Reviews

Love of Worker Bees by Alexandra Kollontai

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catbrigand's review against another edition

4.0

I wasn't sure whether to rate this as a historical document or a literary work, so I aimed for the middle. As a historical document, it is a prime example of communist feminism. As a literary work, it's engaging, but a little dialogue heavy (which is something I hardly say about anything). Mostly, though, Vasilisa's attitude toward her husband made me want to pitch the book through the nearest window, but it's also very telling of what was probably the average situation for many Russian women of the time.

welshbookfairy's review against another edition

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4.0

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hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

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inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

monica_r_jae's review against another edition

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4.0

My bro recommended this book when I was in grade school. If you're at all interested in the sociological aspect of early communist society in the USSR - this is a great book. Of course, after re-reading it, I missed a lot of things the first time over and I find it even more compelling!

arilaurel's review against another edition

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4.0

I think Kollontai's fiction is severely underrated, and outside of specific markers of the time (such as names and political events), her stories often feel quite modern. I love the themes of women counseling in one another, or when a woman begins to dislike her man for political over romantic reasons (ie, they become more bourgeois). While Kollontai was a member of the communist party, she wrote fiction to reach homemakers who did not have access to the same political power she did, and through her fiction she successfully explored contradictions between the feminism of the time and the communism of the time. But she did so without laying judgment in her female characters or the reader for choosing one or the other, which I find to be rather compassionate.

dearcomposer's review

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4.0

Perhaps what this book (or collection of stories) lacks in fluidity, it makes up for in straightforwardness. The first story which is highly biographical (I read Kollontai's auto-biography right before this), but seeks to justify why Kollontai felt so disappointed with the state of relationships in the Bolshevik era. But these stories don't come across as a lament or inability to move on from the author, but rather to tie universal truths of love (the excitement, drama, complacency, and eventual end) and explore new manifestations of emotional connection. Not the most romantically written prose, the content does suffice.