In the years after the Final War, the Council of Women decide to secede from men. They create a world of their own away from men, where they can raise their children without fear. Once a year men may visit briefly to procreate. Boys are sent to the Land of Men when they reach puberty. At eleven, Bergman was sent across the sea and placed with his fathers, Spencer and Harris. Years later, he meets Hastings at the Beach Festival, an annual event for young men. It’s love at first sight for Bergman. But the course of true love never runs smoothly. In time Hastings desires a son, a subject Bergman paid little thought to. Yet their son Taylor brings great joy to their lives. Life is further complicated when Hastings is chosen to travel to the Land of Women to father children. He wants to accept, but Bergman can’t understand why he would consider going. Isn’t he happy with what he already has? If he goes, what will that do to their relationship? To their future? Is this a betrayal, or is it something else?

In the Land of Men

We waited with the other men. In total there were eleven of us—three men standing by themselves and four couples. I estimated, therefore, we could expect the boat to have seven boys. Some years there were only one or two boys of age. It wasn’t the women’s duty to fall pregnant. It was completely their choice; as was the number of children they gave birth to in their lifetime. Neither the men nor the women were in a hurry to populate the world. Enough pre-war literature had survived the holocaust to give us a clear picture of the state of the world before the various governments and their military destroyed it.


It was also the women who named the children. 7: Interruption


“I’ve never understood where our mothers got our names from,” said Sawyer, looking up from his notes.


Bergman shrugged. “I don’t know either. Maybe from books. Maybe they’re just words that have a nice sound to them.”


Chapter 11