When She Woke [Hardcover]

Hillary Jordan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2011

Bellwether Prize winner Hillary Jordan’s provocative new novel, When She Woke, tells the story of a stigmatized 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 crimes—and then released back into the population to survive as best they can. Hannah is a Red; her crime is murder.

In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[A] chilling futuristic novel.”—O, The Oprah Magazine (O, the Oprah magazine )

“Jordan manages to open up powerful feminist and political themes without becoming overly preachy—and the parallels with Hawthorne are fun to trace.”—Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews )

“Christian fundamentalists may shun this novel, but book clubs will devour it, and savvy educators will pair it with Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. Essential.”—Library Journal
(Library Journal )

“Jordan blends hot-button issues such as separation of church and state, abortion, and criminal justice with an utterly engrossing story, driven by a heroine as layered and magnetic as Hester Prynne herself, and reminiscent, too, of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Absolutely a must-read.”—Booklist, starred review (Booklist )

“[A] provocative, politically charged novel... [Hannah’s] journey to reclaim herself is equally chilling and riveting.”—Family Circle (Family Circle )

“It reads like a thriller, and one that makes you think hard, to boot. I’ve already placed this one on my favorite-books-for-book-clubs list.”—The Book Case (The Book Case )

“An utterly engrossing story, driven by a heroine as layered and magnetic as Hester Prynne herself, and reminiscent, too, of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Absolutely a must-read.”
—Booklist, starred review

“The Scarlet Letter could unfurl from no better a speculative pen than that held by Hillary Jordan. She takes the seeds of that story and roots them in a world where ‘right to life’ is the law of the land . . . The result . . . is as compulsively readable as it is thought-provoking.”
 —The Denver Post

“In the chillingly credible tomorrowland of Jordan’s second novel, Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortion has been criminalized in 42 states and a vigilante group known as the Fist of Christ brutalizes violators . . . Jordan’s feverishly conceived dystopia holds its own alongside the dark inventions of Margaret Atwood and Ray Bradbury.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Hannah’s fight for freedom is both a sober warning and a gripping page-turner. Already it reads like a classic.” —AARP

“Jordan’s take on the hot button issues of our time—separation of church and state, abortion, an imperfect criminal justice system—is compelling.”
—San Antonio Express-News

“An inventive tale about a new America that has lost its way . . . When She Woke is, at its heart, a tense, energetic and lively paced story about self-discovery and reclamation in the wake of enormous shame. It is a story about the price of love.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“[A] provocative, politically charged novel . . . [Hannah’s] journey to reclaim herself is equally chilling and riveting.” —Family Circle

“Will spark many an intriguing book club discussion.” —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Review

“Hillary Jordan channels Nathaniel Hawthorne by way of Margaret Atwood in this fast-paced, dystopian thriller. Unputdownable.” —Valerie Martin, author of The Confessions of Edward Day

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781565126299
• ISBN-13: 978-1565126299
• ASIN: 1565126297
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (316 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hillary Jordan grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. She received her BA in English and Political Science from Wellesley College and spent fifteen years working as an advertising copywriter before starting to write fiction. She got her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University.

Her first novel, MUDBOUND, was published by Algonquin Books in March 2008 and became an international bestseller. It won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for Fiction, founded by Barbara Kingsolver and awarded biennially to an unpublished debut novel that addresses issues of social justice, as well as a 2009 Alex Award from the American Library Association. It was the 2008 NAIBA (New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Assoc.) Fiction Book of the Year and was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize. PASTE Magazine named it one of the Top Ten Debut Novels of the Decade. MUDBOUND has been translated into French, Italian, Serbian, Swedish and Norwegian.

Hillary's second novel, WHEN SHE WOKE, was published by Algonquin Books in October 2011. It was a #1 Indie Next pick, one of BookPages Best Books of 2011 and a BookList Editor's Choice for Best Fiction of 2011. It has been translated into French, Spanish and Turkish. German, Chinese and Brazilian editions are forthcoming.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 108 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Scarlet Atwood September 14, 2011

By Serena Witzke VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Summary: Hannah Payne wakes up a vivid shade of red. In the not-so-distant future, this 'chroming' is the punishment for all sorts of crimes, with different colors marking the severity of the transgression. Red is for murder. And in Jordan's dystopian future, most of America is disturbingly Puritanical and abortion is a criminal offense - it's murder, and it is for this crime that Hannah is chromed. By refusing to name the father she has added to her sentence. We soon learn (so this IS NOT a spoiler) that Reverend Dale, her family's pastor, was her lover and the father of her aborted child. The book follows Hannah as she is released from prison and has to cope with living in a world that abuses and discriminates against 'Chromes'. Her journey will cause her to examine her life, her faith, and her love.

Review: As you may have surmised from the summary, this novel is a retelling of Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. Hannah Payne/Hester Prynne, Reverend Dale/Dimmesdale, etc. The mean-spirited husband of that tale has been swapped for a bigoted brother-in-law, but much of the debate about sin, suffering, and personal faith remain. The setting and general atmosphere, however, are lifted right from Margaret Atwood's heavy-handed dystopian fantasy The Handmaid's Tale. The legal atmosphere of the novel is incredibly misogynistic, the religious right holds the country in a tyrannical grip, and everything from wearing short skirts to questioning male opinions is a sin. Basically, it's your liberal atheist's worst nightmare. Most of the religious figures are incredibly hypocritical and cruel, and the 'good' characters are persecuted by them.

I waver back and forth on my opinion of the messages in this novel.... On the one hand, it offers up to the reader questions of sexuality: what is 'good', what is 'bad', is abortion wrong, is pre-marital sex wrong, is adultery wrong...was Hannah wrong? And to the novel's credit, it doesn't attempt to answer these questions for the reader. This make it a good choice for younger teens who may be grappling with variations on these problems. On the other hand, the treatment of religion in this novel seems a bit heavy-handed. Hannah's family are fundamentalists who abandon her after her 'sin' - only her father stands by her, but he is overruled by his wife. The religious boarding house that takes in Hannah after her imprisonment is horrid - the minister, his wife, and their religious 'counselors' are monstrous sadists who take righteous pleasure in tormenting their sinful charges. The religious right has shut down all women's rights and subordinated women to men. To attempt to balance this negative picture of the religious institution, the author has Hannah finding internal peace with God and her faith. She also meets an inspiring female minister at one point in the novel. These positive portrayals of faith, however, are not salient enough to compete with the negative portrayals of faith in the novel, and as a result, some religious readers may feel alienated by the author.

The issue of female authority is ambiguous here too. There are several negative examples of female authority: Hannah's mother overrules her father in accepting their daughter after she has be convicted of aborting her baby, and the minister's wife at the boarding house clearly runs the sadistic show there. But at the same time the female leaders of the liberal rebellion and the female minister are positive female models.

What is Jordan saying about religion? What is she saying about female authority? What is she saying about sexuality? In a novel aimed at adult readers, these questions would be well left ambiguous. Young adults, however, may feel adrift at the end of this tale, with no absolute moral or message to take away.

I rated this novel 3 stars because it began very promisingly, but tapered off. The borrowing from Atwood gave me literary deja vu, and the heavy-handed treatment of religion and conservative politics felt excessive even for this liberal atheist reader. Though the religious message was problematized by the positive aspects of faith, I had the feeling that the author was more confused in her message than deliberately ambiguous. Read more ›

90 of 105 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply Red. August 28, 2011

By Nicole Del Sesto

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Hannah Payne is red.

A conviction of murder in this alternate future earns the convict a red skin tint for the length of their sentence, allowing them to live a public life filled with prejudice and hardship. This sentence unburdens the government of cost and responsibility. There is no separation of church and state. Society has become puritanical.

This book is derivative; not just of "The Scarlet Letter" but of many other dystopian novels. The Handmaid's Tale, Children of Men, We, all come to mind. Though I generally love these kinds of novels, the total lack of originality in this book did drop it a star for me.

Without giving away too much, a major theme in this book is abortion and with a pro-choice slant. I don't think conservative readers will enjoy it much.

The writing was good, the characters interesting, the evolution of Hannah was well-paced. It moved quickly and was generally satisfying. I'm not raving about it, but I enjoyed it, and it has definitely piqued my interest in Mudbound.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much world building, too little plot March 22, 2012

By Bookphile TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I recently read The Handmaid's Tale for the first time and, when I finished it, I wondered why it had taken me such a long time to read it. Given today's political climate, the issues dealt with in that book are still so relevant to today's political discourse, so when I saw the synopsis of this book, I thought I'd hit another home run. It seemed to be a cross between The Scarlet Letter (a book that I love) and The Handmaid's Tale, so what could go wrong? Well, in a word, plenty. Spoilers to follow.

First off, this isn't what I would identify as a bad book. The writing is pretty well done, for the most part. The concepts are excellent, particularly the whole idea of Chroming. I found this to be not only an interesting premise, but one that was rather scary because it seems like a possibility. I was very impressed by the depth of the world the author built, at the complicated factions at play here. Jordan has obviously tackled a very ambitious project but the problem is that, while her elements when taken singularly are very intriguing, there are just too many of them all put together. At times, I felt like this book was one of those European tours, where you get off a bus, take a look at a monument, and then get back on the bus so that it can take you to the next monument. It felt like Hannah as moving through the world not so much because the plot required it but because Jordan wanted to highlight certain features of the society she created.

First of all, we have Chroming. This was such a great idea, in theory. I was really curious to find out what life would be like for those who had been Chromed. In fact, I could imagine an entire novel dealing solely with this aspect of the book.... It's an excellent way of taking a hard look at the criminal justice system and asking some hard questions about what we really want out of it. Unfortunately, there is no real showing in this book of what the average Chrome goes through. We get bits and pieces of it here and there, as when Hannah is harassed at a gas station, but there is always some plot device swooping in to interrupt the scene. It's not that I was looking for lurid violence, just that I really wanted to examine the psychology of the Chromes and the dehumanizing effect their Chroming had on them. This was such a missed opportunity.

Next up, Hannah heads to a halfway house run by a couple of sadists--particularly the wife--who make Jane Eyre's Aunt Reed look compassionate. Yet this is another part of the book that just feels terribly underdeveloped. The couple running the center would have been an excellent lens for viewing how society functions within Jordan's world, as well as how some people would certainly chafe within its limitations. Instead, the halfway house feels like a plot device. Hannah and her fellow Chromes are treated in a viciously horrible manner, seemingly as a shorthand way of showing the reader how badly society is bound to mistreat them before Hannah and her new friend Kayla are sent off to be pretty much entirely isolated from society for the remainder of the novel. Once again, this is a setting that could have made up an entire novel, much like Offred's story being told through the lens of her servitude to her Commander's family.

Things just continue to go downhill from here, really. By having Hannah and Kayla be taken in by Jordan's equivalent of the Underground Railroad, the two characters become entirely detached from the reality of the world Jordan has so painstakingly created. They spend the bulk of the novel hiding out in one place or another, with their "stops" on the way to Canada just used as more plot devices to give the reader a glimpse of what the society is like. This section of the book really highlights just how disconnected the characters are from the setting, which I found to be a huge disappointment. I went into this novel thinking I'd see how Hannah functions in a world that openly scorns her, but there is really none of that here.

Still, Hannah does have an inner journey of sorts, as she struggles to reconcile her strictly fundamentalist Christian upbringing with her new sense of her world. I think her affair with Simone is meant to illustrate just how much Hannah is breaking away from her former beliefs, but I thought the whole episode felt so contrived. It was probably one of the most egregious plot devices of all. Once Hannah takes off to see Aiden, all of my suspension of disbelief was pretty much out the window. There are far too many coincidences and examples of deus ex machina in this book for me to be able to really buy into it.

As the ending drew nearer, I found myself worrying about the lack of resolution. I don't know why I was surprised to find that it was left wide open for a sequel, but it was. I take that back, I think I was surprised by the ending precisely because I didn't find this book compelling enough to want to pick up a second installment. At the end of the day, it's a pretty classic example of a fantastic concept that just isn't well executed. Read more ›

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Thin, Predictable, and Not Very Dystopian. November 9, 2011

By Kevin Currie-Knight TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I started this book with such promise, and was enhtusiastic up until about page 150. By page 200 (2/3 of the way), I had lost much more of my interest...enough to put the book down. It just didn't hold my interest. Here's why:

First, anyone thinking this will be a dystopian novel will be a bit disappointed. It takes place in much the same world as ours, except that the Trinity Party has a majority in our government, abortion has been outlawed, and criminal offenders are "chromed" so that anyone on the street can identify them by the tint of their skin (the 'chroming' wears off after their 'sentence' is over.) Other than that - and the technology being an amped up version of what we already have - the world is exactly the same as ours. And this just makes me wonder how really dystopian the author intended to be. It might have been a more compelling novel had the main character been fighting in a world where women were once again not allowed to work, vote, have property, etc. (And you'd think, given what is said about the Trinity Party and the pervasiveness of old-time religious dogma in this imagined world, there might be more of this.)

Second, many of the events in the book were just too coincidental and forced. I don't want to get into many specifics (as it might give parts of the story away), but I'll just say that, whenever it would help the story for this person to catch up to that person somehow, it just happens...and it happens often in a way that just feels contrived....

Third, all of the characters were very uni dimensional and stereotypical: Hannah is the girl raised religious but who secretly (and not-so-secretly) questioned in a world where doing so was rebellious, her 'lover' Aiden is a renowned preacher who struggles with infidelity issues while trying to keep them secret so he can keep doing good work, etc. Not a whole lot of uniqueness to these characters.

Lastly, the dialogue is quite stilted and stiff. Too many conversations in this book would find me asking whether people ever really talk that way, or whether someone would really say the things (in that particular situation) that the author wrote for them. And the more into the book I got, the more apparent this got.

Sadly, I have to give the book two stars. One star is reserved for books that are glaringly horrible, which this is not. But it is not finish able either. By page 200, I just care about knowing what happened. Read more ›