This story felt wholly original but at the same time believable (not unlike reading 'The Handmaid's Tale' or 'Manhunt'). In this dystopia future, men are essentially held in captivity because of scientific advances believed regarding their testosterone -- and women largely populate and dominate the world.

The four main characters (and a minor character, Lars) weaved together quite seamlessly in a way that sometimes felt predictable but ultimately served the main story so well. Each character felt wholly shaped with light and dark, making them feel intensely real and human. The story flew by quickly and I found myself wanting to know more about where all of these characters ended up.

Ultimately, I liked this much more than I was initially expecting during the first few pages -- this is the epitome of a slow start, strong finish for me. Highly recommend if you enjoy female-dominated dystopia stories.

I decided to DNF this book at 20%. While the writing was good and the book was easy to follow, unfortunately this book just couldn't capture me. While the premise is great, the world of priestesses with their snakes wasn't interesting to me at all. I found myself dreading picking up this book to read and ultimately decided it was best I moved on. I appreciate the opportunity to read this one! I will rate this at a 3 so my personal preference doesn't skew the book down.

The beginning of this book is very info dumpy and I’m really not enjoying it. The concept of this book seemed really cool but I can’t get past the first chapter.

I'm still not sure if this book is utopian or distopian. It was somehow both beautiful and horrifying. I think it will appeal to readers of literary fiction and women's fiction. I'll definitely be recommending it to my customers!

This was... difficult to rate, honestly. Ultimately, I rated it due to a combination of factors:

First off, the writing was gorgeous. The prose, even translated, was incredible and it was easy to see this world in my mind's eye. Each character was unique and well developed with their own unique voice. The story was interesting, fairly unique, and overall just fascinating.

But beyond that, it was (as it should be) disturbing and very deep. I had to read something lighter with it just so I didn't exhaust myself emotionally. It was hard to read. I can also see the possibility of some things triggering people in some capacity or another.

Overall it was well written and the translation is rather timely. I'm glad I read it, but I'll also be glad to read something a bit lighter for a bit.

This was really really weird, and really disturbing at times. I'm not entirely sure what I just read. The premise is interesting and the world building is fantastic. Just a truly bizarre book to make you think.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I have this one my best shot, but I could barely get through it. The plot was so slow, and just so boring I really had to force myself to keep picking it back up. I did not understand the world-building either.

I don’t know if maybe there was something lost in translation (originally published in Dutch), but I did not like the writing style either.

Eleven Percent by Maren Uthaug

"An inverse The Handmaid’s Tale that asks: What if women took over the world?"

Summary: It is the New Time, a time not so different from our own except that the men are gone. All but eleven percent of them, that is, the minimum required to avoid inbreeding. But they are safely under lock and key in “spa” centers for women’s pleasure and procreation, few women protest that the males should be treated better. Priestesses speak in tongues, inspired by snake venom, but all social engineering has its costs...

Four different lives intersect: Each will discover the cracks in this women's paradise.

Review: Sadly this book missed the mark. I really tried and kept reading but it was just uncomfortable and couldn't finish. Read some transphobic and fat phobic language. Again sadly, not worth it.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, an "inverse Handmaid's Tale" and was interested to read this dystopian thriller. Eleven Percent is Danish author Maren Uthaug's first novel to appear in English, so it is my first time reading her work. It is definitely a very provocative book that will make you think. If you like dystopian, feministic Sci-Fi, then this book will be right up your alley.

Eleven Percent follows the lives of 4 different women: Medea (a witch), Wicca (a young priestess), Eva (a doctor), and Silence (a nun). They each have their own flaws and secrets and are not exactly who they seem. The men in this story are all but non-existent. Only 11% of the male population remains and they are "kept" in captivity under lock and key by the women for pleasure and procreation. There are a few women that see the cracks in the system and think the males should be treated better. But still, none of them want them to be free.

There are definitely some shocking parts that will stick with you, and to some it may be a very controversial read. But I found it to be a very interesting take on society, and it kept my interest throughout. I would definitely recommend this book as a book club read; it is such a poignant, fascinating, and thought-provoking novel, there is a lot to dissect and talk about. It was a refreshing change from the genre and types of book s I usually read, and I enjoyed it! It's not like anything I've read before!

This book is not my usual style, and I realized that after requesting an arc. It wouldn't be fair to rate it highly here because it was just not what I like to read. I won't put a low rating anywhere else so that I don't impact the author's negative reviews on the book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Eleven Percent.

The premise is SOO intriguing I was eager to read this when my request was approved.

Sadly, this missed the mark for me and I wonder if it's because it's translated from the Dutch since there's so much lost in translation.

I also wasn't a fan of the writing style and tone, maybe due to the translations.

The narrative is slow and dull and I couldn't help wondering, "What's the story? What's the point?"

There's some world building yet not enough.

The writing is almost chaotic; on purpose or bad editing?

There's too much description about snakes and period blood, but little exposition on the new 'world order.'

Why so much discussion about snakes?

It takes a lot to make me squeamish but the frequent mentions of period blood grossed me out so much.

In a world where most of the men are wiped out, it seems gender and sexual prejudices still reign and I'm not sure why.

There were so many things I didn't understand, the religions, the priestesses, and it all went over my head.

Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand what's happening because I really wanted to like this.

Rife with transphobia and heteronormative ideas of what is is to "be a woman," Uthaug misses a chance to truly reinvent the Handmaid Tale wheel. An interesting concept that fails its execution in a way that makes one wonder how deep internal misogyny can truly run. It does one thing well and that is that women are just as capable of evil as anyone. I get what Uthaug was trying to do, I just wish that even in this case women were not once again the root of all evil. Like most books I dislike on first rad, I will reread and see if I was wrong and for the unique tale that this novel has, I hope that I am.

**Features**
- Dystopia set in a world where women are in power and make up the majority of the population
- Feminist iconography with a biblical/religious bent
- Thought experiment and cautionary tale

**Synopsis:**

The old, patriarchal world is gone, slowly being reclaimed by nature as women rebuild. The few men that remain are kept safely locked away in “spas” to be used for procreation and pleasure. Yet the balance of the world remains a delicate thing as Medea already knows. What remains of her order is quickly crumbling away along with the old world building in which they live. While Medea fights to keep the convent afloat, her mute sister Silence is on a mission of her own. Meanwhile, a priestess named Wicca mourns the death of her pregnant lover and a doctor named Eva finds herself grappling with questions about the spa in which she works. All have their secrets, but will they lead society into a brighter future or its demise?

**Thoughts:**

This is one of those books that I will probably find more interesting to discuss than I did reading. As a thought experiment, this story leans more philosophical (and occasionally theological) than theoretical and presents some interesting ideas. The world and characters are composed with clear intention, but it is definitely a more extreme depiction of a world run by women. Despite the feminist iconography and matriarchal structure, this is also far from a complementary view. Personally, it was not my kind of weird and I felt alienated from this world for most of the book. That being said, I found the way Uthaug represents different ideas fascinating even though the story didn’t resonate with me as a whole.

This book has been described as the “inverse” of The Handmaid’s Tale and I would say this is only true in the overall concept. The Handmaid’s Tale, despite its extremes, feels very connected to our current reality whereas Eleven Percent feels more conceptual and post-apocalyptic. Even though we get a view of the “spas” through Eva’s perspective, the repression of men in this society is never explored in any meaningful way and isn’t really the focus of the story. This book is still worth a try if you are interested in exploring feminism in a different way, but it is a very different reading experience overall.

Thank you to Netgalley for this copy. I was super hyped for the premise but the way it presented was just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was not "it" for me but am sure many others will enjoy it

This book has the coolest story concept and I really appreciate how thought provoking it was. I understand that this was to be framed as an extreme take on feminism and a completely matriarchal society, but some details actually seemed to diminish the successful nature of a female run society, which could go either way to support this author’s point. This will have you feeling feelings, but I’m not sure I liked how I felt reading this. Overall, I think I’m neutral after reading this.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!!
I don't know how I feel about this book. It is well written with a super interesting premise. However, I think I wanted more from the ending. This ends in a way that feels unresolved although every plotline is closed and snipped off.
On the other hand, absolutely a great book about dystopia and being just a person in that. There is no "hero", no "antagonist" that is easily seen. It's just a book about life hundreds of years after the end of our current civilization.

In a world where men make up 11% of the population and are only allowed to exist in carefully controlled captivity (you know, that pesky testosterone makes them so emotional), we follow the lives of a group of women whose lives are woven together. Medea is a witch whose powers lay with her ability to work with snakes and create herbal remedies. Wicca is a priestess from a prestigious line of women, Eva is a doctor at a Center (where men are kept), and Silence is a reclusive soul trying to atone for past mistakes. What the women don’t know is how they’re all connected and how much they’ll need each other.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The concept of a matriarchal society in the future is an interesting concept, though I consider myself more of a feminist who believes in equality over a specific gender claiming dominance. This book just never got going for me – the story moved slowly and there was too much focus on sex/genitalia. I think it would have been beneficial to have more of a history of how the current society came to be and maybe have a male’s perspective from one of the Centers.

While I appreciate the creativity of the author and the unique futuristic world they built, it did not resonate with me.

A very interesting read. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It wasn't really for me, but I am sure that it will be loed by the right audience.

⋆⋆¾ — honestly, i was neutral towards this until the scat kink episode. and then it went downhill from there. all in all, i'm just not really a fan of matriarchal stories where science and math and architecture are framed as masculine evil, and the matriarchy is just nature magic astrology woo woo and period blood cookies. it just doesn't feel subversive or thought-provoking in any way. insert that one ursula k. le guin quote here. and if you add how many times the phrase "the patriarchy" was used (i will die on the hill that it's different from saying "patriarchy" by itself), it reads like a 12-year-old on tumblr's first foray into radical feminism. of course, with the way the liberal feminist divine feminine energy people move, if we ever achieve a womanist society, that's probably what it will look like.