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ashleyozery's review
3.0
Slow beginning but it picked up about halfway through. I love Crichton but I just couldn't get into this one.
juggernaut's review against another edition
4.0
The story is very good with lot of suspense (some that are so easy to guess). Some people blame Crichton as misogynist. Remember! He wrote a "pro-choice" (read pro-abortion) novel before everybody started to make a fuss about it. He has just advocated equality in sexual harassment policies. Which is a thought far ahead of the time of this novel. A job well done!
ladyarwen's review
4.0
"The law has nothing to do with justice...it's merely a method for dispute resolution."
Here's a Crichton book with no scifi other than predictions about CDs, DVDs, and VR that are so dated they add a comedy element to an otherwise serious book.
The back of the book tells us that a man is sexually harassed by his superior and has to deal with that. It's a wild ride and much more entertaining than I expected based on the synopsis. The afterword mentions that this is all based on a true story and I believe it because I can see that in general the characters are more developed than in some other books (like Prey- just look at Susan here vs. Julie there). My favourite characters are probably the lawyers who play logic games against eachother and can be ridiculously callous.
Sexual harassment and gender politics are important issues. Even if I don't agree with some of the ideas expressed here, I still appreciate the book.
Here's a Crichton book with no scifi other than predictions about CDs, DVDs, and VR that are so dated they add a comedy element to an otherwise serious book.
The back of the book tells us that a man is sexually harassed by his superior and has to deal with that. It's a wild ride and much more entertaining than I expected based on the synopsis. The afterword mentions that this is all based on a true story and I believe it because I can see that in general the characters are more developed than in some other books (like Prey- just look at Susan here vs. Julie there). My favourite characters are probably the lawyers who play logic games against eachother and can be ridiculously callous.
Sexual harassment and gender politics are important issues. Even if I don't agree with some of the ideas expressed here, I still appreciate the book.
renatasnacks's review
2.0
#MisandryMonday
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-20-disclosure/
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers/episode-20-disclosure/
balise's review
3.0
A good old thriller. It's the story of Tom, who works in a high-tech company that manufactures, among others, CD-ROM drives - and whose next product will be a market killer because it's so much faster (Reading it 20 years after it's been written makes the thing pretty funny :) ). His promotion gets stolen by one of his exes who kind of gets dropped from nowhere, and who quickly accuses him of harrassment, which is 1/ false 2/ hard to disprove. Pretty nice, and the ending was cool.
cliobemuzedbookworm's review
4.0
I would like to think of myself as a diverse reader, although I definitely didn't start out this way. I devoured fantasy after fantasy when I was young after discovering my love for books through fantasy literature. I quickly read nothing else than fantasy until out of a romantic wish to become a writer I studied English and Spanish language and literature. In my studies I was introduced to a whole new spectrum of literature, and I've tended to read more books that fell under the capital L section of the Literature versus literature debate. But, there are always exceptions. Fantasy, remains a big favorite and I've definitely daffled into Romance for a while. Give me a Stephen King book and I'll definitely enjoy myself, but ... give me a Michael Crichton and I'll finish the book in record time.
A lifetime of rewatching Jurassic Park led me to finally read the original novel on which the movie was inspired a couple of years ago and this has now lead to me finishing my fifth Crichton in four years. And while that doesn't amount to much statistically speaking that does put him pretty high on my most-read authors list.
So when I went to the library two weeks ago in search of 'Autumn' by Ali Smith, I paid extra attention, while skimming the available titles, when approaching the Crichton books. I've had my disappointments with some of his books, but still they are always fast-paced reads that can add some much needed lightweight balance to my reading life. I looked at 'Disclosure' purely because the title sounded familiar and in the current mediastorm surrounding sexual harassment, this definitely felt like an interesting read. I was however skeptical as this is a man's story about a female predator in a position of power. This could easily become a typical male portrayal and that might at once be the biggest problem I have with the book.
I started out slow and at page 60 I was still considering quiting on it, but then I got hooked and finished the rest of the book in just over 24 hours. The story centers around Tom, who is being passed over for a promotion in favor of ayoung female employee, with whom he used to be in a relationship. She is the boss's favorite and most of the men have reservations about her abilities to handle the technical aspects of the job. She invites him over to her office for a meeting and quickly pounces on him. When Tom eventually refuses her advances, after initially going along with her, she explodes and threatens to ruin his career. The next day Tom finds out she accused him of sexual harassment.
While this could easily end up being a male representation of the evil's of women infiltrating the workplace, it manages to steer away from that tone and tries for a much more egalitarian note. Not for nothing we find the following line quoted before the beginning of the novel: Power is neither male nor female.
The novel did set out adressing differences in the workplace since women have entered the scene and these put me off at first, but Crichton counterbalances his female predator with other examples of competent females and incompetent men in the workforce throughout.
Through Crichton's rendition of Tom's conflicting feeling, we also get an interesting in the feelings a victim has after being sexually harassed, a message that for some people might come across more vividly when seen in a male character. While at the same time, he raises the interesting issue of the impact a sexual harassment claim has upon a man and his reputation versus when a man accuses a woman of the same.
Thus Crichton raises a few interesting observations about gender equality and that in both ways many steps still need to be taken. He also clearly demonstrates how sexual harassment is a dangerous weapon that can be used in destroying someone's career.
What bothered me the most is his portrayal of the sexual predator, as it is so black and white. While she thus fit in with Crichton's usual narrative structure as being the problem that needs to be solved, it means that her character lacks all depth and that is always a shame. Multiple characters have this problem, as is often the case in Crichton's writing. Keeping these characters onedimensional creates clarity for the reader and allows for a focus on plot rather than character development.
Despite this flatness of his characters, I really liked the read and the story delved in deeper into the politics of company life than just this harassment case that started the ball rolling. Definitely won't be my last Crichton!
A lifetime of rewatching Jurassic Park led me to finally read the original novel on which the movie was inspired a couple of years ago and this has now lead to me finishing my fifth Crichton in four years. And while that doesn't amount to much statistically speaking that does put him pretty high on my most-read authors list.
So when I went to the library two weeks ago in search of 'Autumn' by Ali Smith, I paid extra attention, while skimming the available titles, when approaching the Crichton books. I've had my disappointments with some of his books, but still they are always fast-paced reads that can add some much needed lightweight balance to my reading life. I looked at 'Disclosure' purely because the title sounded familiar and in the current mediastorm surrounding sexual harassment, this definitely felt like an interesting read. I was however skeptical as this is a man's story about a female predator in a position of power. This could easily become a typical male portrayal and that might at once be the biggest problem I have with the book.
I started out slow and at page 60 I was still considering quiting on it, but then I got hooked and finished the rest of the book in just over 24 hours. The story centers around Tom, who is being passed over for a promotion in favor of ayoung female employee, with whom he used to be in a relationship. She is the boss's favorite and most of the men have reservations about her abilities to handle the technical aspects of the job. She invites him over to her office for a meeting and quickly pounces on him. When Tom eventually refuses her advances, after initially going along with her, she explodes and threatens to ruin his career. The next day Tom finds out she accused him of sexual harassment.
While this could easily end up being a male representation of the evil's of women infiltrating the workplace, it manages to steer away from that tone and tries for a much more egalitarian note. Not for nothing we find the following line quoted before the beginning of the novel: Power is neither male nor female.
The novel did set out adressing differences in the workplace since women have entered the scene and these put me off at first, but Crichton counterbalances his female predator with other examples of competent females and incompetent men in the workforce throughout.
Through Crichton's rendition of Tom's conflicting feeling, we also get an interesting in the feelings a victim has after being sexually harassed, a message that for some people might come across more vividly when seen in a male character. While at the same time, he raises the interesting issue of the impact a sexual harassment claim has upon a man and his reputation versus when a man accuses a woman of the same.
Thus Crichton raises a few interesting observations about gender equality and that in both ways many steps still need to be taken. He also clearly demonstrates how sexual harassment is a dangerous weapon that can be used in destroying someone's career.
What bothered me the most is his portrayal of the sexual predator, as it is so black and white. While she thus fit in with Crichton's usual narrative structure as being the problem that needs to be solved, it means that her character lacks all depth and that is always a shame. Multiple characters have this problem, as is often the case in Crichton's writing. Keeping these characters onedimensional creates clarity for the reader and allows for a focus on plot rather than character development.
Despite this flatness of his characters, I really liked the read and the story delved in deeper into the politics of company life than just this harassment case that started the ball rolling. Definitely won't be my last Crichton!
frenchhornhero1995's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Many feel that Disclosure was Michael Crichton biting off way more than he could chew and to be fair the premise reads like if mansplaining the #MeToo movement were a book. However, I must insist when given a chance you'll see Crichton's argumentation is a little more nuanced than what the book summary may hint at. Specifically, Crichton is interested in not only the ethics behind sexual assault allegations, but also how we would investigate them in an age of rapidly changing technology. In regards to the latter he navigates how one by themselves with their own resources technologically can affectively prove their innocence and what that means in the grand scheme of things in regards to our right to privacy. It's a compelling argument that holds up even today as we more and more embrace and surround ourselves with the worldwide web, cameras, phones, etc. to be recorded on an endless basis. Back to the gender reversed workplace sexual harassment scenario he poses it can be seen by many that he would be trying to delegitimize those of what is typically found in news media. However, if you care to take the time to read it you'll find that he makes it clear it's actually to shed light on the struggles men have to discuss and be open about sexual harassment in our culture and how believability between two parties is often cast based on stereotypes that pervade our culture of who would realistically be a victim. Put it all together, and you have a book that if you give it a shot and ignore its reputation you'll find a thoughtful, if challenging representation of sensitive ideas and a thorough analysis of others that together still unfortunately has relevance even as our perceptions of gender as well as our technology have evolved since this novel's publication.
kanesuke's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75