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solitaireflower's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ellenleuf's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Engaging story about Greer's life, with focus on her relationship with her mentor. Highly feminist message, with a great cast of well established and fleshed out characters. I was going to rate it 4.5 stars, but when I finished it I just felt like it lacked something, which is why it ended up at 4 stars. Would recommend, but probably won't read again.
lisefri's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
emleemay's review against another edition
2.0
[b:The Female Persuasion|35480518|The Female Persuasion|Meg Wolitzer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503001734s/35480518.jpg|56875270] is a novel with little story and a lot of ideas, none of them particularly new ones.
It stands out for being an overview of the white feminist experience during the nineties and early 21st century. Because, though it may feel like one must, I actually don't think a book like this existed before. Or, at least, not in mainstream literature.
So I can see some value in it, but I just didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as I thought I would. Or find any new ideas or inspiration in its pages. I can picture, many years from now, students sat in a classroom and analyzing this book for its historical context, as a book that covers a broad range of feminist issues that are relevant to people today. Wolitzer has captured the recent history of feminism, in breadth more than depth, showcasing discussions on everything from abortion rights to the wage gap, and from porn to rape culture.
It all begins on a college campus where the shy Greer Kadetsky attends a talk by influential feminist, Faith Frank. Faith heads a foundation called Loci, which sponsors feminist conferences, and during her talk, Greer asks a question relating to her own assault. This triggers a number of events leading to Faith offering Greer a career opportunity. Alongside this, there is also the story of the relationship between Greer and Cory.
It seems that the book attempts to bridge the gap between second and third wave feminists, and between Gen X and Gen Y-ers (Millennials), and yet I don't think it does this very well. Faith Frank is part of an antiquated, predominantly-white feminism, which is acknowledged and then kind of brushed aside. Despite obvious attempts to be self-aware and point out privilege, [b:The Female Persuasion|35480518|The Female Persuasion|Meg Wolitzer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503001734s/35480518.jpg|56875270] never quite becomes intersectional in its feminism. It definitely doesn't help that every character with more than a brief mention is cisgender and white, aside from the Portuguese Cory.
It is a long book with very little story to justify its length. It felt like lots of conversations were had between the characters but, other than offering a platform to discuss all the hot feminist topics, I didn't get the point of the story. There were lots of boring parts.
Greer's shyness and anxiety interested me at first, but she quickly grew into a bland character who I didn't care for. Perhaps ironically, though perhaps not (who knows what irony is, anyway?), the guy character - Cory - was probably the most interesting character in this book.
So, yes, I think this book gathers a lot of ideas together, but I don't think it adds anything to the discussions being had. I'm sure years from now this book will help future generations understand the conversations being had during our time about feminism and privilege, but right now it did very little for me. For such an acclaimed author, everything about this had a surprising lack of depth.
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It stands out for being an overview of the white feminist experience during the nineties and early 21st century. Because, though it may feel like one must, I actually don't think a book like this existed before. Or, at least, not in mainstream literature.
So I can see some value in it, but I just didn't enjoy this anywhere near as much as I thought I would. Or find any new ideas or inspiration in its pages. I can picture, many years from now, students sat in a classroom and analyzing this book for its historical context, as a book that covers a broad range of feminist issues that are relevant to people today. Wolitzer has captured the recent history of feminism, in breadth more than depth, showcasing discussions on everything from abortion rights to the wage gap, and from porn to rape culture.
It all begins on a college campus where the shy Greer Kadetsky attends a talk by influential feminist, Faith Frank. Faith heads a foundation called Loci, which sponsors feminist conferences, and during her talk, Greer asks a question relating to her own assault. This triggers a number of events leading to Faith offering Greer a career opportunity. Alongside this, there is also the story of the relationship between Greer and Cory.
It seems that the book attempts to bridge the gap between second and third wave feminists, and between Gen X and Gen Y-ers (Millennials), and yet I don't think it does this very well. Faith Frank is part of an antiquated, predominantly-white feminism, which is acknowledged and then kind of brushed aside. Despite obvious attempts to be self-aware and point out privilege, [b:The Female Persuasion|35480518|The Female Persuasion|Meg Wolitzer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503001734s/35480518.jpg|56875270] never quite becomes intersectional in its feminism. It definitely doesn't help that every character with more than a brief mention is cisgender and white, aside from the Portuguese Cory.
It is a long book with very little story to justify its length. It felt like lots of conversations were had between the characters but, other than offering a platform to discuss all the hot feminist topics, I didn't get the point of the story. There were lots of boring parts.
Greer's shyness and anxiety interested me at first, but she quickly grew into a bland character who I didn't care for. Perhaps ironically, though perhaps not (who knows what irony is, anyway?), the guy character - Cory - was probably the most interesting character in this book.
So, yes, I think this book gathers a lot of ideas together, but I don't think it adds anything to the discussions being had. I'm sure years from now this book will help future generations understand the conversations being had during our time about feminism and privilege, but right now it did very little for me. For such an acclaimed author, everything about this had a surprising lack of depth.
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jslive's review against another edition
4.0
“The female persuasion” by Meg Wolitzer is, like her other books, a readable and interesting story with great characters. It’s more about what it means to be a hero than it is about modern feminism, but it has interesting things to say about both.
aallyoop_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed "The Female Persuasion." I listened to the audio version, and the Audible narration was excellent and well-suited for this book.
The main characters were outstanding; Greer's journey though college and into the professional world was relatable, and the evolution of her relationships was realistic. Cory's story was heartbreaking. Avoiding spoilers, I found his journey so engaging and emotional, and I admired how his character truly evolved throughout the book. Faith's rise as a feminist figure was so real and her shrewdness, ability to connect with others and use her relationships to her advantage was thought-provoking. Zee's self-discovery is full of perspective, and her reaction to betrayal on multiple fronts is complex and palpable.
I thought "The Female Persuasion" had a good balance of feminist concepts and literary themes. Very well-written and an interesting read!
The main characters were outstanding; Greer's journey though college and into the professional world was relatable, and the evolution of her relationships was realistic. Cory's story was heartbreaking. Avoiding spoilers, I found his journey so engaging and emotional, and I admired how his character truly evolved throughout the book. Faith's rise as a feminist figure was so real and her shrewdness, ability to connect with others and use her relationships to her advantage was thought-provoking. Zee's self-discovery is full of perspective, and her reaction to betrayal on multiple fronts is complex and palpable.
I thought "The Female Persuasion" had a good balance of feminist concepts and literary themes. Very well-written and an interesting read!
stephnew's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
other_worlds_than_these's review against another edition
2.0
This is hard to rate; I loved the writing style and there were some great ideas discussed but this still felt like it was lacking depth. I also felt it didn’t add anything new to the conversation.
-Nothing happens because of Greer’s actions but because of chance and right place at right time (bathroom) thus making Greer not that interesting. I couldn’t care much for Cory or any of the male characters’ chapters. I liked him as a character but his role in this story didn’t make much sense to me.
-one thing that infuriated me was that Greer doesn’t speak up! Even though she’s all about using “outside voices” she doesn’t speak up about the nonexistent mentor group. She could’ve actually done something and she doesn’t.
-There were a lot of boring parts which is why it took me so long to get through this book.
-I enjoyed Faith’s chapters more only because it was more interesting to read about her and her need to do something for women even if it ended up lacking morals and depth. Her relationship with Greer was interesting to read and see how it evolves.
-There were a lot of ideas brought up like the relationship between second and third wave feminism but this still felt lacking in terms of intersectionality. This was for the most part very white feminism. It would’ve been more impactful if there were more major characters who were part of minorities (women of color, trans women, etc)
-I’m very new to this kind of genre of story telling and this was hard to get into mainly because of the lack of plot, but I think it did well in discussing certain things especially with the relationship between generations of feminists.
-This is a book about (white) feminism and its criticizing corporate feminism and privilege and yet nothing felt changed or discussed throughly. The main character wants to do good and yet falls into these categories.
-Nothing happens because of Greer’s actions but because of chance and right place at right time (bathroom) thus making Greer not that interesting. I couldn’t care much for Cory or any of the male characters’ chapters. I liked him as a character but his role in this story didn’t make much sense to me.
-one thing that infuriated me was that Greer doesn’t speak up! Even though she’s all about using “outside voices” she doesn’t speak up about the nonexistent mentor group. She could’ve actually done something and she doesn’t.
-There were a lot of boring parts which is why it took me so long to get through this book.
-I enjoyed Faith’s chapters more only because it was more interesting to read about her and her need to do something for women even if it ended up lacking morals and depth. Her relationship with Greer was interesting to read and see how it evolves.
-There were a lot of ideas brought up like the relationship between second and third wave feminism but this still felt lacking in terms of intersectionality. This was for the most part very white feminism. It would’ve been more impactful if there were more major characters who were part of minorities (women of color, trans women, etc)
-I’m very new to this kind of genre of story telling and this was hard to get into mainly because of the lack of plot, but I think it did well in discussing certain things especially with the relationship between generations of feminists.
-This is a book about (white) feminism and its criticizing corporate feminism and privilege and yet nothing felt changed or discussed throughly. The main character wants to do good and yet falls into these categories.
presley1127's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5