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theverbalthing's review
4.0
This graphic memoir is vulnerable. Williams lays all of her feelings out on the page, no matter how messy or problematic, which not only forces the reader to crawl into her life and fully understand what she faces on a daily basis, but also provides painful, at times uncomfortable commentary on how women are treated in public. Vacillating between being stared at and being invisible — the latter, she notes, especially in the wake of pregnancy and childbirth — Williams struggles to reconcile her desire for men’s attention with multiple experiences of sexual harassment and assault, including rape.
Read my full review at The Beat: click here.
Read my full review at The Beat: click here.
ljrinaldi's review
3.0
This is a stream of consciousness of a woman and how she feels she is represented in the world. Part of it is based on her commute back and forth to the office. Part of it is her thoughts on everything around her, and how women are assaulted with the gaze of men.
There is a little too much about how she gets ready in the morning. The beginning of the book is a bit drawn out.
But once you get past that, and she talks about all things women, about giving birth, about many bad dates, and about the way advertising features women's bodies.
It is a bit of stream of consiouoness about it, and if you can stand reading that way, you might find this enjoyable.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
There is a little too much about how she gets ready in the morning. The beginning of the book is a bit drawn out.
But once you get past that, and she talks about all things women, about giving birth, about many bad dates, and about the way advertising features women's bodies.
It is a bit of stream of consiouoness about it, and if you can stand reading that way, you might find this enjoyable.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
megadallion's review
1.0
This was a hot mess. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. This is a memoir of a woman who has been struggling with alcoholism for decades and, as she goes through the tedious motions of getting ready and commuting to and from work, revisits the memories of all the horrible men she’s ever experienced. Pretty much all of these men make her feel shitty about herself and a handful of them also force themselves on her. She fantasizes about a few of the men, all while she has a husband and baby waiting for her at home. She never talks about her husband, only how awful men are. One of the things that bothered me the most about this is that she says women are either desirable or invisible and every woman wants to be desirable. Excuse me, but no thank you, ew. She also has some questionable things to say about sexual assault and rape and I just didn’t understand what she was trying to say: “Defining sexual abuse as rape and rape as lack of consent hurts women. It belies many of our sexual experiences; the ugly, confusing ones that we don’t think we liked, but couldn’t quite understand.” Wtf? I just overall felt gross and angry while reading this. She said a few relatable things about being scared and constantly on alert when traveling alone and having a man suddenly come towards you, and how bizarre the marketing of women’s bodies is in advertisements, but that was about it. I wouldn’t recommend it.
jhstack's review
3.0
Erin Williams crafted a good graphic memoir, filled with personal relationship experiences (including rape, bad relationships and sex, her daughter's birth) and musings on women in society, all during her regular commute. It does take a little to ramp up, though, and the subject matter might turn some readers off. (e-galley from NetGalley)
oworthyfool's review
5.0
Painful, blunt, cathartic... Erin Williams bares the pain of living in a patriarchy in a personal and profound graphic memoir. Content warnings abound, but it is worth the read.