Wednesday 22 July 2015

Only ever yours - Louise O'Neill

eves are designed, not made.

The School trains them to be pretty

The School trains them to be good.

The School trains them to Always be Willing.

All their lives, the eves have been waiting. Now, they are ready for the outside world.

companion . . . concubine . . . or chastity

Only the best will be chosen.

And only the Men decide.

My thoughts:
I have been thinking about this review for a while now. The book was intense, brutal, a future I hope will not come true.

I read it in one sitting. I am not sure I even blinked while reading. I just could not stop, the horror, the normality of it all.

All their futures suck. But if they are engineered right, maybe they will not feel those kind of feelings.

This is the future. Not a lot of people left in the world. Women bear sons. Girls are made, and then put to live in a "school" until they are chosen or not. 

You can be chosen as a companion, this is the best according to all, you have sons, you are killed at 40. You do everything your husband tells you, you are his slave. If you do not give him a son he will send you to the Pyre.

You can be chosen as a courtesan, which technically is a prostitute. You must do everything a man tells you, and you must look like you are loving it. You will never have children.

Or you can become a Chastity, take care of newer generations of girls. In silence, alone. It's not like this is a good choice either. They are all miserable choices, ones you do not make, they are made for you.

Or you can be sent underground and never seen again.

At school you are taught to do all the things a woman must do. And you must obey, be proper, never cry, always be calm. You must look good, be thin. Be perfect, and there is always improvement. You are never perfect. And you are always being told that.

In this world we follow freida. As a girl she is property and therefore she is freida, not Freida. Who can't sleep. Who is afraid of not looking her best for picture day. Who has gained a tiny bit of weight. Who must lose it or she wont be chosen. Who wants to be like the nr #1 girl. Who is a follower. Who breaks herself in trying to follow. Who gets broken by others trying to be perfect, thin and pretty.

The atmosphere is horrible at that place. Nr 1, nr 1! You have to be chosen by the right man. If he wants to beat you you will smile and thank him.

I could talk for ages on the misery of it all. And it was so good. A world were women are cattle. A fascinating world in it's horror. All choices will be bad, and what will happen to this class?

My version was the adult version, I have no idea what that means. But a YA version came first, and then they wanted to market it to adults too. Maybe they made it darker. All hope is lost to those who enter here.

Conclusion:
I totally recommend it. 

Cover
That doll is creepy, but it fits, they are dolls, being made

Paperback, 400 pages
Published July 2nd 2015 by Quercus (first published July 3rd 2014)
Dystopia, fiction
For review

46 comments:

  1. Seems like a fast paced read, judging by your review.

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  2. *shudders* This definitely sounds appalling! One of those horrifyingly fascinating kind of reads:)

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    Replies
    1. yes! I am all omg, horrible world! Can not put it down

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  3. This sounds super intense!

    The cover is weird but seems fitting.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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  4. Robots, androids...they're all creepy. And yeah, nightmares for days.

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  5. You sold it..this sounds so good and I like dark.

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  6. Creepy cover is creeping me out!

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  7. Oh, wow, this sounds bleak and horrible, but so captivating! I'm glad it was such an intense reading experience for you.

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    Replies
    1. I did not expect it to be so captivating

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  8. Interesting premise, and sounds like they did okay with it

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  9. Oh God!!! This place is torture!! Too dark!!
    Haniya
    booknauthors.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. There is light in the darkness, and then more darkness

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  10. Sounds horrible. I kept waiting for the you to say something about a happy ending, or breaking out of the system, but it doesn't sound like that happens.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, there is no breaking out, there is nothing else but this

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  11. Oh you have me thinking this is too creepy for me. You also have me curious. Hm... not sure what to do! LOL

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  12. Oh wow. And I think this might be one of your longest reviews too. ;) You really did love this one.

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  13. OMG how horrible! Are there lesbians in this book? Shit! I'd totally dip, swim, dive, grow fins and stay in the lady pond!

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    Replies
    1. Well you can always try to be a Lesbian, but you will be killed for it

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  14. Eeeeh that does not sound like a good place to be. That cover totally not doing it for me though good it fit I guess?

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  15. wow I didn't know about this one but now I totally want to read it! The story is really intriguing and it sounds like the atmosphere is really something to discover.

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  16. I read the YA version and liked it. I didn't love it though. If the eves were all similar, how come megan had a brain and frieda had none??? The big revelation about isabel, meh - I saw that coming a mile off. But, yeah, an interesting book overall. It snatched a lot of awards too :)

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    Replies
    1. I think freida was as smart as meghan. They were engineered to be their best, but they sure played around with genes. And then there is the environment. meghan could play others. freida got played

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  17. This reminds me of the Stepford Wives! Creepy.

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  18. This sounds horrifying and fascinating. I do love reading these sorts of stories, it makes me grateful to live in the era I do. :)

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    Replies
    1. I do love my era, at least I am not a prisoner to men

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  19. This one sounds interesting, but I don't it's for me.

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  20. OMFG this sounds like A Handmaid's Tale on crack!! *adds to wish list*

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  21. Creepy cover and creepy story.
    I shall consider this. LOL

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  22. Wow, sounds interesting and intense!

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