Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Three Women - Drei Frauen

The concept of this book had initially really intrigued me and I was excited to read. However the reality of it's content left a lot to be desired.
The objective of this book is to create authentic naratives around female desire and pleasure, however the author fails to reflect on the abusive nature of the relationships.
Instead much of the text recounts scenarios where the men are often glorified and worshiped without any substantial critical analysis of power dynamics and sexual trauma. Any unpicking of these themes comes too little too late.

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caraghsyd's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I'd go as far as to say this book has changed my life! It's relatable, affirming and devastating all at once. I want to grab each woman by the shoulders and shake her awake from her stupor, whilst at the same time wanting to hug her tight and tell her she's not alone. I'd give anything to read this book for the first time all over again! A must read.

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idasophieluise's review

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

3.25

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geraldineleyendo's review against another edition

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tense fast-paced

2.75

I've changed the rating of this book a few times - I appreciate its role exploring *true stories* of desire; but as a novel-like book falls flat for me, with some of the explicit sexual scenes going for too long and some other important/interesting aspects of the stories being ignored or brushed off way too quickly. The creative writing is great but all those years of immersive research leading to just this compilation feel a bit disappointing.

It's certainly thought-inducing and although I enjoy the mixed order of the stories, I feel the whole structure lacks intention. Why were the stories told in that order? Is there something truly connecting them? (other than the very obvious "sex stories told by women"). I feel the author fails in giving strong answers to that which overall made the book less enjoyable for me. Some themes will stay with me for a long time but only because of their importance, not because the author threaded them particularly well.

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