems more a thought experiment. Hůlová still makes her point about the dehumanizing experience of women in a Male-gaze world. I don’t think she seeks to imagine an actual practice for contemporary society to undertake that will alter that reality. In fact, I think she subtly infers that any actual re-education must occur on a more personal, individual level.
The point may simply be that women just want to looked at, and valued as human. The Movement, Vera’s work in the refurbished meat-packing plant, the 7-step re-education program (which doesn’t really break with “Old-World practices), the founder idolatry, and the additional autocratic aspects, may only highlight the severity with which Hůlová and others feel the discomfort of the male-gaze.
May 26, 2022
I think the novelist is trying to satirise male stereotypes of feminism. So, in this feminist dystopia, stern guards (all female) use electroshock helmets, induced comas and other brutal methods to force men to get control over their erections, while women who still insist on valuing their good looks are sent to reeducation camps.
That probably seems like an enticing novel, right? Well, no. There are two problems. One, the speaker is utterly uninteresting. It would make sense for a character like this, the equivalent of a gulag guard, to be brutal and uncharismatic, but our narrator is just downright boring. Second, the treatment gets incredibly repetitive. I never thought I'd find a descriptive passage of a limp penis being stroked by a concentration camp guard (with the threat of torture if he gets an erection) dull, but my goodness it was repetitive. If the author had opened up the treatment passages to include wider reeducation techniques and focuses, this could have been a thorough investigation into the microfascisms inherent in all political movements. As it was, I just was not convinced the author had really thought it through.
That probably seems like an enticing novel, right? Well, no. There are two problems. One, the speaker is utterly uninteresting. It would make sense for a character like this, the equivalent of a gulag guard, to be brutal and uncharismatic, but our narrator is just downright boring. Second, the treatment gets incredibly repetitive. I never thought I'd find a descriptive passage of a limp penis being stroked by a concentration camp guard (with the threat of torture if he gets an erection) dull, but my goodness it was repetitive. If the author had opened up the treatment passages to include wider reeducation techniques and focuses, this could have been a thorough investigation into the microfascisms inherent in all political movements. As it was, I just was not convinced the author had really thought it through.
November 1, 2023
Este libro tiene como premisa, al menos desde la sinopsis, de ser el reverso de "El cuento de la criada" de Margaret Atwood.
Al principio de la novela se presentan los argumentos contra la cosificación de la mujer, su valoración simplemente por la apariencia juvenial que puedan tener en, este, nuestro Mundo Antiguo.
Se produce una revolución, el Movimiento, que establece un nuevo orden en el que los hombres son enviados al Instituto para ser reeducados en su forma de relacionarse con las mujeres, y donde las mujeres también son entrenadas para reafirmarse en su comportamiento al margen de su apariencia.
El libro, un poco más denso de lo que me esperaba, presenta la disyuntiva de preguntarse si la distopia creada es mejor que la realidad en la que vivimos?
Quizás este Mundo Nuevo no sea tan diferente a nuestro mundo. Quizás haya que buscar la forma de no habitar ninguno de los dos, sino un tipo tercero de Mundo.
Al principio de la novela se presentan los argumentos contra la cosificación de la mujer, su valoración simplemente por la apariencia juvenial que puedan tener en, este, nuestro Mundo Antiguo.
Se produce una revolución, el Movimiento, que establece un nuevo orden en el que los hombres son enviados al Instituto para ser reeducados en su forma de relacionarse con las mujeres, y donde las mujeres también son entrenadas para reafirmarse en su comportamiento al margen de su apariencia.
El libro, un poco más denso de lo que me esperaba, presenta la disyuntiva de preguntarse si la distopia creada es mejor que la realidad en la que vivimos?
Quizás este Mundo Nuevo no sea tan diferente a nuestro mundo. Quizás haya que buscar la forma de no habitar ninguno de los dos, sino un tipo tercero de Mundo.
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