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alykat_reads's review against another edition
4.0
When reading this, you have to keep in mind that this book was published in 1993, so a little bit before personal computers and the internet/email/etc became mainstream and household things in the early 2000s. I audibly laughed when he described what the internet, CD-Roms, and virtual reality were. At the time of publishing, they were considered high-tech, but now 30 years later those technologies have advanced greatly, so it's not really fair to criticize the book on that when that was just the current technology.
Anyways, I greatly enjoy Crichton's writing, even if the topics he writes about are foreign or of uninterest to me. The beginnings always seem to be a little slow, but once I get a little ways in I usually find myself hooked and can't stop reading. That was true of this one as well. It was interesting reading about allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace when the accused was a woman - it brought some introspection on just how differently those allegations are treated verses how allegations are treated when it is a man who is the accused.
There were a few things I had issues with though. Hiding them under spoilers, just in case.
It bothered me that he didn't play the video of Meredith talking to Arthur during the final meeting with Conley-White. He played the newsclip after having Meredith tie herself up in lie, which was great, but the second clip of her telling Arthur to hide everything and lie about things to Tom would have really substantiated and strengthened the evidence he had provided in the packets to the executives. He had it, so I'm not sure why Crichton decided he wouldn't use it.
I believe Crichton was trying to make some of the characters wishy-washy to really enforce the trust no one message that Tom received via email on the big scary internet (LOL, iykyk); but I think it was done poorly. Why he would engage with Blackburn at all after learning about the complaint that Meredith lodged against him knowing that Blackburn was the attorney for the company and would be representing Meredith's side, just doesn't make sense. This again ties into my first point that as intelligent as Crichton was trying to make Tom seem for coming up with this brilliant plan on how to prove he's telling the truth about what happened, he does some pretty dumb things, or things that don't make any sense.
Still giving 4 stars because I just enjoy Crichton's writing that much.
Anyways, I greatly enjoy Crichton's writing, even if the topics he writes about are foreign or of uninterest to me. The beginnings always seem to be a little slow, but once I get a little ways in I usually find myself hooked and can't stop reading. That was true of this one as well. It was interesting reading about allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace when the accused was a woman - it brought some introspection on just how differently those allegations are treated verses how allegations are treated when it is a man who is the accused.
There were a few things I had issues with though. Hiding them under spoilers, just in case.
Spoiler
First, the MC Tom, who is the main narrator throughout the novel except for a few chapters, has moments in the book that just don't really tie in with the rest of it. For example, when he finally tells his wife about the sexual harassment allegation against him and tells her he's retaining Fernandez, he seems to have this "master plan" because he's got some secret knowledge. The book is very ambiguous about what exactly his plan is and where he's heading with it - which in and of itself is not the problem - but then in the next few chapters when he talks to Max and Max is trying to drop clues on how to help him, Tom all of a sudden has zero critical thinking skills and can't for the life of him understand how Max is trying to help him. I get having a moment or two of brilliance, but it felt like Tom would come to these really intelligent conclusions, but then not have a clue how it tied into his situation. It was a little bizarre and I couldn't make sense of it.It bothered me that he didn't play the video of Meredith talking to Arthur during the final meeting with Conley-White. He played the newsclip after having Meredith tie herself up in lie, which was great, but the second clip of her telling Arthur to hide everything and lie about things to Tom would have really substantiated and strengthened the evidence he had provided in the packets to the executives. He had it, so I'm not sure why Crichton decided he wouldn't use it.
I believe Crichton was trying to make some of the characters wishy-washy to really enforce the trust no one message that Tom received via email on the big scary internet (LOL, iykyk); but I think it was done poorly. Why he would engage with Blackburn at all after learning about the complaint that Meredith lodged against him knowing that Blackburn was the attorney for the company and would be representing Meredith's side, just doesn't make sense. This again ties into my first point that as intelligent as Crichton was trying to make Tom seem for coming up with this brilliant plan on how to prove he's telling the truth about what happened, he does some pretty dumb things, or things that don't make any sense.
Still giving 4 stars because I just enjoy Crichton's writing that much.
jlink17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Decent re-read. I read this years and years ago and I'm a great fan of Crichton's work. I'll also mention I read this years ago when I was in my "I don't need Feminism because I don't hate men" phase and thought it was a 5 star masterpiece. Now I just think it's a decent corporate thriller - Crichton is good at thrillers.
I do appreciate his role-reversal here, and I am amenable to more stories on men's experience with sexual harassment, how it differs. and how patriarchy actually enables it in ways starkly different than it enables and encourages harassment towards women - i.e., men are viewed as pussies if they claim harassment, or men are viewed as being unable to be harassed at all (a common believe is that erection + consent) - I also appreciate that Crichton made the precipitating event very great. He does explore a lot of the issues here, and makes interesting commentary on the rules changing, but he ultimately gets lost in or distracted by the business intrigue storyline, and fails to examine the harassment issue with true nuance.
Crichton views the role-reversal as a complete tit-for-tat swap, with every instance of it sort of implying that by putting shoes on the other feet, everything is exactly the same. There are different dynamics at play when men are harassed in a patriarchal world, and Crichton either doesn't consider them, or doesn't see them. I don't mean men aren't facing real issues, I mean specifically that they are facing different issues - for a small example, men are often conditioned that to be gentlemanly is to refuse to hit a woman, so how does a man react when being sexually touched but is hesitant to push someone away? I also thought Crichton clung annoyingly hard to the old adage of "one accusation can ruin a man's life" - this book was written in 1994, meaning the Anita Hill hearings had already been televised, and Crichton would know damn well that a major example of accusations not doing a damn thing was once front page news. It is now 2023, and men are only starting to face consequences for real accusations. What Crichton consistently fails to sensitively acknowledge in this book is the harassment women had been expect to put up with as a normal part of employment for a century before women began gaining equal rights and calling attention to inappropriate behavior. A role reversal that interrogates the social norms and beliefs isn't complete without nuanced exploration, and this book lacks that.
But, it is a fast-paced corporate/legal thriller with Crichton's usual densely and impressively researched subject matter, and it's a fun read.
I do appreciate his role-reversal here, and I am amenable to more stories on men's experience with sexual harassment, how it differs. and how patriarchy actually enables it in ways starkly different than it enables and encourages harassment towards women - i.e., men are viewed as pussies if they claim harassment, or men are viewed as being unable to be harassed at all (a common believe is that erection + consent) - I also appreciate that Crichton made the precipitating event very great. He does explore a lot of the issues here, and makes interesting commentary on the rules changing, but he ultimately gets lost in or distracted by the business intrigue storyline, and fails to examine the harassment issue with true nuance.
Crichton views the role-reversal as a complete tit-for-tat swap, with every instance of it sort of implying that by putting shoes on the other feet, everything is exactly the same. There are different dynamics at play when men are harassed in a patriarchal world, and Crichton either doesn't consider them, or doesn't see them. I don't mean men aren't facing real issues, I mean specifically that they are facing different issues - for a small example, men are often conditioned that to be gentlemanly is to refuse to hit a woman, so how does a man react when being sexually touched but is hesitant to push someone away? I also thought Crichton clung annoyingly hard to the old adage of "one accusation can ruin a man's life" - this book was written in 1994, meaning the Anita Hill hearings had already been televised, and Crichton would know damn well that a major example of accusations not doing a damn thing was once front page news. It is now 2023, and men are only starting to face consequences for real accusations. What Crichton consistently fails to sensitively acknowledge in this book is the harassment women had been expect to put up with as a normal part of employment for a century before women began gaining equal rights and calling attention to inappropriate behavior. A role reversal that interrogates the social norms and beliefs isn't complete without nuanced exploration, and this book lacks that.
But, it is a fast-paced corporate/legal thriller with Crichton's usual densely and impressively researched subject matter, and it's a fun read.
roshk99's review against another edition
2.0
The book was well written, but could have been a better topic - I mean to prove his point, many other topics could have easily done as well
sharks_and_dinos's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
catladylover94's review against another edition
4.0
liked the book better then the movie, i dont like demi moore so the movie kinda sucked, book was an easy read after watching the movie
kit_kat006's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I found the book slow until the main trigger. Then, you cannot put the book down and it goes so quick.
Altough it was written more then 20 years ago, I found this book still relatable. A good read!
Altough it was written more then 20 years ago, I found this book still relatable. A good read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault
philip_rudy's review against another edition
4.0
Thought it was pretty good. Needed an entertaining book and this was exactly it.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
3.0
This book really fascinated me, since it deals with a woman sexually harassing a man. I was probably too young to really understand what was going on when I read it, though...