Benefits

by Zoë Fairbairns

Book by Fairbairns, Zoe

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Feminism, Dystopia, Politics, Literary Fiction, Lesbian

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Zoe Fairbairns was born in England on 20 December 1948, and educated at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and the College of William and Mary, USA. She has worked as a freelance journalist and a creative writing tutor, and is the former poetry editor of Spare Rib. She has also held appointments as Writer in Residence at Bromley Schools (1981-3 and 1985-9), Deakin University, Geelong, Australia (1983), Sunderland Polytechnic (1983-5) and Surrey County Council (1989).

Her first novel, Live as Family, written when she was seventeen, was published in 1968, and her second, Down: An Explanation (1969), was published a year later while she was still at university. Both novels employ a first-person narrative to explore issues of personal and community responsibility. Her short stories have been included in many anthologies, including Tales I Tell My Mother: A Collection of Feminist Short Stories (1978) and Brilliant Careers (2000). She has also contributed to poetry anthologies, including The Faber Book of Blue Verse (1990). In the 1970s her writing centred on environmental and social concerns, and she produced reports for CND and Shelter. In 1984, with James Cameron, she published Peace Moves: Nuclear Protest in the 1980s, an account of the anti-nuclear protest movement.

Benefits (1979), a tense, dystopian novel, marked her return to fiction and to women's issues, and five further novels, which consolidated her reputation as a feminist writer, followed: Stand we at Last (1983), spans 120 years and three continents and chronicles the lives of five generations of women against a background of Victorian repression, prostitution, the suffragette movement, the devastation of war and the rise of the women's movement; Here Today (1984), which was awarded the 1985 Fawcett Society Book Prize, is an exploration of feminist themes in a crime setting; Closing (1987), is a sharp portrait of working women caught between feminisim and Thatcherism; and Daddy's Girls (1992), is a saga of three sisters in a family full of guilty secrets. Zoe Fairbairns' most recent novel, Other Names, was published in 1998. Her latest book is a collection of short stories, How Do You Pronounce Nulliparous? (2004).

From the author's website:
Born:
England, 1948.

Family:
Second of three daughters.

Parents:
Conscientious. Furious. Funny. Gave great parties. Had huge rows. Got divorced.

Religion:
Born with an open mind. Christened into Church of England. Educated by Catholic nuns. (Don’t ask. Or Click here) Secularist.

Employment status? (Employed full-time, employed part-time, unemployed, self-employed, retired?)
All of the above.

Blog, Twitter, Facebook?
None of the above. But I welcome friendly, interesting, emails from friendly, interesting people, and I do my best to reply in kind.

Contact her at: zoe@zoefairbairns.co.uk

Reviews

[Clementine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is unmistakably a product of 1970s second-wave feminism. It's a fascinating speculative look at how austerity programmes can be weaponized against women. Given that feminist dystopia seems to be having a moment, with about a book a second being compared to The Handmaid's Tale, I am rather surprised that this novel isn't more widely-read and considered a classic of the genre. It's true that this particular imaginary world doesn't really pay attention to the ways government policies might effect women of colour differently (although it is important to note that the cast of characters is not entirely white, and WoC play pivotal roles in the narrative), and there are some descriptions of skin colour that are a little fetishistic. But the attention to class and sexuality is impressive. Like The Handmaid's Tale (come on, the comparison is inevitable), the dystopia of this novel is based on reproductive control of women - but in a very different way. I've never seen a dystopia pay such attention to bureaucratic structures. A very interesting novel - and one that seems relevant though we've now lived through the decades it depicts.

[Kyla · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was absolutely terrible. It's so terrible I don't even want to give it one star. It's so terrible I would rather re-read Fifty Shades of Grey than ever re-read this book.

This book was racist, classist, ableist, homophobic, xenophobic, and - ironically - sexist. And on top of all that, it was terribly written.

I've heard multiple people compare this book to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and I think Margaret Atwood should sue those people for daring to associate her name with this drivel.

I can't even begin to discuss all the things I hate about this book so I'm not even going to try.

I think what angers me the most is the fact that this could have been really good. The plot is solid, for the most part, and the issues dealt with in the last couple chapters are frighteningly relevant.

In summary, if you think this is a good book, I really don't think you can be mad when anybody calls all feminists "angry, man-hating lesbians."

[Jonathan Norton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very deep or interesting characters, not great writing, some problematical issues of representation and inclusion, but the alt-futurism is still interesting. There's a rant about how privileged the boomer generation were, and this book may contain the first appearance (1979) of the term "political correctness" (pg 103) in a text from a near-mainstream publisher.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

3.75/5 (Good)

"Zoë Fairbairns' Benefits (1979) charts the struggles of the British women's liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically [...]"

[Avital Gertner-Samet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book which was originally published in 1979 is truer than ever in 2017. Women's right to choose is still not in consensus. To the contrary, more and more governments who oppose women's right come to power. Therefore the book was excellent as a thought provoking showcase of the slippery slope of stripping off basic human rights (as a woman's right to choose). However, I wish the characters were less stigmatic and more complex. In my humble opinion, it takes away from the important message this book conveys.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit clunky and at times, felt less like a novel and more like a political commentary. But no matter; still v thought provoking. Wish I had read it when I was a trendy 20 something living in London in the 70s.

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it when I read it decades ago and I love it now. The re-reading did not disappoint!

[El Forsyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A feminist must read!!!

[Agnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

70's feminist dystopian novel (with witty writing)

women are in danger of losing their rights
career women and housewives are pitted against each other
housewives are reliant on their men who reluctantly (if at all) give them money to provide for the household
wages are so low that social security pays more
women of color collecting benefits are discriminated against
women are valued solely for their ability to produce children i.e. workers
the government interferes with women's fertility

Can you imagine a world so horrible?

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

***1/2

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book written thirty odd years ago it's worryingly relevant.

[Veronica]

I'm adding a shelf for books recommended by the Feminist SciFi blog of books to read this election season.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

The following quote was reason enough to read this book.
"At least stay for Christmas," Pam urged.
"Do you have it?"
"Not as such. The birth of a male who thinks he's god isn't such a rare event."