6 feminist dystopias in the tradition of The Handmaid’s Tale urgently need to be discovered

Article originally published on April 24, 2021.

You binged the series The Handmaid’s Taleand have Want to immerse yourself in other dystopias? Preferably with badass female characters and feminist issues? Here is a small selection of different novels and comics where the future has turned into a nightmare, where the world has gone downhill, and where women (among others) resist!

The time of fire will come by Wendy Delorme

Novel from the excellent collection witches Cambourakis Editions, The time of fire will come is a vibrant story of revolt and hope. Wendy Delorme describes a totalitarian world that in many ways resembles the one we are currently experiencing: polluted, under military rule, and where inequalities have increased, the richest live on the shoulders of the poorest.

But she proves it tooAnother world is possible. The author tells how women resist the established order; how, clandestinely, they challenge patriarchal laws, especially those that force women to procreate in order to contribute to society.

The spirit of Margaret Atwood undeniably hovers this dystopia full of power and poetry.

The red hours by Leni Zumas

Another choral novel, always with a reflection on women’s bodies, The red hours by Leni Zumas delivers the exploded story of a future that doesn’t seem very far awaywhere women’s rights are under threat – reactionary values ​​have taken over.

The story follows four fates of women: an overwhelmed mother, a pregnant teenager who wants to have an abortion when the law forbids it, a marginalized woman who looks like a witch, a teacher who would like to have a baby by herself. Because abortion has been banned, but also medically assisted procreation…

Sometimes creepy, sometimes funny, The red hours it is a tough novel of great finesse which no doubt will please those who have been won over by it The Scarlet Maiden.

In the forest by Jean Hegland

Two sisters and their father live in the middle of the forest. Overnight, the world collapses and they are isolated. What to do ? Wait for the power to come back to be able to resume “the life before”? Or admit that nothing will ever be the same again?

Undeniably, In the forest It’s one of those books that leave a lasting impression on you, which we still think about days after closing it. The author tells us about the collapse of the world, the end of our connected society, and the means to deal with it, to adapt, to rethink our daily lives and our way of life.

Note that the book adaptation, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Elliott Page, is available on Netflix!

Bitch planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro

Often, in dystopias, we’re not there for a good laugh. It’s also quite depressing. We don’t promise to laugh on every page with Bitch planet but we can at least guarantee you lots of action!

In this delightful comic, the “nonconforming” are sent to Bitch Planet: the immoral, the fat, the too much this or too much that, in short: all those who do not abide by the feminine ideal. Punk, violent and feminist, Bitch planet it’s a punch in the face to patriarchy.

Joan’s novel by Lidia Yuknavich

This rereading of Joan of Arc’s story is confusingfor his prejudice but also thanks to the sharp pen of Lidia Yuknavitch.

In the Joan’s novel, humans, having become sexless and livid, have abandoned the Earth and are now orbiting a spaceship. On board, Christine, an exceptional scarifier, honors the memory of Joan of Arc, a warrior who tried to save humanity. A post-apocalyptic novel, abundant, crazy and from which you don’t come out unscathed.

The power by Naomi Assessor

In this novel by Naomi Alderman, known for excellent Disobediencewomen turn out to be endowed with a strange power: able to send electric currents from their bodies, they can injure or even kill.

We appreciate the efficient and direct writing of the Power : gives an action series dimension to this multi-voiced novel (one more!), which one would imagine very well adapted to the screen.