The F-word discussion

This is the discussion thread for the November fiction, Red Clocks by Leni Zumas.

From Goodreads:

Five women. One question. What is a woman for?

In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom.

Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own, while also writing a biography of Eivør, a little-known 19th-century female polar explorer. Susan is a frustrated mother of two, trapped in a crumbling marriage. Mattie is the adopted daughter of doting parents and one of Ro's best students, who finds herself pregnant with nowhere to turn. And Gin is the gifted, forest-dwelling homeopath, or "mender," who brings all their fates together when she's arrested and put on trial in a frenzied modern-day witch hunt.

I just got a copy from the library and will start reading it today. Is anyone else joining the group read?

I do, Jo! I've only got a couple of books lined up in front. I'd really love to read your thoughts as you read the book, so please do share them here.

I started it this morning and I’m about 10% of the way through. Excited to discuss!

I read the novel in just two days, but it took me way longer to figure out what I think of it. here's what I came up with so far:

1. Novelwise, it's not my cup of tea. The author introduces five characters, but neither of them seems to develop much. To me, the novel felt rather flat and awkwardly stiff. To do the author justice, I devoured it nontheless. So why is that?

2. I liked that the author truly focusses on the issue of reproductive rights. She does not, as many novels on similar topics do, create the full-blown dystopia of an anti-feminist surveillance state. Women can still get a divorce and will not be legally punished for cheating on their husbands. Abortion is outlawed, adoption rights are changed, and that's enough to create a nightmare.
Like on a marble run, the characters roll along those rails.
On the bottom line, you don't need much complexity to explain that banning abortion is cruel. Maybe that answers my own question in 1.

3. Inspired by the novel, I updated my knowledge on German adoption law. I was convinced that only married couples (hetero- and homosexual) could adopt. That was a misconcenption. I'm still searching for stats on how often children are actually given into the care of potential single parents. As the authorities are known to expect one of the two partners in a marriage to quit working after an adoption, my gut feeling says it might be very difficult.

4. I'm angry. How on earth is it possible that in the 21st century, supposedly intelligent human beings actually do outlaw abortion? Ah! No need to start a tirade here in this group, but. But but but. It makes me very angry and very sad.