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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
My rating will make more sense if you read the TOC for Almroth Wright's (lovely, harumph) book called "The Unexpurgated Examination of Woman Sufferage" (or some such drivel). In those lilnes you'll read, in reverse, the outline for Gilman's 12 chapter novel. Hers is a calm, focused refutation of his text, but in fiction form.
Knowing that makes the book make SO much more sense! That, and going through it on the CraftLit podcast.
Knowing that makes the book make SO much more sense! That, and going through it on the CraftLit podcast.
While the concept of this book is interesting -- what would it be like if there was a country full of nothing but women -- it was poorly executed. It was all telling and no showing and incredibly didactic. There was no subtlety or complexity to the narrative. I remember when I was in high school I used to complain about metaphors and hidden meanings. Why don't authors just come out and say what they mean? Well, after reading a book where the author pretty much did nothing but say what she means, I can now see THAT'S BORING! Add some complexity and nuance to the narrative for goodness sake! I certainly would have abandoned this book had it not been required reading for a class.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
there were some good points along the lines of Herland but they were lost in the middle of the most boring and dry storytelling ever. it’s like a politics book told second hand... I decided to finish this just purely to see if it would have some point by the end, otherwise I would have given up before half.
The Yellow Wallpaper was pretty interesting tho
The Yellow Wallpaper was pretty interesting tho
hopeful
slow-paced
A very interesting but aggravating read. The feminist ideals in it are posed from a male perspective making them infuriatingly obvious. It's slow in places, but overall quite a nice read
Two stars for using the men to point out the way how men think of women..but I just couldn’t get over how the women were utterly obsessed with children. That’s all they were about and it’s the only reason for their progress. How dull.
Herland is a utopian sci-fi feminist novel, which was written in 1915. Named 'a forgotten feminist classic' by the Guardian, this novel is a bit of a silly romp through a civilisation that has developed without men, which is then suddenly invaded by three swaggering dudes. The women gain control of the situation, rendering the adventurers dumbstruck- as these women live without men, rather well.
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced