The Most Depressing Read of the Year: A Review of Widowland by C.J. Carey

Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.

Normally I begin each post with a fun, little opening paragraph. I try to crack some jokes that don’t land and aren’t good. But today’s post is on a very heavy book. You’ll see what I mean when I get to the synopsis. Honestly, I think we should jump right in.

So please give a warm welcome to Widowland by C.J. Carey!

As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on the site then you will know I simply love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. This is your one and only warning. I also must issue a content warning for Widowland. The premise of this novel is Germany won World War II and has taken control of England. Every woman in the country has been forced into a caste system; many real life horrors such as sexual harassment and sexual assault follow. There are also mentions of doggy death. Be prepared for the worst of the worst before going in. This book is made to depress readers and is not one to be taken lightly. So with that, let’s crack in.

If you're jumping ship, that's cool, I'll see you next week.

Over a decade has passed since England surrendered to Germany. With England’s surrender came a vast number of changes to the populace’s way of life. This includes a caste system specifically for the women of the country. A caste system that “classifies every woman into hierarchical groups according to their perceived value in society.”

Rose Ransom is one of the “lucky ones.” She’s a Geli, a member of the top caste. She’s privileged enough to work for the Culture Ministry rewriting classic literature so no one can see any revolutionary thoughts lest they get any bad ideas. Of course this doesn’t stop people from rebelling.

About a fortnight before the official coronation of King Edward VIII and Queen Wallis, the country is covered in graffiti. Graffiti quoting lines from forbidden literature. Rose is tasked with discovering who is behind this rebellion and is sent to investigate Widowland, England’s slums where lower caste women are sent. Though during the course of her investigation, Rose seems to find herself becoming a rebel sympathizer. So what will she do? Will she expose those rebelling? Or will she help them bring down this regime? Yeah, she does the latter thing, don't worry.

A terrifying, Orwellian experience is truly the only way I can describe this read. No dystopian novel has gotten under my skin as much as Widowland has since I read The Handmaid’s Tale nearly a decade ago. This terrifying alternative history is a huge reminder the power reading and literature have in the fight against tyranny and oppression.

It's why fostering a love for reading from a young age is so important.

Reading is how one’s worldview can be expanded and be shown things from a whole new perspective. Truths can be learned, community and connection can be fostered, books can teach people empathy. There’s a reason why some people out there want books banned. People should read Widowland for this reminder if for no other reason.

I almost want to end this review here. Widowland is novel that escapes my ability to write a quality review. My very professional opinion is as follows: woof. This is not an easy read. The story is told in a slow pace, there are fresh horrors on each page, and every page is a warning of a future that could be. How does that quote by Martin Niemöller go again? “They came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.” Yeah, Widowland is that quote on steroids.

This is not an easy read by any means, but one I highly recommend.   

With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you very much for joining me today, Book Nerds. I hope you all had a lovely time here this week. Well as lovely as a time you can have when talking about Widowland. I will see you all again next week with a very special review. If you can’t wait that long to revel in literary goodness then you can always follow Reading Has Ruined My Life on Instagram (@ReadingHasRuinedMyLife). I post there almost daily so come back often for lots of fun. You can also follow the blog on Twitter and BlueSky (@RHRMLBlog). If you’d like something not related to books then may I suggest checking out my podcast Nothing to See Hear? The show stars me and two of my dearest friends as we talk everything and anything. We’ve got episodes on Barbie, Disney, Scooby-Doo, cryptids, weird people and moments of history; like I said, we talk about it all. We even have an episode about Project Mincemeat if you would like to hear about an odd moment of World War II history. You can currently find the show on Spotify and YouTube.

Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.

See y'all then, bye!