Before She Sleeps is for all the women living today under repressive regimes. Set in the near future in Green City, the capital of South West Asia, gender selection, war and disease have brought the ratio of men to women to alarmingly low levels. The government uses terror and technology to control its people, and women must take multiple husbands to have children as quickly as possible. Despite its modernity, its safety, and even its beauty, nobody can breathe in Green City. Yet there are women who resist. Sabine lives in the Panah, an underground collective of women who refuse to be part of the system. They emerge only at night, to provide to the rich and elite of Green City a type of commodity that nobody can buy: intimacy. But the Panah has enemies, both outside and within. Can Sabine and her fellow rebels survive?

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY – A starred review. “A haunting dystopian thriller. . . . Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale won’t want to miss this one.”

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-88-328576-0

KIRKUS REVIEWS –

“ . . . situating her narrative in a predominantly Muslim area of the world is an overdue enlargement of the cultural conversation that Atwood’s novel continues to provoke.”

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bina-shah/before-she-sleeps/

NETGALLEY – A four star review posted June 19.

“I don’t normally like dystopian novels, but the characters in this book were so engaging. And the story told so well, that I am looking forward to the next one!”

https://www.netgalley.com/book/140657/review/293850

BOOKLIST

https://www.booklistonline.com/Before-She-Sleeps-Bina-Shah/pid=9557185

LA Times – 3 Science Fiction Books for Summer

“Shah’s work reads like a thriller. She develops her multiple characters beautifully, and she presents the stomach-turning plight of women well. The social commentary in the novel, specifically in the parallels between Sabine’s world and the patriarchal nature of conservative Muslim countries, is exquisite.”