What do You think about The Shore Of Women (2004)?
Pretty good, I gave it 3 stars. I totally agree with other Goodreads reviews in that the 1st main character, Laissa, is a much more interesting character with a greater potential story arc than the other main protaganist, Birana. The middle part of the book, which focuses on Birana and Arvil's POV's get a little tiresome after a while, not much going on, but I can see what the author was doing in setting up the extreme difference between male dominated societies and female societies. I enjoy the juxtispostion between technological and pretech very much.
—Kathleen
I really enjoyed this book's exploration of daring feminist themes like "Wouldn't it be awful if the world was controlled by domineering man-hating lesbian separatists who forced all the men to live in primitive squalor? I bet they'd ostracize any woman who even wondered if men should be treated like more than sperm factories." and "Know what's way more natural and fulfilling than same-sex relationships? Heterosexual monogamy! Your lesbian commune will think it's gross, but follow your heart!"Truly a ground-breaking and radical commentary on our patriarchal society.
—Melissa
This novel left me very contemplative for some time after reading the final words. In a bold undertaking as a storyteller, Ms. Sargent tells of a distant future where war-weary women have exiled men to live as savages outside the walls of women-only futuristic cities, taking reproductive material only as needed to keep the species alive. The story follows an exiled woman, Birana, who forms what is considered an impossible and disgusting bond with a man named Arvil - one of love.The story is slow in places, but those moments reflect the monotony of life in the wild. *Spoiler* When sexual relations develop between Birana and Arvil, the author does not hold back. Her descriptions are graphic, although not gratuitous. In the end, though, the story gave me what I crave in every novel that I read: an abiding concern for the characters, and a truth to ponder that is larger than my limited world. Kudos to Pamela Sargent for such a bold story with such a profound message.
—David Nix
