The Silence Project

An absolutely remarkable premise - and a very multilayered perspective of an individual, a Community, and whether something is good or bad or many things simultaneously. It makes you wonder whether the benefits of the Community could possibly be held up against the damage caused; and which way the scales would fall.

I can honestly say that this book is my best read of the year! I’m reluctant to say too much about the plot as I really want people to discover this narrative for themselves without spoilers!! Safe to say that this excellent fiction will live with me for a long time. Can’t recommend it highly enough!!

I will attempt to do this without spoilers as I want as many people as possible to read this without knowing what to expect as it will blow you away! This was the feminist dystopian novel needed in my life, the mother-daughter relationship is relevant and often hits close to home which makes it even more of an engaging read. I cannot recommend this enough!

This book was amazing with a premise that was both original and intriguing. It was incredibly well written with an exceptional storyline and well developed characters. I don't want to give anything away from this book as it will ruin it for people but honestly one of the best books I have read so far this year and maybe last year too

Absolutely haunting.

I didn’t expect to be as gripped by this book as I have been. I haven’t been able to put it down, and when I’ve been forced to (to do my day job!) I couldn’t get it out of my mind. It’s brilliant and a bit disturbing, just like dystopian novels should be. Evocative of The Handmaid’s Tale or 1984, it’s even given me nightmares (which I can’t say a book has done before…!). The horror comes in the reality, in the fact the novel absolutely could happen.

Fantastic. Hailey is a force.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this privilege!

*** I previously reviewed a sample of this books and was then sent the full version - this review contains my thoughts and feeling of the full version ***

I don't think I've ever read a book as quickly as I devoured The Silence Project, and I likely would have finished it in a day if it weren't for work or sleep.

The Silence Project is 'written' by Emilia Morris (but really Carole Hailey, the author), who is telling the story of her life as the daughter of 'Rachel of Chalkham' in the hope of setting the record straight once and for all about her mother. On the day of her 13th birthday, Emilia's mother goes to the river next to their pub, sets up a tent, and stops speaking in apparent protest over...something. Over time, word gets out about Rachel and her "silent protest" and she gains a number of followers. Over time, the Community grows until one day, in front of a crowd, her family, and the press, Rachel and many of her followers commit suicide.

In fact - 21,078 of them do. 

Without any clear guidance now that Rachel is gone, the Community has grown into a global enterprise and powerhouse, but their original mission seems to have drastically changed. But since Rachel never spoke or wrote down her plans after her suicide, this has given the Community enough free reign to do as they wish under her name and under the guise that this is part of Rachel's grand plans for the Community.

The only 'guidelines' they and Emilia have at all of what Rachel wanted to achieve are in Rachel's diaries, which are to be released for publication and for people to interpret what they will.

Emilia's 'book' documents her life from her 13th birthday onwards, going into detail about the early days of her mum's mission, up to her suicide, and beyond when Emilia gets pulled into working with the Community and is starting to be blinded by their manipulation. By publishing her accounts, Emilia is hoping to show the world (who are eating out of the now powerful Community's hands) that the saint-like image they've built up of Rachel is wrong and the Community is dangerous.  

The Silence Project is almost like a murder documentary—where you already know the outcome and are recounting events prior, invested in the hope of finding an angle or explanation to the madness. As mentioned before, I could not put this book down.

Although it is a work of fiction, it reads like a recounting of true-life events. The use of footnotes, references to websites and other works, interviews, and newspapers, all lend themselves to making this work of fiction feel as believable as possible. Since the book is set in the UK, the author even made sure to reference real shows and newspapers (such as Question Time, The Telegraph, BBC, etc) that exist throughout.

One notion I had when I finished is that it's never revealed what Rachel's plan really was, other than the wishy-washy notion that people need to 'be silent and listen to/hear each other more'. But to what end? What are we listening for? Who do we need to listen to? It never explains why Rachel was obsessed with disasters or why she decided to finally pitch a tent and never speak again. 

And ... that's the whole point. To Emilia, it was never explained at the time, and she will now never know—no one will, as the only person who could fully explain was silent and is now dead. And the ones running the narrative have their own twisted agenda, are too powerful to oppose, and are now, ironically, no longer listening.

We will never find out what people think of her book, if they believe her, what people think of her mum's diaries, or if the Community ever gets taken down. It's not a fully satisfying ending or explanation of events - but that just makes it better and more believable because by the end of Emilia's book, things are still ongoing.

5 stars well earned.

[This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.]

A few months ago, I read a truly excellent sample kindly sent to me by Corvus, and it turned out to be a book that was right up my street. I love the concept of the Very British Cult (The Rapture by Claire McGlasson is a fine example), and The Silence Project takes this and combines it with feminist politics along the lines of such greats as The Power by Naomi Alderman or Vox by Christina Dalcher.

When I was lucky enough to get a copy of the full book, I got exactly what I was after, and a few surprises besides.

The first half of the book is the fictional memoir of Emilia Morris, daughter of cult-leader Rachel of Chalkham. Rachel one day decided to stop talking in order that she might hear more clearly, and builds a (the) Community around her who believe this is the way to solve the world’s problems. Grown weary and frustrated with the same old minor protests, Rachel eventually decides, with many of her followers, to immolate herself in a final global protest.

This was the story I was expecting, and it fully delivered. I’ve read several books this year that lay out the frustrations of people (usually women) who have grown up in the long cold shadow of a famous and subsequently neglectful parent — and I won’t lie, I enjoy them immensely. It’s a literary kink I didn’t know I had! And Emilia’s narrative rings so true, filled with frustration mixed with the emotional maturity of adulthood’s hindsight. Emilia is a massively sympathetic character in this portion of the narrative, and my heart really ached for her.

But this truly is a book of two halves. At the midway mark, Rachel lit her pyre, and I wondered what the rest of the book would bring. So often, the death of the famous parent is the end of the story. But Emilia’s story becomes her own as she goes through her personal aftermath following her mother’s death, but also the way the Community continues to grow in power and force, moving, Emilia argues, away from the original principles her mother put in place. The unexpected location for much of this portion of the book is the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country I know very little about, but is relayed in vivid, beautiful, ugly detail in Hailey’s book. This move was one I wasn’t expecting, but it was a pleasant surprise.

The thing that surprised me as the novel turned its focus to the resolutions the Community proposes to what it perceives as the world’s problems, is that the word ‘eugenics’ is never mentioned. A lot of very dodgy concepts — concepts that Emilia initially buys into — are placed on the table, but that link is never directly drawn. Nevertheless, Hailey doesn’t hold back on making Emilia a far more problematic figure as her story continues, and no less loveable for that. There were moments when my heart really ached for her.

I’ve made a few literary comparisons in this review, and I think The Silence Project will be an excellent read for anyone who enjoyed the works mentioned. But The Silence Project really goes further than delivering a neat package, a hero’s journey, or a standard cult narrative. This is a book more complex and knotty than it appears from the outset, and I think might spark some very interesting conversations.

The Silence Project by Carole Hailey is released on February 9th, 2023, and is available for preorder here.

Review written with thanks to the publishers and Netgalley.co.uk for an e-advanced review copy.

This was a brilliant book and a really interesting perspective of how the actions of others can impact their families and leave a long-lasting legacy. Incredibly thought provoking and great, well-written characters. Highly recommended.

The Silence Project gripped me right from the first page. Told from the point of view of young teenager Emilia (a narrative that is always hard to pull off for adult writers), this is a compelling read. On Emilia’s thirteenth birthday, her mother Rachel moves out of the family home and into a tent at the bottom of the garden. Taking a self-imposed vow of silence, Rachel hopes to take stand against contemporary society, but as Rachel becomes more and more enmeshed into a cult referred to as ‘the community’, does her increasingly drastic political engagement come at the expense of the daughter who should be cherished?
I have NetGalley and the publishers to thank for my free copy of this unusual novel that I may not have otherwise discovered. Essentially the investigation of a complicated mother-daughter relationship whilst also shining a searchlight on what it means to belong to an exclusive and exclusionary social group, this is a book that deserves a wide readership.

This book - as the author says - is a blend of fact and fiction. In places I had to stop and think where one ended and the other started. It is an amazing, heart-rending bumpy ride which shows how one person, with one act, could change the world. There are so many truths in the book, mixed in with so much deceit. We need to keep our wits about us - and listen!

Amazing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this ARC.

Wow is all I can say. I could not put this book down. I have read a spate of books with similar themes particularly around silence recently but this is the most well done. The weaving of alternate universe with real life events made the book all the more startling and the most extreme of the policies seemed honestly not much of a stretch of the imagination.

The first part of the book covers Emilia's relationship with her mother and the shaping of the Community before the shocking Event. I felt Emilia's frustration and anger seeping into every word. The image of her standing outside the tent in her bloodied pyjamas just wanting her mum to come into the house and help her with her first period was particularly poignant. I loved her Dad - what a patient, gentle soul. Also there was a very timely and pointed comment about whether it is fair for the prime minister to be someone who hasn't stood in a general election that hit close to the bone!

The second part of the book covers the explosion of the Community into the mainstream and the twisting of her mother's intentions. Sophie is a viper, the interactions with her are chilling as she invents mantras and deceptions to back up what the Community is doing. It cleverly shows how cults prey on those feeling desperate, frightened and vulnerable and the slow creep of Casey's beliefs from blasé to fanatical figurehead are eminently believable.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of Emilia's contrasting experiences in the DRC as well. From still wrangling with her relationship with her mother and the Community, to violence and protests, exploring beautiful nature and falling in love. The description of the gorillas made me want to visit the DRC.

The book is genuinelly frightening because it could plausibly happen in real life. Also the twist of the Community's bigger plans was even worse than I had expected. I thought I knew where it was going but couldn't have predicted just how far they would go for money and power. Unsettling and clever, I thoroughly recommend this book.

Rachel decides that the world is too busy and loud, she takes herself down the bottom of the garden and sets up a Greenham Common style camp promoting listening. This is what happens next; to her daughter, the Community of women and how her thoughts and beliefs are interpreted by those in the Community.

A really clever book which is set 'now' so references current and recent occurrences - which makes it all the more believable and frankly, terrifying. There is a bit of a flabby mid-section but I would implore you to keep going. The ever-increasing fanaticism which starts off being fairly reasonable, becomes deeply questionable and chilling.

A compelling read which makes you think about some of the driving forces behind some current global political decisions.

I read a sample back in June and was delighted to be offered the full book to read ahead of publication. Thank you to the publisher Corvus Books and NetGalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review.

My review of the sample was: <i>The scene setting was amazing and I immediately had many questions. Such a strong opening and I wish the whole book was already available.</i>

It's not as easy to review the full book without giving spoilers, so I think rather than comment on the plot I will probably comment around the general vibe of the book. It has very much an unsettling, Black-Mirror-like feel, merging real events, people and places with fictional characters.

The author didn't just build a world and write from the POV of a person who is writing a memoir, she also had to come up with fake studies about the Community, and fake experts who wrote fake books about the Community, which she often quotes from. The footnotes are essentially a fake bibliography of fake research and websites. (I'm not sure these are entirely necessary, mainly because none of the links work, but boy do they fuck with your head A LOT)

The chapters alternate between flashbacks and the narrator's present time, but the flashback chapters do progress more or less chronologically. I know some readers are not keen on frequent time jumps, if this technique bothers you then this book may not be for you.

There was a weird change in tone around the 66% mark that I think may benefit from more revision, as the author very suddenly started overusing parenthesis and exclamation marks mid-narration which hadn't really been as frequent in previous chapters. This is when the narrator is first arranging to travel to Congo and describes the beginning of her time there.

The book takes a particularly interesting turn when the narrator begins to question the nature of her work in Congo and I think it does a pretty good job of showing nuance where somebody does something that's harmful to others with the best intentions, and how they cope with the guilt when they realise that actually their actions had an unspoken and downright racist motive.

I was left wondering what the author wanted to teach with this book, and who she personally thinks the fictional "Community" align most with, out of the activist groups that exist nowadays. The Community aren't presented as a political party but as supposedly politically neutral, perhaps most comparable to modern-day charities? There is a comment towards the end that envisions what would happen in an alternate reality where the Community did not exist (e.g. our everyday world) showing that essentially, no reality is completely problem-free. I would have been happy to read further and see what future the author had in mind for the world of the Community - do the Community ever become a fully fledged political power, do they only seize certain countries Gilead-style or do they become a dictator that ends up oppressing the whole world?

Found this a little hard to get into, but so glad I persevered. Refreshingly different, engaging and beautifully written. No spoilers here, so read it for yourself, you won't be disappointed!

This is an original and powerful novel which explores both how a cult develops, and how the actions of an individual in pursuit of their beliefs can have an irrevocable effect on both the wider community and, particularly, on their own family. When Emilia is thirteen, her mother Rachel, feeling a lack of purpose and meaning in domestic life, moves into a tent at the bottom of the garden and refuses to speak. Her ideas about being silent in order to listen to and hear others draws in a growing number of followers until it becomes the Community, a mass movement which spreads worldwide. After the Event, a ritual mass suicide, the Community’s influence balloons and becomes increasingly controlling and sinister. Emilia, struggling to come to terms with what happened, decides that she needs to understand the truth about her mother- and to tell the world what she knows. So many big issues are highlighted- how can we tackle problems like climate change, over-population and terrorism? How can anyone make their voice heard in today’s society? Does power always corrupt? Is sacrifice ever worth it? But most of all, Hailey looks at how a parent’s actions can make or destroy the life of their child, causing lifelong harm. The description of Emilia’s boyfriend Tom reacting to the Event, in which his own mother took part, is one of the most horrendous and moving things I have ever read. Emilia herself gets caught up in the Community in her efforts to rebuild her life, but comes to find a way to move on and find hope against the odds. Thought-provoking, compassionate and gripping, this is a book which deserves to find a readership as wide as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Power.”

Now this is one Hell of a book! I was hooked. No kidding. I wasn't even half way through and I was raving about it to my book club and how much they're gonna love it.

I cannot even put into words how real this felt for me. Like numerous times I was researching and looking on good ole Google to see if it actually happened. I am so so blown away by how this book made me feel.

I really loved how it was Rachel's daughter that narrated the story and how brutally honest she was about her part within the community when she worked there. I felt I could really connect with her and empathised with her when she told us how ashamed she was. I cant even imagine how hard that work be living under her mother's shadow, her legacy and seeing what the community did but saying it was all because of Rachel.

This was a true masterpiece, so well thought out, so well written I think it's definitely going to be a top book for 2023!!!!

Huge thankyou to Netgalley, Carol Hailey & Corvus for the ARC.

Truly disturbing in many ways, from the decisions made by Emilia's mother Rachel and the emotional and physical impact that has on Emilia and her Dad to the worldwide fanatical craze that the community has become and the inability of Emilia and her father to escape its clutches and the legacy of Rachel.
At times a difficult read-more so because it is not beyond the realms of comprehension that it could really happen- will definitely send the odd shiver down your spine as fictional events touch very close to reality.

Emilia Morris is celebrating her thirteenth birthday when her mother, Rachel, moves out, into a tent at the bottom of their garden. It is also the day that her mother stops speaking, and from that day on never utters another word. Drawn by her vow of silence and desire to ‘listen more’, other women join her. Soon there is a commune of women living down the end of the garden and they form the Community. They make efforts to spread their message to listen more, pulling off bigger and bigger stunts to spread the message. Then, eight years after Emilia’s thirteenth birthday, her mother and thousands of her followers set themselves alight in a grandiose statement, in what later becomes known as the Event.

Soon after this Event, the Community’s reach grows. It becomes a global force, with impact in every sphere of influence. Rachel is seen as a martyr, a hero, a monster - depending on who you ask. Emilia has kept her opinion off record. But after falling out with the Community she decides to publish her mothers journals, and her own account of her life with her mother in her own memoirs. It is a painful process, dredging up long buried memories, and talking to people long in the past. It is an emotional journey, and on top of that, it is a book the Community doesn't want written. Can she survive the process?

This was gripping and thought provoking read. It was well written, with excellent storytelling, and a well crafted storyline, the time jumps were managed superbly, and the characters were all superbly developed. It was portrayed in a realistic manner so that the dystopian elements were suitably disturbing, because it was not a stretch to see the events portrayed happening in this day and age. When so many elements ring true, it is off-putting to see how society could change like this in a matter of time. I was absolutely engrossed by this book, it was written like a real memoir/documentary, with footnotes, references, links to websites and interviews etc. This all gave it a hyper-realistic air, leaning even further into the feeling of a ‘what if’ that could come true. I could not stop reading, and when finished I could not stop thinking about this story. I have never wanted to discuss a book with someone more, this would be an ideal book club book, as it deserves the discourse after reading. A review does not do this story justice - go read it for yourself!

*I received this book for review from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I finished this book yesterday and wanted a bit of space to consider my review. Firstly, I want to say it is original, and then that it is really well written. I was engrossed in Emilia's story and I found her character convincing. From the beginning where she was a 13 year old child until the end where she was in her early thirties. Her voice was strong, consistent and believable.
Also convincing was the way the book was written. I had to remind myself it was not based around a real event. the novel idea of using footnotes as you would in a factual piece was a good way of allowing us to suspend out disbelief.
The Community - the organisation/lobby group/cult founded by Em's mum Rachel - being a figment of the authors imagination, was impressive. The use of her mother's notebooks and then her own experiences while working for the Community, made it believable and sinister. I wanted to get through it to see what happened. I had no idea how it would end. As well as a good read, it provides a warning.
I think Carole Hailey is a fresh new voice and I will definitely look forward to anything else she writes.
I give this a 4.5, but will round up to 5 for it's originality and the quality of the writing.

I have just finished this book and I could not put it down. It truly blew my socks off for its originality but also how believable it was. I was engrossed in Emilia's story and I found her character totally relatable. I believe we were teenagers at the same time so learning Beyoncé’s dance moves and fighting over yellow wristbands made her character even more believable for me.
I found it difficult to remember at certain points that this event did not happen and at times I questioned whether I need to Google this. It was madness!

I can’t wait to see what Carole writes next.

I was drawn to this book as I wanted to find out why a mother would suddenly leave her husband and daughter and move into a tent at the bottom of the garden and never speak again. Communication for the rest of her life was via letters and written messages.
We learn that the mother is called Rachel and we know that she becomes known as Rachel of Chalkham. Her story is told by her daughter, Emilia.
I found it very hard to believe that this story is a novel. It is so realistic that I kept googling facts to see if they were really true. Some of the facts are indeed true such as the story of Sadako and the thousand paper cranes.
All the characters are very real and not just the main characters. There is so much detail.
This is often not an easy read but it is well written and very interesting.
Rachel falls silent as she wants people to listen more and to talk less, to listen to each other and to listen to nature. Few can argue with this.
Like many people Rachel is concerned about the environment and overpopulation. She knows that politicians like the sound of their own voices and rarely listen to the people.
Bit by bit, she is joined by other women who have also become disillusioned.
Soon “The Community” has branches all over the world.
The first half of the book leads up to the horrific “Event” where Rachel and her followers set fire to themselves to try to get people to listen. I apologise if this is a spoiler but I think it is fairly obvious almost from the start that this is going to happen. This event is watched with horror by Emilia and her boyfriend whose mother is also part of the Community and sets fire to herself too. This event is pretty graphic and is followed by an act of revenge where Emilia and her father have to leave the village, go into hiding and try to rebuild their I lives.
The cult continues and Emilia finds herself drawn into it. She goes to work for the Community in the Congo and meets a wonderful family who become an important part of her life.
Many mistakes are made by Emilia and the Community who believe they are helping the African women by providing them with contraceptive implants. This leads to further tragedies.
Eventually, Emilia manages to break away and rid herself of her toxic friendships.
The book is Emilia’s story. She is writing about her mother while trying to make sense of her own life and to make amends for her mistakes.
The Community has become all powerful and has moved a long way from its original purpose. They believe that they are carrying out Rachel’s wishes following her suicide but Emilia is sure that they are not. Part of their plan is euthanasia for the over 60s to try to control population growth. Emilia decides to publish Rachel’s notebooks that she wrote during her silent period. They will provide the truth.
A very thought provoking book. Thank you Netgalley for giving me an advance copy although I am not sure my review has done the book justice. Highly recommended.

Wow, really powerful story and a compelling read.
Emilia’s mum (Rachel) goes to live at the bottom of their garden on her 13th birthday. At this point Rachel stops speaking. She writes that people need to listen more and speak less. Soon there is a small community of women living largely in silence at the bottom of the garden, using the river to wash in, having pit fires to keep warm in winter. They become The Community.
Eight years later The Event happens which changes Emilia’s world for ever.
Dystopian telling of how The Community is allegedly fulfilling Rachel’s views, but Emilia isn’t so sure. The Community has tasked itself with correcting their perceived over-population of the world. Emilia reads her mum’s notebooks and she isn’t convinced, but she’s now trapped within The Community.
Although I knew it was a work of fiction, it was difficult not to believe I wasn’t reading a book of real events - I think this was partly down to the references throughout, I even found myself checking some of them online (of course they weren’t there, or was that part of the conspiracy theory?). It was also quite a disturbing read at times, and made me realise how easy it could be to brainwash people who are desperate to believe in something and a purpose - sounding like they had plausible aims, yet the implications…….

I really enjoyed this book and could see it as a series or film really quickly. Thought provoking and interesting this is definitely worth a read

Wow! A book that could almost be described as dystopian because of the picture it paints of the world, and it is a world that seems to be within touching distance of our world now - which is what makes it chilling. And as for the beginning - a prologue that describes our 'voice' - Emilia, watching her mother set herself alight and burn to death. What follows is Emilia writing a book that will explain who her mother actually was.
On Emilia's 13th birthday, her mother, Rachel, walked out of their pub and set up a tent in the bottom of the garden and never again spoke a single word. She was fed up with the 'shouting', the way that people are never listened to - something that many people feel happens today - and so she became silent, she listened. As time went by, people were drawn to her, to her silent protest and the Community was born. Eventually she and her follows decided that they had to make the ultimate sacrifice to get the message across. After her death, the Community grew and its mission - based as it said - upon Rachel's message became a very different and dangerous animal. Emilia is writing her book to explain her mother - the woman she knew and not the person that the Community say she was. Emilia has an anger within her that for all of her mother's wish that the world should listen, she felt that her mother did not listen to her. She felt that her mother failed to see her and there is a heart-breaking episode when Emilia gets her first period and wants her mother. The book is Emilia writing about her mother and her mother's mission, it is her own experience working for the Community and it skilfully melds fact and fiction. Current events are included, there are footnotes linking news articles and tv programmes that refer to her mother and these give a sense of reality to the whole book. You are tempted to click on the link even though you know that it is fictitious. She documents how the Community has grown into something that she believes her mother would not recognise - that the initial reason for her mother's Silence Project has been forgotten. The Community is now so powerful, and its projects are chilling and although they claim that they are carrying on her mother's mission, her mother's notebooks give no clue about her mission. At the end, we don't know what her mother wanted and that is not a criticism of the book at all, because at the end of the book we are exactly where Emilia is. She will never know what her mother intended, because she is not around to ask.
A brilliant read.

I absolutely loved The Silence Project. I was hungry for a feminist novel with a dystopian (or utopian) slant, and this delivered in spades.

The protagonist is Emilia, daughter of Rachel of Chalkham, who was the founder of the Community. Emilia tells the story of how it all started and of how the Community evolved from its founder's initial ideas. On Emilia's 13th birthday, her mother moved into the garden and stopped speaking. As Emilia rails at being abandoned, women start to gather around Rachel, finding solace in her silence and how she listens to them. The movement grows. And grows. And grows. Some years later, Rachel stages the Event, and the Community's power and global influence snowballs.

It's a wonderfully constructed multilayered novel, where the story is revealed piece by piece, keeping the reader intrigued. Emilia's frustration is well captured as she strives to hold onto her mother while the Community appropriates her for themselves and their own purposes. Her fundamental frustration (what did her mother really mean???) pervades the book.

It's an especially interesting novel to read in these times, as we witness the cult of the individual sparking right-wing waves in many countries. While the Community's goals - to save the world (from climate change, overpopulation and poverty) - are more worthy, this book nevertheless asks valid questions about cults, about power politics and manipulation, about female empowerment and about utilitarianism/consequentialism: does the end ever fully justify the means?

With a great cast of well-drawn characters - both likeable and nasty -, strong writing overall and great pacing, The Silence Project is a clever novel of ideas and a cracking good read.

What happens when a silent protest becomes a movement? This is what is explored in Hailey’s new novel The Silence Project.

.Told in the first person narrative we are told the story from the point of view of the daughter as her mother starts a silent protest that affects and engulfs the noisy world of her family. What starts out as small soon becomes a sweeping statement that would include followers and people joining on this silence. We have a world where people come up with their own reasoning on what is being protested but never clear with people feeding in their own ideologies. What ends up becoming a world wide movement becomes more sinister once it becomes a corporation.

The plotting of the book is excellently done and giving it a real life non fiction feeling by including footnotes, bibliography, etc gives this an account that becomes as realistic as Jonestown, Waco, and a host of other cults. The authors also goes in deep with the diary publishing and how a single crusade turns into a conglomerate enterprise which is scary and interesting within itself.

The characters are well developed and very three dimensional given a breathing living humans something to fear and be in awe of. I have to admit, I have my own belief system but I have never been able to lose myself to dive right into this with any conviction so when I am faced with people or characters, I am amazed that people are able to do this. Not saying that it becomes appealing to myself but that people have such undeniable faith that they can totally encompass the ideologies.

Overall, this is a great book that asks a lot of questions, horrifies with its subject matter but at the same time explains the world around us as we have seen grass root protest and cults numbers ever increasing to sometimes horrifying results. Highly recommended.

What a gripping premise, I ended up reading this in one sitting. A fantastic modern dystopia that I think will stay with me for quite a while. I don't want to talk about the plot too much because going in fairly unaware made this even better. But it's incredibly well written, thought provoking, and often shocking. Thoroughly recommend.

"The Silence Project" by Carole Hailey is such a well-developed book. I'm not sure if it can be considered dystopian but it definitely does show another world where the Community becomes a dominant force in society after Rachel of Chalkham gives up talking and begins listening. It's the kind of book that you need to read and digest the narrative, topics and themes. Just so clever.

The Silence Project by Carole Hailey completely captured my attention from the first page with how realistic the story feels.

The book focuses on an almost cult-like group, the Silence Community, launched by the narrator’s mother, Rachel Morris, and their subsequent political ambitions.

Immersed in an alternative version of the past with newspaper snippets and emails to support the narrative, I often found myself googling events and people to see if they were real. The author so seamlessly combines true events and individuals with her own unique universe of characters.

The narrator, Emilia, is such a relatable character and the conversational tone of the writing makes you feel like you’re truly getting to know her and her side of the story.

I just can’t rave enough about how Carole writes – it’s so engaging and makes you wish the story continued on endlessly so you can learn more about what happens next and the various character motivations.

Trigger warnings: the story does cover some dark themes – suicide, etc – so may not be for everyone.

Wow what a book. This is such a scary read about how what seems a simple concept can have far reaching consequences that no one can understand and how one woman’s quest to be silent and start properly listening destroyed the lives of all around her in ways no one could ever expect. It’s fascinating because her thought and ideas make perfect sense in this world but it was scary to read how a simple and honest idea can turn into something so painful and destructive and I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn’t a true story as it felt so real. A great read.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book and had been looking forward to reading it for a while. I wasn't disappointed. It's a cleverly imagined – and unnervingly believable - story about a woman who decides one day to stop speaking, as an act of protest. Word spreads (although not through her, obviously!) and soon Rachel of Chalkham has a dedicated band of followers who call themselves the Community, practising silence and listening and taking increasingly drastic steps to draw attention to their cause, culminating in The Event.

The story is narrated by Rachel's daughter, which was an ingenious touch, as it explores the disconnect between the public figure and the maternal one. There are some really knotty and interesting moral and ethical issues explored, and I was so impressed by the level of world-building that had gone into it. I think this one is going to really capture people's imaginations.

One day Rachel Morris decamps to the bottom of the beer garden of the pub where the family live and work and never speaks another word, leaving a family to navigate the most extraordinary turn of events. When Emilia discovers her deceased mothers notebooks she embarks on writing this memoir, attempting to unpick and unravel her own life and her mothers intentions when she set up what would become the Community. .It's so clever you often wonder what's real and what's not, Real events and fictional reference footnotes are interspersed into the narrative immersing you into a world that make you question what's actually fiction or fact. And once you sort of think you get it and wonder much further the story can go, you're taken to whole new environment as Emilia goes to the Congo to work for the Community where she tries to figure out her place in the world and what it was her mother had actually hoped to achieve as the Community becomes a global force. It's hard to explain without giving away spoilers. Suffice to say this brilliantly clever dystopian novel is gripping and beautifully written and gives you so much to think about. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

Exposé of a world-changing regime in a daughter's iconoclastic account of her celebrated mother.

An unusual format, with Emilia, now an adult, writing a book about her sainted mother, Rachel of Chalkham, and the occurrences leading up to and after The Event that left 21,000 women around the world simultaneously dead by their own hands.

Emilia is celebrating her 13th birthday at her dad’s pub when she hears her mother’s voice for the last time. After that day, her mother moves to the land outside, stops speaking, and communicates by notes. The world needs to listen more than to speak. Over time, other women join her, a community builds, political acts are staged. Emilia writes about these times and how they built to the act that was felt the world over, The Event, and what has led to her writing this memoir/exposé/personal revelation a decade later.

The book assumes the reader knows all about Rachel, it builds Emelia’s world around her references to ‘famous’ speeches, Community individuals, books written about them, their symbols (shh!) and policies, cementing Rachel and her following in a popular culture we don’t recognise but easily can. The rise of celebrities, of causes, of swift proliferation through social media and clever PR.

It could easily happen. I particularly liked that The Event is only the midday point of Emilia’s account. I wasn’t sure what could follow her description of this, but her own story and life post-Event is just as important in the telling, as it shows how Rachel’s Community grew and changed following this, and was both scary and fascinating to read about. It could all so easily happen.

This has a lot to say about intention, about mothers and daughters, cults (or personality) and control. I can see that it’s advertised as likely to appeal to readers of Vox, The Power, The End of Men – all books I’ve loved myself actually – and it will do, though as ever, I don’t think this is a book just for women, it makes points similar to 1984 at times about society and where we are or could be taking ourselves. It’s for anyone interested in dystopic fiction and about what happens when humans don't look outside their own spheres as to how to act. As the author explains in a note at the close: "this novel is a deliberate blending of fact and fiction, reality and unreality..." and you feel that throughout, real events you know about and fictionalised ones you just hope stay that way.

There are key scenes and reports of outright horror that bring this a feel of historical accuracy and immediacy, Emilia bringing together real-world events (from her version of our world) with her personal views and history. This isn’t a book for women, it just happens to be about some of them.

Read it. And listen.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Emilia is breaking the silence.

She's begun writing her memoirs with the help of the notebooks her Mother left behind after she quietly burned herself to death along with thousands of her followers. The Silence Project is going to tell the real story for the first time.

She hadn't heard her Mother speak since she was thirteen, not even in those final painful moments, but she's determined to finally find her own voice and speak about just how twisted The Community her Mother created has become in the years since her death.

The Community exalted Rachel as their saviour, their leader, their guiding light into a new age, the outside world condemned her as a terrorist and murderer. But to Emilia, she was her Mother. And all she can do is hope to speak loud enough to be heard before she's silenced again.

"Rachel was none of these. She was neither saint nor demon. No matter what she did, she was very human. She was deeply flawed and deeply courageous. She was a bad person and a good one. She was also my Mother."

What would you hear if you truly listened? If you got sick of your voice being unheard and let your silence speak louder? If you rose above the noise and allowed yourself to hear instead of respond? The Silence Project has countless questions to make you truly wonder about not only yourself but the world around you.

From the very start, it was a compulsive read with the kind of quiet terror that blends and blurs fiction with the real world. The kind where what isn't being said is more frightening than any words on the page. It lives firmly in the grey - forcing you to confront the delicate complexity of human nature, and the lines between right and wrong, anarchist and troublemaker, martyr and murderer.

A searing and timely statement abut cult mentality and its prevalence even today, this story is a twisted parallel of modern life in a deeply disturbing way. We explore how it easy it is to commit violence and hatred when you're just a voice in a crowd, and how out of control things can spiral with just one misplaced command or sentence. The reflection of the current political climate is unsettling. The Community started as a small movement, before launching into a worldwide platform, advocating for their ideas and infiltrating every aspect of society.

Th characters were multi-faceted, complicated people that were undeniably intoxicating. Rachel was a Mother, a Martyr, a Murderer - she was all these things and none of them. Everything single person you'd ask would have a different opinion about who she is and if she deserves to be revered or reviled. As for Emilia, our guide through this tale, she becomes immediately personable and relatable as she bares her soul to show us the simmering, seething emotions that have been brewing since her childhood and how they have shaped her. She is cold and concise but not uncaring - and as she goes through life she tries to balance being the daughter of an iconoclast or icon with simply being her.

Emilia talks directly to us, interspersing her story with letters, emails, news reports and other sources to create a truly engrossing experience - and while it was very dense and word-heavy in places, it never lost focus and evoked a desire to carry on the journey.

The Silence Project is a strange, alienating tale that painfully mirrors the darker and confusing parts of life. It doesn't have a clean satisfying end, nothing wrapped in a neat tidy bow and all packed away, but instead offers the reader a chance to reflect and a lingering sense of a dread that lasts long after the last page.

"Silence threatens people because it's only when you're silent that you can hear the truth behind their words."

I very much enjoyed this book, in fact I have just re-read it prior to writing the review.

Briefly, Emilia Morris is writing a book about her mother Rachel, who committed suicide as part of a world-wide protest. Rachel is the founder of the Community, a cult which at first appears to have peaceful, beneficial aims. Since Rachel’s death the Community has become an extremely powerful presence, and the reader begins to question just how beneficial these aims are.

Reading this made me think about the effect a dominant personality can have on the people around them. Rachel is one of those people, and her aims have far-reaching consequences for her daughter, her husband and countless others around the world.

In the second half of the book, the action moves to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and I found this section particularly enjoyable.

If you like female centred, dystopian fiction, like Margaret “Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale”, or Christina Dalcher’s “Vox” or “Q”, I highly recommend this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic Books for the proof.

A gripping read that I had difficulty putting down. In some ways the start was slow but it was setting the scene for everything that followed. All the characters were so well developed and it was so easy to relate to Emilia and all the traumas that she went through, before and after the Event. The whole premise of the 3 aims of the Community resonate so well inn todays world and made a very frightening premise.
This is the first book by Carole Hailey that has been published and I cannot wait to read more by this very talented author. Throughout the book there are many references to real situations and events which added to the reality of the story. The many references to the notebooks added an unexpected twist and made this novel seem factual and not fiction.
I loved the book and hope that it gets an award this year.

I'm afraid to say too much about this book, as I strongly believe it's one that has to be entirely discovered by the reader with minimal knowledge beforehand. That said, this book was compelling and enthralling. It was such an interesting commentary on sacrifice and the dangers of cult-like tendencies. It tackled the true trolley problem in a new and interesting way. The narrator's dedication to remaining unbiased, along with her intense honesty and unfiltered storytelling made me feel like I was reading about a real, flawed, but deeply human, character.

This book is a must read. I rarely feel the want to write essays about books after finishing them, but this is one I could analyse and talk about forever. I have a strong feeling it will be spoken about for years to come.

An advance warning that this book contains a few heavily graphic and disturbing scenes and readers should proceed with caution.

(4.5 stars rounded up)

The Silence Project is based on an intriguing and original premise. It explores numerous themes about the nature of bonds and relationships, cults, common voice, loss and much more. It’s very well written and I was immediately drawn into this strange and somewhat surreal tale which become more and more intriguing with every page. It’s multilayered and there’s plenty of thought provoking content; an ideal book club choice which is bound to draw out numerous different views.

It’s dystopian, but real in a strange way and as well as being escapist fiction, it’s relevant. I really enjoyed this and heartily recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different, but with substance.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This was a brilliant book to read and the cover as well as the synopsis definitely caught my eye. This is a dystopian novel set in the near future. Rachel, a wife and mother decides to go to the bottom of the garden to live, she doesn't tell anyone why she has done this as she has decided to stop speaking. She decides that she is going to listen to the world around her and while this sounds like a good thing to do she has walked out on her daughter's 13th Birthday.

The story flits back and forth from the perspective of the daughter, Emilia. There are also accounts in the form of emails from various other people mentioned in the story. I do have to remember that this is a work of fiction but it does read quite alarmingly as an actual account of something that may have happened.

While this story is about Emilia, it is also much more profound than that. It tells of how a simple action from Rachel gradually gathers momentum, attention and publicity. All this is going on while Emilia is growing up as a teen than as an adult. In the future setting the author brings a different turn than I expected, but it does actually work well within the story.

This could so easily be seen as a work of fact, and there are many factual events that are included. Trying to work out or remember what has happened against the fictional events is something that made me shudder at times. In a world where the population is rising, where people are starving, and the climate is changing there are groups that are standing up and making their voices heard. This is where I think this story is clever as it is the absence of a voice that makes the loudest noise.

The beginning half of the book deals with life, how people are being drawn to Rachel and how her simple act of not talking but listening to others gains momentum. This gradually leads to an Event that shocks the world and for a moment the world is silent together in horror. After the Event, the story takes on a more sinister and troubling but also very understandable turn. The Event has given the Community as it is referred to a momentum that cannot be stopped. While I am not going to say much more about this, it does actually feel that it could happen and this is the shocking part of the story.
I have noticed that this book has many reviews and that readers are divided. For me, it worked incredibly well and I adored it. It was a story that I thought about when I wasn't reading it and one that drew me straight back into it when I picked it up again.

I enjoyed this one a lot, it comes across as being a possibility in a world that is full of negativity at the moment and I can understand the thought behind the positivity and hope that the author expresses through her silent character. The role of the daughter being caught up in her mum's actions is given in a very convincing way and this made it a very readable story.

If you are a fan of dystopian fiction then this is one that may interest you. I for one am very glad I spotted this book and read it and I would definitely recommend it as it is very thought-provoking.

A dystopian novel for the current age, The Silence Project asks how far a daughter can allow her mother's legacy to go before she must tell the true story, no matter the consequences. Told in the form of an in-fiction non fiction novel, this is a stunning debut that holds up a dark mirror to the conundrums of today's world, and reminds us all of the ever present possibility of falling into the twisted logic and fanaticism that fuels The Community. An exploration of the power of silence, legacy, and cults of personality, The Silence Project blends fact and fiction so skillfully, it is hard to put down, and even harder to get out of your head.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

This is an extraordinary book. It blurs the lines between truth and a possible dystopian world. This is what makes it so unsettling, it could easily happen as a reaction to what we are doing to the planet. I cannot recommend this book enough it is astonishingly good.

This is an exceptional book. I was intrigued by the blurb and hooked after the first chapter. Initially the protagonists mum Rachel comes across as uncaring and not empathic. We see her cruelly joking with her daughter about the identity of her biological father, gorging herself on stories of large-scale human tragedies, and demanding her family runs around after her when she retreats in silence to her tent. However, when we later hear her reasons for doing so, in the form of 2 letters to her daughter, we see an entirely different sides to her. A principled woman, who was overwhelmed by the futility of life, wanted a kinder, fairer world for her child, and subsequently made a promise of silence, that she keeps to her dying day.
The readers feelings for Rachel change as we see different sides to her. The added element of the book within a book, told from her daughter’s perspective, means the reader never really gets to the core of who Rachel really is. We just endlessly peel off layers of selfishness, stoicism, depression, disassociation, anger, and solidarity, as we see her personality from different characters viewpoints. Her key message of listening to others in silence, in order to truly hear them, is also one that comes to be interpreted in many different ways, by many different people. The irony being that she is ultimately proved right, through a series of escalating violence in the second half of the novel. During this section, it is clear that anger is loud, and loud angry people do not listen.

You could look at this book from a feminist angle, as the community is a safe space for women. Women have battled for centuries for the right to be heard, and now they fight for the right to silence. This is threatened in scenes where men come marching into the community demanding to ‘rescue’ women who have not asked to be saved. Indeed, many of the counter protestors are “men with unspecific grudges against women.” The rights of women are also thrust to the foreground later on in the novel, when we learn that clinics giving informed contraceptive advice, are actually giving forced population management. The choices of women, and their personal autonomy, therefore crosses decades, continents and generations.
This could also be interpreted as a masterclass in dystopian literature. We’re drawn in by recognisable figures and events, before we split to an alternate reality. I particularly enjoyed the nod to Louis Theroux, when a ‘BBC documentary maker,’ of something called ‘Curious Collections,’ arrives at the community to interview its members. In fact, I shouted ‘It’s Louis,’ so loudly and enthusiastically, my dog leapt off my lap and ran barking to the door, convinced we had a visitor. The scene where protesting women are dragged away by overly violent police, shows similarities of the Sarah Everard vigil. Furthermore, having just watched Liz Truss become PM by default, the words in response to Gordon Brown’s takeover from Tony Blair are astonishingly prophetic. One of the women comments, “was it fair for the PM to be someone who hasn’t stood in a general election, as leader of the party? …Who hasn’t actually listened to the people they represent.”
Carole Hailey appears to have a crystal ball into the future, and it’s therefore with whole-hearted belief I recognised her vision of the future as chillingly prophetic. I’m convinced you could also write an entire essay on the Socialism ‘vs’ Capitalism in this book. After the community becomes popular following ‘The Event,’ rich men and wealthy businesses align themselves with it. From this point on it’s a beacon of light to any and all with a narcissistic personality, delusions of grandeur, and a greed for money and power. Capitalism kills the community, and tramples over its founding principles, as a dark future of ‘senicide’ beckons. There are clearly so many layers of this book, I could go on forever raving about it! But one final note on the fires that run like a thread through the book. The symbolism of the fire throughout the novel links to the multiplicity of meanings and interpretations. For some cultures fire is a symbol of divinity, for others one of superiority and control. For some it stands for knowledge and wisdom; for others it represents martyrdom or rebirth. I very much appreciated this being shown on the covers – just beautifully poetic. I’ll shut up now and summarise or we’ll be here all day!
So, in summary, The Silence Project is exceptionally clever, remarkably planned, and perfectly executed. It’s like the best kind of pick and mix, where the more you delve the more delights you find. My only criticism is that I’d love to know what happens next, but perhaps we’re meant to imagine that ourselves (although secretly I’m hoping for a sequel!) I will absolutely read anything and everything Carole Hailey writes in future, regardless of content