It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour The Sisterhood by Katherine Bradley.
About the Author
Katherine Bradley worked for many years managing services for people who are marginalised by society; her work has taken her into prisons, mental health hospitals and alongside the homeless. She currently works in education. She holds a first-class degree in English Literature, in addition to qualifications in creative writing and teaching.
As Kate Bradley, she published two suspense thrillers - To Keep You Safe (2020) and What I Did (2021). Her work has been described as 'addictive, original and brilliantly twisty' by T. M. Logan and 'heart-stopping' by David Nicholls. Katherine lives in a small coastal town just outside of Brighton with her husband and sons. Follow @kate__bradley on X
About the book
In Oceania, whoever you are, Big Brother is always watching you. Trust is a luxury that no one has. Julia is the seemingly perfect example of what women in Oceania should be: dutiful, useful, subservient, meek. But Julia hides a secret. A secret that would lead to her death if discovered. For Julia is part of the underground movement called The Sisterhood, whose main goal is to find members of The Brotherhood, the anti-Party vigilante group, and help them to overthrow Big Brother. Only then can everyone be truly free.
When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of The Brotherhood, it seems like their goal might finally be in their grasp. But as she gets closer to Winston Smith, Julia’s past starts to catch up with her and we soon realise that she has many more secrets than we’d first imagined – and that overthrowing Big Brother might cost her everything – but if you have nothing left to lose then you don’t mind playing the game . . .
This is a story about love, about family, about being a woman, a mother, a sister, a friend and ultimately about what you would sacrifice for the greater good.
I think to get a better and perhaps a more objective view of the book you have to try and forget what has gone before. Experience the story without the frame of reference of the reimagining of the classic, then afterwards compare and examine if you want.
Fresh eyes experience the oppression of a dystopian society with a bleak shimmer of hope coursing through the veins of the few who haven't given up quite yet. Sisterhood speaks volumes and suggests vast connections with the feminist reimagined character development of 1984.
It deserves the objective eye and to stand on its own merit even if the base idea is inspired by the well of another. This idea well has allowed growth beyond expectation, despite the societal construct of complete oppression, monitoring and control being an old concept. Although it is both worrying and an eye-opener how the degeneration happens in the first place - is it not upon us already as we speak?
I found it riveting. The author knows how to captivate the reader with the fraught tension, the risk and constant danger, and does so in the midst of a bleak concept. Bare minimum makes you focus on the small interactions, the barely evident body language and expressions, the repressed emotions and fear in the back of your neck.
Excellent read - hopefully there is more to come.
Buy The Sisterhood at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Simon and Schuster, pub date 18th January 2024 - Paperback | £9.99. Buy at Amazon com.
No comments:
Post a Comment