When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Published by Algonquin Books
After The Great Scourge, abortion is considered an especially heinous crime as the country tries to recover its birthrate. Women who get abortions have their skin turned red through the process of melochroming, a sentence that eliminates the need for the government to house the convicted, while still allowing the citizenry to feel safe from criminals. Hannah Payne finds herself a Red after aborting her baby. She would never have done so, but if she had given birth to a child out-of-wedlock, she would have been compelled to name the father, and she simply cannot do that to the man she loves. Naming her child’s father would have destroyed both his personal and public life. Now Hannah must decide what life looks like as the shamed woman she now is.
When she woke, she was red. Not flushed, not sunburned, but the solid, declarative red of a stop sign. -p. 1
If Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale had a slightly futuristic baby, it would be When She Woke. Jordan makes it quite clear that this is a retelling of The Scarlet Letter, not only giving Hannah a situation and name very similar to Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne, but when Hannah is compelled to name the baby she would have had, she calls her Pearl, which was Hester’s daughter’s name as well.
Unlike Hawthorne, however, Jordan is not content to deal just in the themes of sin and legalism. Instead, she goes deeper into her protagonist’s life to focus on personal choice, agency, and faith. At one time Hannah was a faithful, Christian girl in a conservative society. After her fall for something that initially seemed so heaven-sent, she has an entirely understandable crisis of faith and must decide whether she and God have abandoned one another, or if she can make sense out of her faith and what her life has become.
While there are some moments of the book that lose steam, the story is an incredibly compelling one overall, and a likely a modern classic in its own right. Highly recommended.
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you have written a great review! I also read, enjoyed and reviewed this book. I think it will be a bestseller.
This is one I’m dying to read. Glad you endorse it!
I didn’t enjoy The Scarlet Letter either time I read it. I don’t know how I would feel about a re-telling of the story. But it does look intriguing nonetheless. Glad you enjoyed it so much!
Thanks for your review. I have this book in my pile. I was wondering how it compared to Scarlet Letter, and trying to decide if I should reread SL first.
I don’t think it is necessary. It is a retelling but stands on its own just fine. I have only vague recollections of THE SCARLET LETTER from high school myself.
I really loved this one.
I had just started reading The Handmaid’s tale this weekend, and when I saw another review for this book earlier today (I’ve read several), I wondered if any sort of comparison could be drawn. I’m very intrigued. I have it on the shelf, but I wasn’t sure if it was something that I would want to read anytime soon. I think it might be a good one to follow up the Atwood.
They’re similar, but different enough I think it would work. Would sure be interesting to compare.
I am dying to read this one!
I’ve been excited about this book ever since I heard Hillary Jordan speak at SIBA.
I’m thinking it would also be interesting to compare to Nini Holmquist’s The Unit. Though not as tightly related thematically as with The Scarlet Letter, it also deals with Women’s reproductive rights in a dystopian future.
That would be very interesting, actually, maybe more so because the similarities are a little more subtle.
Love the concept behind this one. The classic is an old favorite of mine so it will be interesting to read this and compare. Thanks for the wonderful review!
I agree with your review pretty much entirely. I am so glad I got the chance to read it!
damn you, Jen, and your damnable damned reading habits..
i dont have room for another book on the tbr pile.. but this has to go on it…
again.. damn you
I’ve had this on my shelf since BEA, but people keep taking it! I’ve got to get it back and read it. I love your analogy.