Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Women Talking

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

izgetsbetter's review

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challenging dark hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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the_beatific_bluestocking's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

📖 Book Review + Spoilers 📖

Snow in the spring and we're all quite grouchy. We pump our bike tires, pack away our sweaters, rejoice in the sunshine to every soul we meet, even though we know, we KNOW this happens. ❄️

What a trip to read this book while my little corner of the world erupts in a second round of seasonal affective disorder.

Women Talking is the somewhat true story of a Bolivian Mennonite community in the early 2000s. For years the women believed they were being visited by ghosts, demons, even the devil in the night or made to believe the violence they experienced in their sleep was a figment of their wild imaginations. When the truth is revealed, more than 300 cases of rape over four years, the women have 48 hours to decide what they will make of their lives in the aftermath.

This book is dialogue heavy without a single quotation mark. Toews brilliantly blurs the lines of opinion, emotion, and description with this strategy. I often forgot I was reading a fictional account and got quite involved in their debates questioning love, faith, loyalty, forgiveness, and liberation in a completely unknown world. Suddenly, shoveling snow doesn't seem so bad.

Here's the spoiler‼️

In reality, the women never left the colony, they never fought for a new way forward, today several women are attempting to recant their testimony and free the imprisoned men. I feel my whole body react to this. I shovel snow and wonder how they can be saved, do I go to Bolivia myself, do they want to be saved, they must, this is unreal, this is real, this is happening, right now.

Women Talking pulled me outside of my own protected rural bubble, to feel the sharp pain of a stranger's experience, to feel, feel, feel...to remember this is why I read and this is what really good books are made of.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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evanlyn's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

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bookforthought's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A poignant, reflective and profoundly inspiring read on the patriarchy and the power of resistance, community and love. For such a short book, it takes its time but is definitely worth it to spend as much time as possible with this memorable cast of characters. The audiobook narrator was fantastic, well worth listening to!

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thehistoriette's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

sarahholliday's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

In Women Talking, Miriam Toews has achieved some sort of alchemy.

The subject matter is dark and horrifying, yet the pages are filled with humor, tenderness, and resilience. It is a book about women, but we read all of their thoughts and words through the transcription of a man. By most standards, very little happens "on the page"—we spend two days in a hay loft with a group of women deciding whether they will stay in or leave their cloistered community. And yet, we get such an expansive look at their daily lives, their culture, and their personalities.

I read 135 pages in one sitting because the story drew me in immediately, and the simple, straightforward way August transcribes the meetings combined with his philosophical musings made the reading experience both quick and engaging.

If you can handle the heavy subject matter, I couldn't recommend this book enough.

Content Warnings