Egalia's Daughters: A Satire of the Sexes

Originally published in Norway in 1977, this anti-utopian feminist novel explores society's crevices and stands them on their heads. Humorous and deadly serious at the same time, Brantenberg presents mythical Egalsund where being fat is a virtue, especially to gain the ""fatherhood protection'' needed by the weakermalesex. Pastel beard bows are the rage, as are tulle dresses, depilation and an uncomfortable uplifting genital box called a ``peho.'' Women Members of Parliament worry that the bonus pay for childbearing has sunk too low to encourage reproduction. Concrete details reflect the imaginative density of the novel: family names are Egg, Lizdaughter, Bosomby, etc.; spring songs celebrate men's physical charms; and a famous statue stares out to sea awaiting the return of his adventurous sea-faring wife. Not surprisingly, the oppressed men begin a Masculinist Movement, complete with peho burning. Their masculinist manifesto (which receives sneering reviews from the female literary world) jolts the reader as its utopian agenda brings us back full circle to our own society. November