Red Clocks. Leni Zumas

      

      

       COPYRIGHT

      The Borough Press

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018

      First published by Lee Boudreaux Books 2018

      Leni Zumas asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      Copyright © Leni Zumas 2018

      Cover design by Ellie Game © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

      Cover illustrations by Lauren Harms (Diamond), Shutterstock.com (Lines)

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

      Source ISBN: 9780008209865

      Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008209858

      Version: 2018-10-23

       PRAISE FOR RED CLOCKS

      ‘Intense, beautifully crafted . . . Her talent is electric. Get ready for a shock’

       Guardian

      ‘Lyrical and beautifully observed . . . highly absorbing’

      Naomi Alderman, author of The Power

      ‘Vividly imagined’

       Sunday Times

      ‘Terrifyingly real’

       The Pool

      ‘Timing is everything – and the release of Red Clocks couldn’t be more apt’

       Grazia

      ‘A fearless novel with a frightening premise that seems plausible. One for fans of Naomi Alderman’s The Power’

       Stylist

      ‘Necessary and so of the moment . . . this is your go-to book’

       Elle

      ‘In bristling sentences that strike with stunning efficiency, Leni Zumas shows girls and women defying the excruciating restrictions imposed by both law and culture. This is not only timely but necessary fiction –uncannily prescient, unabashedly political, and fiercely humane. We so desperately need books like this’

      Emily Fridlund, author of History of Wolves

      ‘Hilarious, terrifying, and masterful – this pitch-perfect, timely novel reflects the horror and absurdity of our political landscape with a brilliance that ensures the book’s timelessness. It’s as riotously fun as it is chilling. Zumas has produced a poignant, wickedly sharp classic’

      Alissa Nutting, author of Tampa

      ‘Sharp, bold, funny’

       Esquire

      ‘This provocative exploration of female longing, frustration and determination couldn’t be more timely, and yet there’s nothing fleeting about it . . . Zumas has written a novel that’s political without being doctrinaire, that expands the dimensions of our most pressing social debate’

       Washington Post

      ‘Leni Zumas here proves she can do almost anything . . . Red Clocks is funny, mordant, baroque, political, poetic, alarming, and inspiring – not to mention a way forward for fiction now’

      Maggie Nelson, author of The Argonauts

      ‘The dystopian feminist novel for a new generation and a story that will rev you up to be part of the resistance’

       Refinery29

      ‘Strange and lovely and luminous. I loved Red Clocks with my whole heart’

      Kelly Link, author of Pretty Monsters

      ‘Powerful, beautifully written (and, at times, wry and funny) . . . Red Clocks is set to become one of the essential reads for 2018’

       Emerald Street

      ‘Shattering . . . The characters are beautifully realized, inviting empathy and understanding; the richly realized plot is compulsively readable, and the theme, with its echoes of Margaret Atwood, is never didactic but invites thought and discussion. The result is powerful and timely.’

      Booklist (starred review)

      ‘Red Clocks explores the way female bodies are politicised and controlled, with grim consequences . . . hauntingly plausible’

       SFX

       DEDICATION

       for Luca and Nicholas

      per sempre

       EPIGRAPH

      For nothing was simply one thing. The other

      Lighthouse was true too.

       Virginia Woolf

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Praise for Red Clocks

Dedication