Member Reviews
A fascinating story, strangely reminiscent of Roald Dahl's 'The Witches' - I enjoyed every moment of this strong tale of powerful women.
I am breathless. This book has taken my breath away and replaced it with hope and happiness. I am familiar with Kelly Barnhill’s works as a former middle school librarian. I had high expectations. I am not disappointed. I am thrilled knowing someone has the imagination to create this world of dragons, and that this same someone has the ability to write it down in such a compelling, memorable style. I will not be the only reader who glances skyward just to double check.
Feminism, civil rights, LGBLT, adoption, divorce, poverty. Diamonds, rubies, gold, poetry, tenderness, love. What a pattern Ms Barnhill has woven for us.
While the beginning was compelling, I slowly started to feel less and less engaged as it went on. The story felt like it dragged a bit, and I just didn't vibe with the tone of the book.
When Women Were Dragons is at once steeped in the reality of our world's insistence on females being the lesser, weaker sex (in the 1950s and '60s when this book is set, as well as now) and a soaring fantasy about what would be if women became dragons.
Alexandra "Alex" Green lives in a world where men and women have their separate spheres, and she is expected to be seen and not heard, especially as a female child. Her mother is brilliant, but forcibly hides that brilliance as to not make her husband and other men uncomfortable. Her aunt Marla is an enigma - she flew planes and worked on their engines during World War II, then became an auto mechanic when she came back at her parents' deaths. Marla loves her sister very much and takes care of her when she's sick, but their relationship is difficult because of the different lives they lead.
Alex sees a woman "dragoning" - making the change from woman to dragon - when she is 4, but didn't have the words or the context to really understand. Dragoning is not talked about in polite society, and very little is taught to children about the phenomena. When someone she loves turns into a dragon, and other calamities leave her alone in the world, other than her cousin/sister Beatrice, Alex must find her own path forward and make her peace with dragons and dragoning.
Dragoning can be seen as a metaphor for the power of women, and how anything that challenges the patriarchal control of women is ignored, or deemed embarassing, or seen as sinful/traitorous/criminal. What makes this book so good is you can imagine this happening, women releasing their power into the world, and taking off to explore the galaxy, or fix society's injustices.
It has always seemed to me that women who were "allowed" to work outside the home during the war and found they liked it very much, must have really struggled when the men came back and they were told they were no longer needed. It's not that women don't work, it's that women's work is not valued. I seethed along with Alex when her father implies that education is wasted on someone who will just wash dishes and take care of children. I cheered for Alex as she got the highest grades on math tests and took correspondence courses from colleges because her math skills were beyond the skills of the teachers at her school, but then got frustrated along with her when the new principal her senior year ignored all of that and put her in the same Calculus class she had taken her freshman year.
When Women Were Dragons is a book about women blazing their own path, whether that path is a traditional one or one that cannot be imagined by others. It is about the family you make which may or may not include your biological family. It is about accepting people for who they are and loving each other freely and without judgment.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this wonderful book.
I was drawn to both the cover and the title, but I honestly didn't have any idea what to expect when I started reading this. I certainly wasn't expecting a beautiful feminist historical fantasy.
An allegorical fantasy in which oppressed women turn into dragons and the government tries to hide it. This book will hit home for many readers considering the current conversations over women's healthcare rights. Some readers may find the allegory a bit on-the-nose, but the book's readability makes it quite the page-turner anyway. The main character's plight is a grippingly emotional one, and you will race to the end to find out what becomes of her. Highly recommend for those who like low fantasy, magical realism, and/or feminist fiction. Definitely has an adult-YA crossover appeal.
Thank you NetGalley for early access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first adult book from Kelly Barnhill. Set in an alternate America where women have the ability to turn into dragons. We follow Alex Green from childhood through college age seeing how both the dragoning and accepted gender roles in 1950s America form her into the women she is to become.
This was a wonderful read and fantastic first outing in to the adult genre from Barnhill. This story addressed the changes we go through to become ourselves, it delt with uncomfortable things i.e. death of a parent, and finding acceptance within ourselves and with those around us.
When trying to get into this book the format really threw me off. I also had issues connecting with the tone and writing style as it felt a little YA.
Even having read work by this author before, I have never read anything quite like this- and I mean that in the best possible way. The mixed narration, protagonist chapters broken up with pieces of academic literature, keeps you curious, the characters make your heart ache or soar or rage (for, against, you name it)… an excellent addition to Angry Feminist Literature. The time and location setting make the lack of racial diversity in the main story understandable, but it’s still a little disappointing.
Absolutely fabulous! I purchased a copy as soon as it came out and have recommended it to several people. I mean how can you possibly go wrong with feminist lesbian dragons?!
WHEN WOMEN WERE DRAGONS by Kelly Barnhill
Publication: May 3, 2022 by Doubleday Books
Kelly Barnhill’s first adult novel is an absolute delight even though it delves into a heady mix of topics that have concerned society for ages. With tongue-in-cheek humor she explores the self actualization of a girl developing into womanhood along with the strength of sisterhood, love and family. Effortlessly brought into consideration is the patriarchal nature of our society, misogyny, cultural inequalities, and the fluidity of sexuality. Alexandra ( call me: Alex) Green provides the major point of view … looking from adulthood back to her childhood during the 50’s and 60’s. She saw her first dragon when she was just four years old. A kind old lady who she frequently visited, suddenly, in front of her, metamorphosed into a dragon. But no one would talk to her about dragons. In spite of numerous occurrences and corroborating evidence talk of dragons was squelched. “It created a hole in the universe where truth should be.” Then later, in 1955 there was a “Mass Dragoning”, where hundreds of thousands of wives, mothers, and other women, sprouted wings, scales, talons, and took to the skies, sometimes leaving in a path of fiery destruction. Sometimes leaving a path of male destruction. Alex’s aunt Marla was one of the women who dragoned. She was not your typical women of the time. Aunt Marla flew planes in the War and since returning worked as a mechanic in an auto repair shop. She was instrumental in encouraging and helping her mother finish college with a mathematics major. And, joyfully was raising her daughter, Beatrice. Suddenly, it was announced that Beatrice was “her sister” and there was offered no explanation about the absence of Aunt Marla. Her mother became more smothering, while her father grew more distant … virtually absent. Her father, for an unfathomable reason completely cut-off the burgeoning relationship between Alex and her best friend, Sonja.
Kelly Barnhill crafts a joyful tale utilizing the metaphor of “dragoning” to explore rage and
Inequality in a women’s world , in an effective tongue-in cheek manner, rather than a dogmatic, lecture style. This magical fantasy nicely explores self actualization, importance of sisterhood,
love, and relationships. Silence is not acceptable with ongoing injustice and inequality.
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. I would anticipate that this book becomes a favorite for Book Clubs.
When Women Were Dragons is an alternative history/fantasy about the power and strength of women. Set through out the 1950s and 1960s, the novel is the story of how one family is effected by women "dragoning" - literally turning into dragons - and leaving their families behind. Interspersed are reports by a scientist, Dr. Henry Gantz, on the science behind the dragoning, and testimony he gives at various congressional trials.
Though the premise seems fantastical, the story is really about female power and autonomy and how threatening men and society in general find that.
I greatly enjoyed this story and recommend it.
This book was so fascinating. Barnhill's writing style was incredibly appealing. I just wanted to keep reading more and a huge part of that was the way that the storyline is presented to you. I love the 1950 setting and how the magical realism crept into the expectations of women at the time (and to some extent still today).
I've always loved dragons and the fact that they are so truly magical and mysterious feeling and didn't know how that would balance against the storyline. Despite my reservations, I ended up absolutely loving how the dragons were used as a symbol of power and an escape from a world that is constantly making you feel small.
This is definitely a book that will stick with me and continue to make me think.
Thank you @netgalley and @doubledaybooks for letting me read an advanced copy of this fascinating title by @insufferable_blabbermouth (OUT NOW) in exchange for an honest review.
I loved everything about this book. The theme, the writing, the naive girl that comes to age and finally understands her own mother, aunt, and the pains it means to be a women. How every choice is giving something up, fighting for something better, not just for yourself but for the future women that will have to go through the pains eventually.
This story is about loss and grief. It is about change and how hard it is to accept it. Not just for yourself, but for everyone around you. As in this book, ignoring the fact that women are now dragons - how? Put on the blinders and try and control everyone into wearing them too (sounds familiar?).
I think this book is perfect not just for the feminists, but for everyone who needs to look at a world with a bit of humor and satyrical glasses on. It points a finger and pokes fun in the most subtle ways of how the world runs. But also draws attention to the fact of how women have to deal with scrutiny (still) and how much they sacrifice to reach some kind of happiness eventually,
Every once in a while, the political climate gives way to a good "rage read". With the possibility that Roe V Wade would be overturned, a title like "When Women Were Dragons" sucked me in and didn't disappoint. The parallels to the power of women will satisfy every reader.
I received an ARC of When Women Were Dragons from Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review.
Kelly Barnhill (author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon) makes her adult fiction debut with this alternate history of America in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, after an event in 1955 known as the “Mass Dragoning”: when hundreds of thousands of women around the country spontaneously metamorphosize into...well, I won’t spoil it, but you get three guesses. The incident, in that time-honored American tradition, is swept under the rug. The story follows Alex Green, whose aunt Marla transforms during the Mass Dragoning (when Alex is a pre-teen), as she raises Marla’s daughter Beatrice, discovers her sexuality, pursues her education, and reckons with a country which refuses to talk about what happened.
When Women Were Dragons is an absolute delight. There are plenty of timely (and timeless) topics in play here—disinformation, misinformation, and an all-time classic: misogyny—but Barnhill also has a lot of fun by adopting a playful, tongue-in-cheek tone which allows her to approach even serious subjects with warmth and humor. Most of the story is written from Alex’s POV, but interspersed throughout the novel are snippets of research and commentary from Dr. Gantz, an elderly scientist researching the dragon phenomenon. These sections are essentially infodumps, yes, but they are never unwelcome; they do not interfere with the story, and their pleasant-but-sassy style makes them a joy to read.
Alex is a rich character who carries the rest of the book with ease. She is smart but also prideful, and her journey feels realistic for a precocious teenager navigating a world full of complexities and powerful institutions she is not entirely equipped to deal with. Barnhill portrays her sexual awakening with particular grace—there’s a real sense of longing, of emotions so big it seems like her body cannot contain them, and that longing often goes unsatisfied in a way that rang true and resonated with me. I did find myself wanting to know more about Alex’s experiences later in life (which are summed up a bit too concisely at the end of the novel), but I wouldn’t describe that as a major frustration by any means. Spending this book with Alex was a pleasure.
An aspect of When Women Were Dragons I’d like to highlight are the dragons themselves. They lean less dracarys and more “Puff the Magic Dragon,” and one reason they work so well here is because they don’t function as a “clean” metaphor: they don’t symbolize just one thing. Barnhill twists and distorts their allegorical significance throughout the novel, and she refuses to fall into the trap of establishing a good/bad binary—they just...exist, they’re a part of life, and they make the world more complicated and more interesting. The women who do not become dragons are not framed as “less than” or failures in any way, and that was a key distinction for me.
Other aspects of the book left me a bit uneasy. The “women” of the title is trans-inclusive, but that is confirmed only with a couple passing references, which doesn’t quite cut it in 2022. More troubling is that these women are referred to as women by “choice.” Granted, this novel mostly takes place in the ‘50s and ‘60s, so I don’t expect cis characters to have anything resembling a nuanced understanding of gender, but there’s an easy solution: let a trans character speak and push back against those misconceptions. It also struck me as odd, given the time period in which the book takes place, that the intersectionality of gender and race (and class, for that matter) is almost entirely ignored. It’s not quite “we put a bunch of women who have never spoken to each other on screen at the same time in Avengers: Endgame”-level feminism, but I wouldn’t say it’s much better.
When Women Were Dragons falls short in several crucial ways—it spends a lot of time telling rather than showing, it often lacks grace (characters occasionally burst into baffling, unprompted monologues that come close to breaking the fourth wall), and its approach to feminism can only be described as antiquated. But it makes up for those shortcomings with delightful characters and wonderful writing full of warmth and humor. This one will probably be a hit with book groups.
What a seriously unique book this was. I was so intrigued by the major event in this book, The Mass Dragoning of 1955. The world was full of ordinary women, wives and mothers until one day they grew talons, wings and took to the sky leaving a land of destruction behind them.
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Alex is to be kept silent but she still cannot forget the life changing event. This story takes on many roles and more than just simply women turning into dragons. It is a feminist tale that took a unique way to tell it.
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Thank you @NetGalley and @Doubleday for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
If you'd like to read an amazing story, compellingly told, you should pick up this book. In addition to the wonders of dragons, Kelly Barnhill weaves a story of family trust, betrayal, hope, and love. I was pulled into the world, back when women were dragons, and shown how reality could be--if women were still dragons.
Set in 50's and 60's Wisconsin Kelly Barnhill tells the story of a young girl living through turbulent times for womens rights. She witnesses as the rage at how they are being treated turns some women into dragons, devouring husbands and destroying homes. But not all women transform, some stay and pick up the pieces left by their sisters and mothers who transformed and left. This incredible story is moving, heartfelt, uplifting and highly original. This book goes everywhere and I really feel that everyone should read it.
I ended up DNFing this around 40%. This just couldn’t keep my attention. I wanted more magical realism and emotion.