Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Women Could Fly

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings

30 reviews

amandadelbrocco's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This had a really interesting concept but it just didn't click with me. I didn't find myself invested in the story at all but it's also not my typical genre.

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leanneymu's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book has some really interesting ideas about the way women are treated in society (especially black and brown women) and I really wanted to love it for it's progressive politics. However, I couldn't get on with the writing style. Too much tell and not enough show. The ending felt very predictable too.

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wlreed312's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Well this was glorious.

The Women Could Fly is a novel set in a world that is just a step off from ours, the major difference being that magic is real, but carefully controlled and regulated. It is said that only women are able to access this magic because of their highly emotional nature. Our main character is Jo, who is approaching the age of 28, where she must be registered, and closing in on the age where she must have a man (father, brother, spouse) to be accountable for her actions. Jo is a messy messy character who has a tremendous amount of trauma due to the disappearance of her mother 14 years ago, and her subsequent questioning about witchcraft (torture, not to put too fine a point on it). This is an examination of racism, homophobia, and misogyny, yes. But it's also a story about how bad it screws you up when the adults in your life (especially your parents) don't see everything that you are, and only love an image of you they have in their minds.

This was one of those books that touched me deeply for reasons I can't fully articulate. I love how complicated Jo is, and how she wants to be better for the people she loves. I love that her romantic relationship with a man is complex, because while she does care for him, she resents the fact that she must be in a heteronormative relationship or be monitored in truly invasive ways. There is a power imbalance in every relationship between men and women in this world, and it's explored in interesting ways. My only very minor complaint is that I wish we had a little bit more resolution between Jo and Angie

(how long has Angie had that doll? Why didn't she tell Jo what she knew ?

) I also loved the writing, and highlighted many passages (which is unusual for me). I can definitely see that this is a book I appreciate in a different way because I'm older, but I just really really loved it.

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faliiza's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Unbelievably brutal yet beautiful story. Such a dark and unforgiving world. Mesmerising prose. Main character who contains multitudes. A wholly unique and dark twist on a modern world with witches.

This book had the feminist in me raging. I was shaking in anger at points, so close to throwing the book. But it was not only the women who are wronged in this world, white supremacy is wild at large and black people are paying the price. And add to that poor parenting and generally sucky people. There are so many things wrong here, a real dystopian cornucopia of awfulness.

But. There’s also light. Beaty and wonder. MAGIC. Love. Friendship. True reflection and revelation of oneself. Power and imagination.

I truly love this book. It seeped into my soul.

Here’s a bunch of quotes from the book. Most of them made me angry, some sad. All stuck with me.

”In the class textbook was a chapter titled "The Protectors." It was all about how women needed men to guide them and help them stay on the path of light. Marriage is, yes, for love, but also a way to keep us all safe.”

"The only safe place for a woman is 100 percent alone."

"When the great creator made women, he made the glue that holds this world together. Women give birth, they care for their children, their husbands, their parents when they age. They create beautiful homes, beautiful meals, and see the world with gentleness and care.

"Women were made smaller and gentler and kinder and obedient because without those qualities the whole world would crumble. Isn't it miraculous? To be made something so wonderful, to always know your path and to never be lost."

“In every room of that house, I told myself, If you keep acting normal, you can have a life.”

“In every room I told myself I had so many things other people were desperate for, so shut up and lean in to being happy.”

“How long has it been since someone spoke your name with tenderness and not irritation or boredom or anger or threats?”

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ajay913's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

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minella's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

4.25

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mj_86's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

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aliciae08's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

When I started reading The Women Could Fly, I was expecting a remake of The Hand Maid’s Tale— only “make it Black”.

I’m really glad it wasn’t that though. I thought it was better and more terrifying. The magic was real, even though the ways to tell if a woman bore that magic were not. The way people act when they have all of the power was real, too. The way men know how to leverage that power, manipulate it so that the women are scared but wouldn’t be able to put their finger on why. It just worked.

There were plenty of things i didn’t like about this book. The pacing for the first two-thirds felt so slow, while the last third flew by. It almost felt like the author couldn’t wait to just finish it.

None of the characters are all that likable, but I wonder if a part of that was simply that we don’t get to know any of them. Even Josephine keeps us at an arms length. I don’t find Jo or Angie to be that funny either—even though their whole schtick is about using humor/comedy to feel alive.

Jo’s parents are disappointing in their own way, but I can probably forgive Tiana for leaving when you can see who she married—a man that couldn’t/wouldn’t stand up for his daughter probably did even less for his wife.

Still, this is a book where we can see:

how racism and income disparity can impact the enforcement/policing of bodies that don’t/can’t conform
How members of the same sex/gender-expression can also be culpable with oppression even if it goes against their own freedoms
How power and control can make people behave to those without

While magic was the thing that was added and feared, we can translate that to be anything that society fears. In fact there were instances where the fear of magic went with:

racist stereotypes that played on old tropes of white is might
homosexuality and gender nonconformity being dangerous

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rcsreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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lpdx's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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