Reviews

Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth

Only show reviews with written explanations

burnoutbooks's review

4.5

this was great and the ending was fun! i missed some deeper commentary on gentrification at the end, and it didn't speak to me quite as viscerally as motherthing, but i loved it nevertheless!

bonmak21's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Until you've read this, you simply won't get how it feels to have captured the fear of what it is to be a woman. This had me in tears, laughing and reflecting non stop on what our experience is like. But not in the way where it throws it in your face, in the way where you go, "yep, that's just it really".
The characters are so humanely flawed and it was a joy to read, I loved the commentary on sex work and the normalisation of fear on every day life. This book had me raptured and I loved it.

thunderhead's review

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funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

meghanhawkins's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

rhiannatherad's review

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mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

memydogandbooks's review

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dark medium-paced

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

3.0

I loved Motherthing but I just didn't get this one, I love the writing and the unhinged anticipation of the character and plot but I kept waiting for it to go somewhere, but for me it fell flat. I came out the end wanting more, maybe I chronically misunderstood the gist or something. But I am not sure what I was supposed to take from this, and at the end I shouted "was that it?"

This is my personal opinion, I may be missing an obvious point of the story, so please do share your thoughts with me!