Scan barcode
fsleineweber's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! I would describe Meg Wolitzer’s style of writing as kind of meandering, where over the pages you have the chance to really get to know the characters. I didn’t really connect with the characters in The Interestings, so I kind of felt like I was watching a reality show....being a voyeur into a story with no plot. This book was different but probably because I connected with the characters, both Greer and Faith. It really emphasized that woman are strong, because we are woman. Equality shouldn’t mean becoming more like men or anything other than who we are. Strength comes from realizing who you are, what you want, and not letting other people dictate that. We can be loud, we can be quiet, we can be soft, we can be hard. Whatever we are....It is enough, and we as women should support each other.
jchinzi's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
ennabananaz's review against another edition
2.0
Way too long. I somehow enjoyed this but also found it boring.. idk
xenschei's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
radaction's review against another edition
2.0
What is even the point of this book? Annoying white feminists sometimes pointing out their tunnel vision but mostly just meandering meaningless white feminism. So frustrating to read but I did finish it and gave it two stars because I guess it will introduce some new ideas to some readers.
kari13's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
maryecountess's review against another edition
1.0
Attempting to continue an important conversation about reproductive rights and old/new age feminism but includes few concrete ideas, very anticlimactic, very detailed accounts (like 20+ page story about someone never mentioned again) of characters that play no part in the plot line, difficult to understand or care about the main characters, lots of empty ideas charged by an abstract, confusing, and frankly boring story. Way too long of a book for what it was.
Some productive quotes:
“You needed to find a way to make your world dynamic; sometimes you couldn’t do it yourself.”
“Books had saved (her) as a child, and then (he) had saved her again later on.”
“To be lost in a novel meant you were not lost in your own life.”
Some productive quotes:
“You needed to find a way to make your world dynamic; sometimes you couldn’t do it yourself.”
“Books had saved (her) as a child, and then (he) had saved her again later on.”
“To be lost in a novel meant you were not lost in your own life.”
quintusmarcus's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know if I'm insensitive, or just missing something, or what, but this novel didn't quite click to me. The character of Faith Frank, an older feminist leader, just seemed incredibly fake--a completely wooden and unconvincing character. Greer, her young mentee and main character, was a much more fully realized, but the interactions between the two of them in the novel just lacked something. I'm sorry to say I wasn't bowled over by the novel--the book is getting a lot of very positive press, and I did enjoy reading it. For some reason, it just didn't seem genuine to me, as if the author was "putting on" feminism to create the novel, but didn't really feel or experience it. I could be totally wrong, but that's how it came off to me.
That said, Wolitzer is such a wonderful writer--nearly all of my highlights are sharp and funny observations, rather than deep ideas. A handful of my favorites:
"...the boys aerosolizing themselves with a body spray called Stadium, which seemed to be half pine sap, half A.1. sauce."
"...the walls of Greer’s room, as she’d described them to Cory the day she arrived, were the disturbing color of hearing aids."
"The two of them outpaced all the other students in their class, who often seemed as though they had been blindfolded and spun around each day and then told to make their way through the curriculum."
"...followed by a ramekin of crème brûlée with a hard scorched crust on top that, when you cracked it with the tip of your spoon, felt as satisfying as if you were breaking ground to build your dream home."
Superb, but all the clever lines in the world can't save a novel that seems fundamentally flawed.
That said, Wolitzer is such a wonderful writer--nearly all of my highlights are sharp and funny observations, rather than deep ideas. A handful of my favorites:
"...the boys aerosolizing themselves with a body spray called Stadium, which seemed to be half pine sap, half A.1. sauce."
"...the walls of Greer’s room, as she’d described them to Cory the day she arrived, were the disturbing color of hearing aids."
"The two of them outpaced all the other students in their class, who often seemed as though they had been blindfolded and spun around each day and then told to make their way through the curriculum."
"...followed by a ramekin of crème brûlée with a hard scorched crust on top that, when you cracked it with the tip of your spoon, felt as satisfying as if you were breaking ground to build your dream home."
Superb, but all the clever lines in the world can't save a novel that seems fundamentally flawed.
lewisforbes's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bioxc's review against another edition
5.0
second read: still one great book, kind of weird but really great
4,5.
I truly liked this book and how it handled the different kinds of feminist movements we've seen in the last years, but also friendships and relationships once you've grown up and you're supposed to know what you're doing, but you actually don't and you're just idolizing people you shouldn't be idolizing because people are people and people make mistakes and screw up, even your heros.
4,5.
I truly liked this book and how it handled the different kinds of feminist movements we've seen in the last years, but also friendships and relationships once you've grown up and you're supposed to know what you're doing, but you actually don't and you're just idolizing people you shouldn't be idolizing because people are people and people make mistakes and screw up, even your heros.