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The Monsoon War
The acclaimed author of Before She Sleeps returns to a feminist dystopia in this novel of women rising up to break the bonds of polygamy and repression.
In a country bent on controlling women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom, a resistance has formed. An armed group of women known as the Hamiyat have made a name for themselves protecting those too weak to fight back. And now they are going on the offensive . . .
Three women among its ranks must make the hardest choices of their lives. Alia Musa, wife of three husbands, joins the Hamiyat to stand up for the daughters she loves. Young soldier Katy Azadeh is kidnapped and finds her beliefs sorely tested by the country of Eastern Semitia and its seductive promises, while commander Fatima Kara must weigh the balance of her soldiers’ lives against a once-in-a-lifetime gambit for freedom.
Called “a haunting, dystopian thriller . . . [that] fans of The Handmaid’s Tale won’t want to miss,” Before She Sleeps was just the beginning, awakening readers to an all-too-believable future ( Publishers Weekly , starred review). Now The Monsoon War will take you to the front lines of a desperate battle against a government standing on the necks of the women they thought were broken.
“A cinematic mashup of spy tale, geopolitical [science-fiction], and war epic.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Betrayals, reversals, action and nail-biting suspense make for an addictive story . . . and the characters and their incandescent fellowship will keep you obsessed.” — The Washington Post
Praise for Before She Sleeps
“Female-centered #Dystopia from # Before She Sleeps , Bina Shah. Fascinating new angle on ‘emotional work’!” —Margaret Atwood on Twitter
“The most subtly disturbing of dystopias, richly textured and appallingly intimate, Before She Sleeps has hints of Huxley and Atwood but is uniquely Bina Shah.” —Nick Harkaway, author of Gnomon
In a country bent on controlling women’s bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom, a resistance has formed. An armed group of women known as the Hamiyat have made a name for themselves protecting those too weak to fight back. And now they are going on the offensive . . .
Three women among its ranks must make the hardest choices of their lives. Alia Musa, wife of three husbands, joins the Hamiyat to stand up for the daughters she loves. Young soldier Katy Azadeh is kidnapped and finds her beliefs sorely tested by the country of Eastern Semitia and its seductive promises, while commander Fatima Kara must weigh the balance of her soldiers’ lives against a once-in-a-lifetime gambit for freedom.
Called “a haunting, dystopian thriller . . . [that] fans of The Handmaid’s Tale won’t want to miss,” Before She Sleeps was just the beginning, awakening readers to an all-too-believable future ( Publishers Weekly , starred review). Now The Monsoon War will take you to the front lines of a desperate battle against a government standing on the necks of the women they thought were broken.
“A cinematic mashup of spy tale, geopolitical [science-fiction], and war epic.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Betrayals, reversals, action and nail-biting suspense make for an addictive story . . . and the characters and their incandescent fellowship will keep you obsessed.” — The Washington Post
Praise for Before She Sleeps
“Female-centered #Dystopia from # Before She Sleeps , Bina Shah. Fascinating new angle on ‘emotional work’!” —Margaret Atwood on Twitter
“The most subtly disturbing of dystopias, richly textured and appallingly intimate, Before She Sleeps has hints of Huxley and Atwood but is uniquely Bina Shah.” —Nick Harkaway, author of Gnomon
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 18, 2023
I don’t want to include spoilers so forgive any intentionally vague descriptions.
Overall, the book plays out like a movie, at times to its detriment when characters are written to use very cliché movements and words, however it would indeed make a good movie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.
The transitions between characters and locations are smooth, as is the backstory interwoven through present day events, I enjoyed how the story unfolded.
The story is of a resistance group of women in a fictional Middle Eastern or South Asian country who plot to overthrow the male run government that forces women into marriages with two or more men so they can increase the population. It takes place in a future society that has survived nuclear war and a deadly virus. The resistance group lives in the mountains away from most of civilization, and at some point in the recent past figured out an ingenious way to protect their daughters. Another country ties into the story about midway that is highly advanced, think if Wakanda was in Iran. Here women are better, but not fully, integrated into society and aware of what’s happening to their sisters in the neighboring country.
Eventually, the resistance group attacks the nearest city to their mountain homes and what begins as a typical battle turns into a mishmash of old and new cultures and technology and ends in a way that left me shaking my head.
The author wants to challenge the reader to not just accept the women as untouchable heroines so from time to time we are reminded that some of them are not too different from the violent terrorists we see with increasing frequency around the world. The ending leaves one wondering if the righteous movement to dissolve a brutal patriarchy will eventually become a brutal matriarchy, or maybe this time, they will get things right.
Overall, the book plays out like a movie, at times to its detriment when characters are written to use very cliché movements and words, however it would indeed make a good movie and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.
The transitions between characters and locations are smooth, as is the backstory interwoven through present day events, I enjoyed how the story unfolded.
The story is of a resistance group of women in a fictional Middle Eastern or South Asian country who plot to overthrow the male run government that forces women into marriages with two or more men so they can increase the population. It takes place in a future society that has survived nuclear war and a deadly virus. The resistance group lives in the mountains away from most of civilization, and at some point in the recent past figured out an ingenious way to protect their daughters. Another country ties into the story about midway that is highly advanced, think if Wakanda was in Iran. Here women are better, but not fully, integrated into society and aware of what’s happening to their sisters in the neighboring country.
Eventually, the resistance group attacks the nearest city to their mountain homes and what begins as a typical battle turns into a mishmash of old and new cultures and technology and ends in a way that left me shaking my head.
The author wants to challenge the reader to not just accept the women as untouchable heroines so from time to time we are reminded that some of them are not too different from the violent terrorists we see with increasing frequency around the world. The ending leaves one wondering if the righteous movement to dissolve a brutal patriarchy will eventually become a brutal matriarchy, or maybe this time, they will get things right.
May 12, 2025
The plot is unique, and Shah’s sharp prose makes it even better. I like that the story follows women, and women who are fighters and housewives and everything in-between, actively doing something to make their situation better. I like that there are no extreme characters, men or women, each of them has their own flaws and their own strengths which make them very relatable.
Three Goodreads review mention that it seems like it is written as a movie, I did not feel that at all. Perhaps because I live in the fictional land where it is taking place. I loved the descriptions of the landscape; I could see the mountains and feel the fresh air on my face.
One thing which surprised me was the lack of any Hindu characters. It is supposed to be a landscape after Pakistan-India nuclear war. So, it stands to reason that the survivors who made the countries of Mazun and Semitia belonged to India and Pakistan? Although religion has been suspended, but names are hard to let go of and 90% names in the stories are Muslim; 5% Hindu and 5% Christian, which I thought was quite odd.
Shah has a gift for writing, and I will definitely pick up more of her books to read. I am always unbelievably happy when I read an author I really like from the sub-continent.
https://pakistaniteacher.wordpress.co...
Three Goodreads review mention that it seems like it is written as a movie, I did not feel that at all. Perhaps because I live in the fictional land where it is taking place. I loved the descriptions of the landscape; I could see the mountains and feel the fresh air on my face.
One thing which surprised me was the lack of any Hindu characters. It is supposed to be a landscape after Pakistan-India nuclear war. So, it stands to reason that the survivors who made the countries of Mazun and Semitia belonged to India and Pakistan? Although religion has been suspended, but names are hard to let go of and 90% names in the stories are Muslim; 5% Hindu and 5% Christian, which I thought was quite odd.
Shah has a gift for writing, and I will definitely pick up more of her books to read. I am always unbelievably happy when I read an author I really like from the sub-continent.
https://pakistaniteacher.wordpress.co...
October 4, 2024
This book is written like it wants to be a movie. The story is very good, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. I love the look at the different aspects of the lives of the variety of women involved in the uprising, it just felt incredibly slow at times and I struggled to stay connected to the story.
October 1, 2024
this book was an easy and very enjoyable read. the concepts and characters are nothing to really study and analyze over, but i really liked the story and the way the book was written. it really is written like a movie and if it were to ever be created as a movie i would 100% watch it!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews