Amanda (almost 15yo) - She was happy to be married so that she could escape her father. Now that she's pregnant with a girl, she realizes she's merely changed her role in the process. She takes off running nowhere in particular, flailing her arms wildly in the dark and laughing louder than she would dare scream at home. It’s summer, and the quilt is hers, the lavish rain is hers, the brimming joyous night is hers. And there are many more days and nights to come. (c) Because of the small number of people on the island, everyone has an assigned job- that they keep for life. Reproduction, meetings and courtships are also controlled by tradition. As an example, in one society I found mention of, the young boys were sexually abused. The cultural belief was that being a strong warrior was the most important quality in a man. The sexual abuse was thought to increase boys’ strength and virility, thus making them into greater warriors and benefiting both the boys themselves and their society (which I’m assuming experienced frequent conflict.) JM: Oh, that's a good question! Let's see. Amanda's: SHE FORGED THE WAY TO FREEDOM. Janey's: HER FIRE BURNED BRIGHTEST.

Dabney: Tell me about your journey as a writer. What was the first thing you ever wrote for publication? Wait for them to be old enough to understand,” yawns Mary, “and they’ll be adults. And then you can’t do anything.” (c) The silence this time is full of doubt. “But,” says Fiona, “what about the ancestors?” “What about them?” demands Janey. “Well,” says Fiona, as if explaining something to a very small child, Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.She mulls Mother’s impotent grief. A thought that Caitlin has been trying to suppress abruptly rises to the surface: if she leaves, if she is not there to stand in front of Mother and absorb Father’s violence, what will happen to Mother? But another voice, one that has been driven down even deeper, suddenly sings forth. She should be standing in front of me. KD: I know the majority of our readers loved the strong female characters in this book. Do you have a favorite character in Gather the Daughters? An intriguing, gorgeously realized and written novel which inexorably draws you into its dark heart." I can only imagine someone said something similar just before drinking the Jonestown punch in ’78.)

It has been short-listed for the 2018 Arthur C. Clarke award. A selection of our panel of shadow jurors respond to the novel below… Gary K. Wolfe G ather the Daughters is set in the alternative reality of a misogynist dystopia. On an island just out of sight of “the Wastelands” (the mainland, or the rest of the world), the descendants of 10 families live in a closed community with no technology later than pen and paper, no money and some disturbing sexual practices. Mother says she’ll feel different when she’s older, and Lenore Gideon told Vanessa she doesn’t have a choice anyway. Vanessa suspects they’re both saying the same thing. Vanessa (13yo) is a curious, clever child. Her father's position as a Wanderer gives her rare access to books. I loved the interrogation techniques she used to extract information from adults. She questions everything, but thinks it's futile to entertain any ideas of escape.A lot of people were frustrated that the women didn’t object more. As is made clear in the novel, there are quite harsh punishments for those who do speak out, but also, in our world, some of the more terrifying childhood abuses- foot-binding, female genital mutilation- are/were performed by women. It’s clear that patriarchy led to these traditions being formed, but women contribute to the continuation of the tradition (again, for the supposed good of the children involved). When they arrive at the church, there’s a small group of girls gath- ered around the entrance who hail the newcomers with relief, hoping vainly for further intelligence. When a daughter submits to her father’s will, when a wife submits to her husband, when a woman is a helper to a man, we are worshiping the ancestors and their vision. Our ancestors sit at the feet of the Creator, and as their hearts are warmed, they in turn warm His. These women worship the ancestors with each right action, with each right intention. Surely the ancestors will open the gates of heaven, and our grandfathers’ grandfathers will welcome us with open arms.” (c) This is not an unusual novel, but it is a strong example of its kind. And an account of what happens to the rising generation when islanders decide to cut themselves off from the neighbouring mainland to pursue a fantasy of conservatism may be of particular interest to British readers this summer. Jennie Melamed’s Gather the Daughters bowled me over in more ways than one. It was haunting, arresting, thought-provoking and confrontational in all the best ways possible. It pressed up against the boundaries of my personal comfort levels - and then pushed passed them. This was a novel with something to say, and Melamed’s voice carried far, loudly and still resonates in my head as I write this.

I began wondering what it would be like to grow up experiencing culturally sanctioned abuse. What would the children be like? How would they tolerate this abuse, especially given the fact that all of their peers were tolerating it too? What reactions are so ingrained in our consciousness — that no matter our cultural upbringing — that a certain type of adverse childhood experience would lead to similar human responses? Narrative tension builds as skilful characterisation fills the reader with growing concern for the central voices. The discomforts of low-tech life on a small island that is icy in winter and infested by mosquitoes in summer are convincingly portrayed, and the world built from the detail of coarse, worn-out clothes and beautifully made domestic interiors is believable. That one sentence summarizes the horror of living as a girl in this disturbed society. Even calling this society disturbed doesn’t feel like enough. It is horrific and beyond understanding. But Mrs. Adam,” whispers Vanessa, clinging to the hand on her jaw, “what if the hurting isn’t the most important part? What if it’s not even worth considering?” She swallows. “What if you were going to hurt anyway?”

Gather the Daughters

Rosie (9yo) doesn't get her own chapters, but she's such a memorable character. She's headstrong and full of righteous rage.