The Gate To Women's Country: A Novel

I read this book for our book club, and that's pretty much the only reason I would have picked it up. This is not because of its feminist slant, but because I generally despise books about post-apocalyptic societies. I'd much rather read about some horrible technological dystopia than a utopian vision of people running around in furs and gardening. The first third of this book did nothing to dispel that fear that this was one of those books either, from its beginning of feudal ceremony of the lead character Stavia having to part from her fifteen-year-old son to the backflash of Stavia as a young girl learning her craft as well as dealing with her smitten sister. Yes, the mystery starts early and gives you something to hope for: what prompted this division of the sexes and how is it maintained, what is the secret that the Women's Council possess, and why exactly is Stavia such a basket-case if she's one of the leaders of this community? Thankfully, this is a science fiction novel, and all these questions are eventually answered, and in such a way to prompt some thought. Like most science fiction novels of ideas (as opposed to those of adventure or style), even at its short 300 pages, this would likely have worked better at half that length. Most of the bulk is built around the time construction of the book where you go from 40-year-old Councilwoman Stavia preparing than performing a mash-up of the aftermath of the Trojan war back to the real action of Stavia learning about her society and alternating between rebelling and fulfilling its destiny. The play conceit is interesting, but destroys some of the tension of the other story (i.e., you know Stavia survives her ordeals) without being clear enough in its underlying thematic elements.

That said, I enjoyed the book much more than I expected to, mainly due to Tepper's skill in plotting and her clear writing style. It's nice to read a science fiction book that doesn't try to be hipper-than-thou or more-erudite-without-a-fault. If anything, by having such an unadorned method of delivery, Tepper allows more access to the idea she is presenting, a worthy goal if her intention was to spark debate and discussion (and, ultimately, a perfect choice for a book club book). I disagree with her basic concept for a number of reasons, but I thought it interesting to consider. The Gate to Women's Country didn't change my mind about post-apocalypse stories (nor did A Canticle for Leibowitz or any of the other classic post-nuke-em books), but I don't regret having read it and may well read another by Tepper in the future.

i often have to bite my tongue around people who claim to read science fiction, since, all too often, their choices of authors are limited to the safe, middle-class mediocrities of mass popularity, the current equivalents of tom swift.
tepper is not safe. she is not middle-class. she is not comfortable. but she has a truly limitless imagination and an amazing grasp of human nature.
she can also write--superbly, movingly...adjectives fail me.
no-one is better at world-building, and very very few are even as good. in this, and in her other novels, everything springs logically from the basic vision. and her vision is breathtaking.
i don't like post-apocalytic novels--if we have an apocalypse, there's not going to be anything left except maybe cockroaches. but this post-apocalyptic novel doesn't pretend the devestation won't be all that bad, that we'll just continue on, but with fewer cable channels. it also doesn't indulge in the 'mad max' sort of thing. it is, in its way, realistic.
i don't always agree with her viewpoint, in this or many of her other novels. but, as other reviewers have noted, you can't read her books without starting to think about some of the really big questions--ethics, morality, where we're headed, what we are doing to ourselves and the world. you will find yourself questioning all your assumptions, and probably abandoning most of them.
and you'll enjoy the process.

This book is brilliant. It's not without its flaws; it's dark, cynical, and disturbing, but it's one of a handful of books that have really made me think. A great book for those who like agonizing over insoluble problems :)

This book is brilliant. It's not without its flaws; it's dark, cynical, and disturbing, but it's one of a handful of books that have really made me think. A great book for those who like agonizing over insoluble problems :)

This book is brilliant. It's not without its flaws; it's dark, cynical, and disturbing, but it's one of a handful of books that have really made me think. A great book for those who like agonizing over insoluble problems :)

This has been a book that my thoughts went back to again and again as I watched todays world events. It sure solved a lot of today's problems.
The book was sent promptly by the seller, and was in excellent shape. Altho stated used it seems new. This is a book I gave to my daughter to read. And have told many friends about.

Sent it as a gift to my daughter.

Arrived in excellent condition for a used book. The story is unique, well written and since it was written in the 80s was futuristic and reflected the annialation fears of that erra. A good read though the concept was not my style.

Although this is a dystopian tale, the underlying ideas and truths keep my mind returning to the story. This is one of the few books I need to own so that I can return to it and share it.

My first read of Sherri Tepper was "Grass". I love how you can not figure out what is happening until the end. It really makes me think about the ideas that she is presenting. Even after I have read the book, I will reread later because I always get new ideas.
The Gate to Women's Country is a book I lend out, so I had to replace my paperback with a first edition for myself. This is a great tale about the idiocy of war, group think, and how to do subversion out in the open by not caring what the dominant group thinks, and how it leads to a much more fulfilling life than what occurs when uncontrolled fear leads people to do really, really stupid things.
This story can be applied to such ridiculous decisions we regret such as Vietnam, Iraq, and more recently the nonsense being spouted about job killing tax hikes on millionaires. Read it for yourself and see.