Hillary Jordan is the author of the novels Mudbound (2008) and When She Woke (2011), as well as the digital short "Aftermirth." Mudbound won the 2006 Bellwether Prize, founded by Barbara Kingsolver to recognize socially conscious fiction, and a 2009 Alex Award from the American Library Association. It was the 2008 NAIBA Fiction Book of the Year and was long-listed for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Paste magazine named it one of the Top Ten Debut Novels of the Decade. Mudbound has been translated into French, Italian, Serbian, Swedish, and Norwegian, and the film version is forthcoming in fall 2017. When She Woke was long-listed for the 2013 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was a 2012 Lambda Literary Award finalist. It has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Chinese complex characters. Jordan has a BA from Wellesley College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, and Muskogee, Oklahoma, and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
"The Scarlet Letter could unfurl from no better a speculative pen
than that held by Hillary Jordan. She takes the seeds of that story
and roots them in a world where 'right to life' is the law of the
land . . . The result . . . is as compulsively readable as it is
thought-provoking."
--The Denver Post
"[A] chilling futuristic novel."--O, The Oprah Magazine --Kirkus
Reviews
"[A] provocative, politically charged novel... [Hannah's] journey
to reclaim herself is equally chilling and riveting."--Family
Circle --The Book Case
"An inventive tale about a new America that has lost its way . . .
When She Woke is, at its heart, a tense, energetic and lively paced
story about self-discovery and reclamation in the wake of enormous
shame. It is a story about the price of love."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"An utterly engrossing story, driven by a heroine as layered and
magnetic as Hester Prynne herself, and reminiscent, too, of
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Absolutely a must-read."
--Booklist, starred review
"Christian fundamentalists may shun this novel, but book clubs will
devour it, and savvy educators will pair it with Hawthorne's
Scarlet Letter. Essential."--Library Journal
--Booklist
"In the chillingly credible tomorrowland of Jordan's second novel,
Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortion has been criminalized in
42 states and a vigilante group known as the Fist of Christ
brutalizes violators . . . Jordan's feverishly conceived dystopia
holds its own alongside the dark inventions of Margaret Atwood and
Ray Bradbury."
--The New York Times Book Review
"It reads like a thriller, and one that makes you think hard, to
boot. I've already placed this one on my
favorite-books-for-book-clubs list."--The Book Case
"Jordan blends hot-button issues such as separation of church and
state, abortion, and criminal justice with an utterly engrossing
story, driven by a heroine as layered and magnetic as Hester Prynne
herself, and reminiscent, too, of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's
Tale (1985). Absolutely a must-read."--Booklist, starred
review--Family Circle
"Jordan manages to open up powerful feminist and political themes
without becoming overly preachy--and the parallels with Hawthorne
are fun to trace."--Kirkus --Library Journal
"Jordan's take on the hot button issues of our time--separation of
church and state, abortion, an imperfect criminal justice
system--is compelling."
--San Antonio Express-News
"[A] provocative, politically charged novel . . . [Hannah's]
journey to reclaim herself is equally chilling and riveting."
--Family Circle
"Hannah's fight for freedom is both a sober warning and a gripping
page-turner. Already it reads like a classic." --AARP
"Will spark many an intriguing book club discussion." --The
Cleveland Plain Dealer
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