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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The novel is a treatise on the treatment of women as an exception to general humanity, and how the road to liberation must include women taking up space for themselves, telling their own stories, and becoming beings in their own right. Written with wit and anger, the constantly shifting first person narrative, whilst adding a layer of confusion to the novel, works to cement the universality of these experiences. Sometimes the dramatic vignettes seem very "baby's first feminism" (and that isn't the only vestige of 70s feminism in there and I mean specifically transphobia, or the intentionally gross way she describes men who are forced to live as women on a dystopian future earth. Whilst I've seen reported that she apologised for this at a convention, I cannot find the original source for it. I don't believe that this is a make-or-break passage in the novel, but as always, read critically and attentively, friends!) but with the resurgence of biological essentialism, it remains now more than ever an important and significant work. Very meta in its execution, it's definitely a book worth reading for everyone, and sticking with if it doesn't at first click. If I haven't convinced you, here's some of my favourite quotes:
“Alas, it was never meant for us to hear. It was never meant for us to know. We ought never be taught to read. We fight through the constant male refractoriness of our surroundings; our souls are torn out of us with such shock that there isn't even any blood. Remember: I didn't and don't want to be a 'feminine' version or a diluted version or a special version or a subsidiary version or an ancillary version, or an adapted version of the heroes I admire. I want to be the heroes themselves.”
“This is the underside of my world.
Of course you don’t want me to be stupid, bless you! you only want to make sure you’re intelligent. You don’t want me to commit suicide; you only want me to be gratefully aware of my dependency. You don’t want me to despise myself; you only want the flattering deference to you that you consider a spontaneous tribute to your natural qualities. You don’t want me to lose my soul; you only want what everybody wants, things to go your way; you want a devoted helpmeet, a self-sacrificing mother, a hot chick, a darling daughter, women to look at, women to laugh at, women to come for comfort, women to wash your floors and buy your groceries and cook your food and keep your children out of your hair, to work when you need the money and stay home when you don’t, women to be enemies when you want a good fight, women who are sexy when you want a good lay, women who don’t complain, women who don’t nag or push, women who don’t hate you really, women who know their job and above all—women who lose. On top of it all, you sincerely require me to be happy; you are naively puzzled that I should be wretched and so full of venom in this the best of all possible worlds. Whatever can be the matter with me? But the mode is more than a little outworn.
As my mother once said: the boys throw stones at the frogs in jest.
But the frogs die in earnest.”
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the plot of this book had so much potential i persevered all the way through but was so disappointed. the style was weird and i felt that i couldn't understand what was happening or relate to the characters in the slightest. surprised i forced myself to finish it.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
A 70s multiversal feminist exploration of four women visiting each other’s universes and exploring their different experiences and views on gender inequality. From a world that never exited to the Great Depression to one where all men died out 800 years ago. Each takes back their new understanding from their counterparts back to their own world.
It’s a fascinating book, though my qualm with this is a short segment that has a bit of second-wave transphobia in it. It’s not long but was a little creepy.
challenging
funny
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault
I read this ages ago, but someone reminded me that Jael's world has what are basically trans women living in the "male" space and the book treats them hideously. Like. They're presented as clearly women, and treated as women inside the male-only space, including being subject to abuse for being women, they're literally called "feminine", but they're not "real women". As soon as the main character women see a "half-changed", they get angry and hate them. The "changed and half-changed" are presented as horribly as possible. It's fucking vile. Like. Trans women were not totally unknown when Russ wrote this book. But she talks about them with a hatred that the men don't receive. Being a "half-man" is worse than being a "real man" to her, I guess.
The rest of the book has its moments and some deeply moving parts and it's incredibly personal but also often incredibly confusing because of the weird structure. It's very stereotypically second-wave feminist. Some of the ideas are good but I can't rate a book highly which has such a "Transexual Empire" vision of trans women.
The rest of the book has its moments and some deeply moving parts and it's incredibly personal but also often incredibly confusing because of the weird structure. It's very stereotypically second-wave feminist. Some of the ideas are good but I can't rate a book highly which has such a "Transexual Empire" vision of trans women.