Reviews

The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality by Angela Saini

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abbie_'s review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

good, informative, it was a little too wide-reaching for my nonfiction preferences. I like a niche little memoir about someone’s 20s, but with The Patriarchs, Angela Saini is spanning literal millennia, not to mention crossing continents. It’s a history of how patriarchy came to dominate but looking across such a vast scope that I don’t feel like I came away knowing more about one particular place or period. We jump around looking at ancient societies that worshipped goddesses to the fall of the Iron Curtain, back again to the Genghis Khan-era, then women in 50s America, just very scattered. If it’s unsurprising to you that capitalism, colonialism, and religion in varying forms contributes to the staying power of patriarchy, then there’s not much new to take away here.

I did appreciate the theme of individualism vs community. Individualism causes the collapse of community, but at the same time, the failure to see women as individuals is the reason so many of us find ourselves boxed into stereotypes or certain prescribed roles living under patriarchy.

Interesting and broad-ranging, but just lacking a bit of cohesion and further depth for me.

klfleury1966's review

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informative medium-paced

4.0

kyra_c_c's review

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4.0

This book was so well researched and detailed whilst still being easy and almost conversational to read - I am in awe of Saini's style and the breadth of her research. I learned a great deal, felt angry, depressed and hopeful.