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Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'
Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology by Jeff VanderMeer, Ann VanderMeer
3 reviews
sucreslibrary's review
3.75
this one took me a bit to get through, but that doesn't mean it was bad. i enjoyed quite a lot of the stories, and there were very few i disliked (a rare thing for me with anthologies!). these stories span many decades, and since a lot of them focus on gender, that means there's quite a bit of transphobia and cissexism throughout. that, on top of a lot of misogyny (used to make a point, not just sprinkled in for no reason), could make it a little difficult to pick up the collection and get through a bunch of stories at once. honestly, after i read 'gestella' by susan palwick i had to take a short break simply because of how much it effected me emotionally.
my fave stories were 'the palm tree bandit' by nnedi okorafor, 'and salome danced' by kelley eskridge (warning for transphobia in this one), 'their mother's tears: the fourth letter' by leena krohn, 'gestella' by susan palwick and 'stable strategies for middle management' by eileen gunn.
'the fall river axe murders' by angela carter, 'boys' by carol emshwiller and 'thirteen ways of looking at space/time' by catherynne m. valente were the weakest for me (though there were portions of the latter that i really enjoyed, half of it was near impossible for me to read and it wore out its welcome very quickly). 'fears' by pamela sargent could have been great but the transmisogyny in it was so extreme that it really soured the whole story. i really thought i'd like 'the evening and the morning and the night' by octavia e. butler but some of the themes present in it didn't sit well with me even if i enjoyed several aspects of it.
it's overall a solid collection and gave me quite a few new authors to look into! i really appreciated the blurbs before each story that gave background on the author as well as the time period the stories were published. it's a solid way of framing an anthology like this and gave good context for each story. i'd definitely be up to reading more anthologies curated by the vandermeers if their subjects caught my interest.
my fave stories were 'the palm tree bandit' by nnedi okorafor, 'and salome danced' by kelley eskridge (warning for transphobia in this one), 'their mother's tears: the fourth letter' by leena krohn, 'gestella' by susan palwick and 'stable strategies for middle management' by eileen gunn.
'the fall river axe murders' by angela carter, 'boys' by carol emshwiller and 'thirteen ways of looking at space/time' by catherynne m. valente were the weakest for me (though there were portions of the latter that i really enjoyed, half of it was near impossible for me to read and it wore out its welcome very quickly). 'fears' by pamela sargent could have been great but the transmisogyny in it was so extreme that it really soured the whole story. i really thought i'd like 'the evening and the morning and the night' by octavia e. butler but some of the themes present in it didn't sit well with me even if i enjoyed several aspects of it.
it's overall a solid collection and gave me quite a few new authors to look into! i really appreciated the blurbs before each story that gave background on the author as well as the time period the stories were published. it's a solid way of framing an anthology like this and gave good context for each story. i'd definitely be up to reading more anthologies curated by the vandermeers if their subjects caught my interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Transphobia
purplemind's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
A great anthology that made me discover some authors whose works I'm definitely going to seek out.
There are a few weaker stories in the bunch, but overall I can't really find it in me to bump the rating down by much, since the stories I enjoyed I really enjoyed.
A few of the stand-outs for me:
- The screwfly solution by James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Bradley Sheldon) : possibly my favourite story of them all; loved the hauntingly slow reveal of the plot via the epistolary format, it worked incredibly well for the horror/sci-fi blend the author was going for; amazing closing line.
- The evening and the morning and the night by Octavia E. Butler : tied for first place; Butler's writing immerses you in the narrative instantly, throwing you in a believably horrifying world without drowing you in exposition.
- The palm tree bandit by Nnedi Okorafor : short and sweet, an extremely pleasant read; features one of my favourite tropes, (view spoiler) but for real this time.
- Gestella by Susan Palwick : I loved and hated this story; this story slaps you in the face with the first paragraph and knocks you out clean with the last; read at your own risk.
- The glass bottle trick by Nalo Hopkinson : (view spoiler) set against the world of Jamaican folklore; loved how the dialogue was written in such a way that the characters' accent/dialect was clearly defined yet still perfectly understandable by
someome not immersed in the culture (like me).
- Home by the sea by Elisabeth Vonaburg : very Blade Runner-y, but not derivative, retaining its own flavour throughout; very vivid and "alive" characters, closing the anthology with a bang!
Also good: The forbidden words of Margaret A. (L. Timmel Duchamp), The grammarian's five daughters (Eleanor Arnason), Northern chess (Tanith Lee), Sur (Ursula K. Le Guin), Thirteen ways of looking at space/time (Catherynne M. Valente)
There are a few weaker stories in the bunch, but overall I can't really find it in me to bump the rating down by much, since the stories I enjoyed I really enjoyed.
A few of the stand-outs for me:
- The screwfly solution by James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Bradley Sheldon) : possibly my favourite story of them all; loved the hauntingly slow reveal of the plot via the epistolary format, it worked incredibly well for the horror/sci-fi blend the author was going for; amazing closing line.
- The evening and the morning and the night by Octavia E. Butler : tied for first place; Butler's writing immerses you in the narrative instantly, throwing you in a believably horrifying world without drowing you in exposition.
- The palm tree bandit by Nnedi Okorafor : short and sweet, an extremely pleasant read; features one of my favourite tropes, (view spoiler) but for real this time.
- Gestella by Susan Palwick : I loved and hated this story; this story slaps you in the face with the first paragraph and knocks you out clean with the last; read at your own risk.
- The glass bottle trick by Nalo Hopkinson : (view spoiler) set against the world of Jamaican folklore; loved how the dialogue was written in such a way that the characters' accent/dialect was clearly defined yet still perfectly understandable by
someome not immersed in the culture (like me).
- Home by the sea by Elisabeth Vonaburg : very Blade Runner-y, but not derivative, retaining its own flavour throughout; very vivid and "alive" characters, closing the anthology with a bang!
Also good: The forbidden words of Margaret A. (L. Timmel Duchamp), The grammarian's five daughters (Eleanor Arnason), Northern chess (Tanith Lee), Sur (Ursula K. Le Guin), Thirteen ways of looking at space/time (Catherynne M. Valente)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Misogyny
edie_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Infertility, Homophobia, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, and Cannibalism
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