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Simone de Muñoz writes dystopian, or perhaps utopian, fiction, depending on your perspective, where women drive the story and sometimes even run the world. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in economics from MIT, which she uses in her day job as a data analyst at a nonprofit. Based in Silicon Valley, she lives with her patient husband, their two young sons, and a grumpy dog named Fish. Manflu is her debut novel.
Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite
The world in the future is run by women since Manflu has decimated the male population. Author Simone de Muñoz sets the scene with her principal character Morgan busy working in a government-sponsored lab to find a vaccine that will combat the disease. At home, her husband Jonas is confined to bed and not expected to live much longer. Morgan is racing against time to find a cure and when she falls pregnant with a male child, her research becomes even more vital. She needs to hide the fact that she is expecting a boy since no one is prepared to give birth to a gender that is destined to die. However, someone behind the scenes is working against her as supplies are held up and then a fire at the laboratory sets back her timetable even further. Together with a close team of friends, she is forced to take shelter and hide from the authorities who are out to thwart her efforts.
I have often wondered about a world run by women, and author Simone de Muñoz in her book Manflu describes this so well. The military has been disbanded and resources diverted to social upliftment and improved conditions for the people. I must admit to thinking that maybe Morgan shouldn’t succeed in discovering a viable vaccine! It’s a fairer and better-run world! I enjoyed this book; it is well written, has lots of show-not-tell, and it flows easily. I thought the pace was good too as the story kept moving forward at a steady pace. A delightful change, how women would run the world. Great idea. This is well worth five stars.
