When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

When She Woke is a fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, who embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.

Bellwether Prize Winner Hillary Jordan's provocative new novel is the fiercely imagined story of a woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated but chromed -- their skin color is genetically altered to match the class of their crime -- and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction (2011)

344 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2011

My Thoughts

This is the story of the power of a nation's government to brainwash its people. It opens with a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorned's The Scarlet Letter and there are more than a few parallel's for the educated reader. Both women commit adultery (though Hannah’s subsequent abortion is what leads to her sentencing), and both are summarily punished in a public manner with society’s approval. Even if you have not read Hawthorne's classic though, there is plenty here to enjoy.

The story is more than a retelling of Hawthorne's novel, thought. Hannah, grows from a weak vulnerable girl to a strong, fearless woman. The theme of isolation is similar but I thin the book is more like 1984 by George Orwell. There is a sense of being under constand surveillance, of people unquestioningly believing what their government tells the,. and of their being very few who are strong enough to fight against the opression.

I did find this novel to be a little disturbing because the world Jordan creates is far too possible today, especially in the two years since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. I initially thought this was a newer novel and was surprised to find that it was published in 2011. Even so, it reads like a documentry with a warning about the world's future direction. Like Orwell and Hawthorned, Jordan cautions readers to be wary of the world and to fight against oppressive and unjust laws thrust on us by people in positions of power as well as well as the removal of protections and rights we have taken for granted. I gave this book a strong 4.5 stars.