Flauschbuch reviewed We, Jane by Aimee Wall
Not quite what I expected
3 stars
It took me ages to finish this audiobook. That endeavour wasn't helped by the rather monotonous voice in which it is read. It's a quiet and slow-moving narrative which meanders quite a bit. While it deals with questions of abortion access it's mostly about the personal relationships between the characters, especially Marthe and "Jane", and life in Newfoundland. If you, like me, wonder why this is set in Canada which has very liberal laws regarding abortions (certainly less restrictive ones than my own country), the book has good arguments in favour of networks of women knowing how to do abortions themselves. Especially in rural areas like this one, actual access to abortions can be a problem. And you can never be sure that the right to abortion won't be taken away (as we've seen in some countries and regions). Even though there's an interesting twist towards the end of the …
It took me ages to finish this audiobook. That endeavour wasn't helped by the rather monotonous voice in which it is read. It's a quiet and slow-moving narrative which meanders quite a bit. While it deals with questions of abortion access it's mostly about the personal relationships between the characters, especially Marthe and "Jane", and life in Newfoundland. If you, like me, wonder why this is set in Canada which has very liberal laws regarding abortions (certainly less restrictive ones than my own country), the book has good arguments in favour of networks of women knowing how to do abortions themselves. Especially in rural areas like this one, actual access to abortions can be a problem. And you can never be sure that the right to abortion won't be taken away (as we've seen in some countries and regions). Even though there's an interesting twist towards the end of the book, very little is done with it and the book just kind of ends.