Unfortunately, this story was a bit too ambitious. It simply did not reach the level it should've reached. The author should've held on to this idea a bit longer and attempted it when they were prepared to fully flesh out all the ideas presented.

This was a *weird* one. I held off on reading any other reviews until I finished because I didn't want any big *aha* moments or "twists" to be revealed to me and I'm not going to reveal too much in my review. This is not a traditional story so if you are someone who likes all the answers delivered in a nice, tied-up ending, this isn't the book for you. I've used this term a lot lately but this book has a "fever dream" quality. Part dystopia, part metaphor, I would label this one as an "ecofeminist fever dream." Author Molly Lynch very skillfully wove a story about motherhood and climate change that was both relatable and unsettling. I initially thought I'd give this novel 4 stars because I wanted a little something *more* at the end, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. After rolling it around in my mind for a few days, I realized Lynch's intended effect and bumped it up to 5 stars.

An. intriguing premise- women disappearing from their lives- but Lynch has layered in just so much. Ada is a Canadian who has never felt at home in the US and she's besieged by bad news all the time. She loves her son but not anything else it seems. And then she's gone and her husband is searching for her. This never took off for me- I never felt a connection to her- but I'm sure others will find much to appreciate. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction,

The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman is a beautifully written debut focusing on climate change, motherhood, and mythology.

Mothers are vanishing across the globe. Ada has been keeping tabs on the disappearing women, constantly checking the latest news articles. Until one day, she disappears without a trace, leaving her husband and young son reeling.

While the feds investigate what’s behind these disappearances, the world is in the midst of ecological collapse.

This book is a fast read as the writing is clear, but it has some abstract themes. It’s not a book that will provide clear-cut answers. One of the final reveals left me stumped.

Ada is the most compelling yet mysterious character in this story. ​

This novel touches on various topics, including climate change, racism, Greek mythology, and metamorphosis. It’s strange yet equally compelling. Some parts were downright chilling, others a bit of a mind bend.

I’d recommend this debut if you enjoy literary fiction mixed with mythological themes.

Thank you to Catapult for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

A terrifying look at motherhood and worst case scenarios. Beautifully written and poignant for the times.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This is a compelling addition to what I think of as "climate fiction"--fiction that prominently features the climate crisis, and whose characters grapple with its effects. The commentary here was searing and richly described. The earth itself is such a key character (in the same way that some books center houses as a character unto themselves). I could feel, smell, and hear the whole thing while also being rendered despondent over the state of the earth.

Being inside Ada's head was as disorienting as a reader as it must have been to be Ada herself. It was so effectively conveyed. Similarly, Danny's anguish was made very real. I was pulled in both by the characters themselves and by my curiosity to understand what was happening. I was both in it as Ada and consuming it as the rest of the public hungrily hypothesized what was happening to the women. The metaphor does not attempt to be veiled, but it's complexity is explored throughout which kept the book layered and absorbing. I'm really interested in how this book looks at humanity decomposing alongside the earth its destroying--we are not separate from it and rather that which we're causing is not only hurting our external environment. The book isn't so didactic as to spell all that out, but that's those are some of the concepts swirling for me as I reflect on the novel.

The prose itself was up and down; there were some paragraphs that floored me in how perfectly they captured an abstract idea or a nebulous emotion, while other sections fell a bit flat for me or didn't hold my interest. That said, it's a truly unique and welcome story of the human-nature connection and in the unexplainable phenomena as the planet--and the humanity that so destroyed it--continues its demise. I recommend this book for anyone interested in climate fiction, anyone prepared for an unusual and haunting read, and folks who like books that make them think and don't leave everything tied neatly in a bow.

I saw some reviews calling this book creepy and incredibly weird, and that's not necessarily wrong. But as a person who shies away from most books that fall into the creepy category, it's not the whole picture either. Forbidden Territory hits on so many themes and emotions that I, and many women I know, are feeling in a way I've never seen done. Themes of what it means to be connected to the world in a time where the whole world seems to be on fire. Themes of connectedness, of family, of belonging, of motherhood. I loved this book. If you were a person who enjoyed Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy and also don't mind myth/magical realism, this is probably for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press, for the no poor gun ty to read Molly Lynch's book. Not always easy to read, but important. Timely and spooky as hll.

This is a quick read, with an intriguing title, cool cover and interesting premise. I’m sure there were lots of messages intended (feminism, destruction of the planet), but things became so convoluted that I can’t tell you if the main character experienced metamorphosis or psychosis. And I’m afraid I don’t care to figure it out…I’m just glad to be done with it.

One of my main 2023 goals is to read and reread the best feminist dystopian fiction - LeGuin, Jemisin, Atwood, Butler, Erdrich, St. John Mandel, Melchor, Enriquez, and more all lined up.

So when Catapult dropped an eARC of “The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman” by Molly Lynch, my 2023 plans didn’t have to skip a beat. It is a wonderful debut that has far more layers of depth than I expected. Climate change’s best hits are already in full swing: Forced migration, human trafficking, widespread wildfires and flooding, wildlife death and natural destruction, surveillance, stalking.. And Lynch adds a new ingredient: the disappearance of mothers.

“The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman” is highly disquieting. Why are these mothers disappearing? Where are they going? Are the cases related? Lynch does an excellent job of moving between psychology, environmental decay, complex family dynamics, the science and koan of childbirth and mothering. The narrative moves quickly and efficiently, but the reader is compelled to slow down and reread because every page has oodles of food for thought.

Finally, any novel with Artemis as a key element wins me over. Well done at every level.

Thanks to Catapult and NetGalley for the eARC.

Ah, what a strange book. I’m not opposed to strange but also not sure this one offered enough to counterbalance the strangeness.
The plot’s intriguing enough…women vanishing from their lives. Specifically, one of them, Ada, but all accounts an average wife and mother is only one too aware of the atmospheric changes around her.
The novel details her disappearance, her family’s coping with it, and more. Presumably, what it means to do is deconstruct the myth of nuclear family buy placing it into a suffocatingly devolving world and introducing a strange thing into it. The novel looks into what’s behind the vanishing, what presence and absence of Ada means for her family, for her life.
The novel is rather dense in style, an intense yet sleepy quality to its narrative and pacing. It’s certainly literary but it’s far from exciting. But then, it’s ecologically-conscious, feminist, and all sorts of woke in ways that modern audiences seem to crave or at least modern publishing has decided the audiences crave. So it’s definitely timely and rather interesting, but not necessarily and enjoyable or easily recommendable novel. It does read quickly, though. Thanks Netgalley.