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otherbeth's review against another edition
4.0
This is a difficult read at the moment. It’s about women who lack agency in every way. Their bodies (community-wide, male-sanctioned sexual assault), minds (they are illiterate and uneducated), and souls (the community is led by a corrupt church dictator) are not their own. They don’t even get to tell their own story. It’s painful. But read it anyway. I guess I couldn’t give it 5 stars because the deal with the narrator/scribe felt incomplete.
mswhitmanreads's review against another edition
2.0
After finishing this book, I'm really unsure how to rate it, unsure of exactly how I feel about this book.
There were a lot of things I really liked, that really stuck with me. The overall premise just stops you in your tracks. The thought of men drugging women while they sleep and then rapping them - that sticks with you. The slow revelation of the impacts of those attacks - the pregnant Ona, the toddler Meip, the crushing of one woman's teeth, the suicide of another, August and his connections to Peters... on and on and on.
But then there were parts of this story that made me feel like a day one college freshman who accidentally walked into an advanced level philosophy class. People are talking and I'm struggling to keep up. As the women talk about whether to do nothing, stay and fight, or leave they cover a lot of philosophical ground bogged down by religious allusions and metaphors and just a lot of verbal twisting that I felt like a pretzel sometimes. So I guess I'm somewhere in the middle with this book - not loving it but not hating it.
There were a lot of things I really liked, that really stuck with me. The overall premise just stops you in your tracks. The thought of men drugging women while they sleep and then rapping them - that sticks with you. The slow revelation of the impacts of those attacks - the pregnant Ona, the toddler Meip, the crushing of one woman's teeth, the suicide of another, August and his connections to Peters... on and on and on.
But then there were parts of this story that made me feel like a day one college freshman who accidentally walked into an advanced level philosophy class. People are talking and I'm struggling to keep up. As the women talk about whether to do nothing, stay and fight, or leave they cover a lot of philosophical ground bogged down by religious allusions and metaphors and just a lot of verbal twisting that I felt like a pretzel sometimes. So I guess I'm somewhere in the middle with this book - not loving it but not hating it.
debbyhardy's review against another edition
5.0
Listen
The word “list” is derived from a Middle English word meaning “desire”,and is the root of the word “listen”. When you read “Women Talking” you are listening to the essential core dilemma of all us women. To the thing which haunts our world at this very moment: The power of the men and the terrible wrong that arises from it. Should we leave,stay,or fight? Make your list
The word “list” is derived from a Middle English word meaning “desire”,and is the root of the word “listen”. When you read “Women Talking” you are listening to the essential core dilemma of all us women. To the thing which haunts our world at this very moment: The power of the men and the terrible wrong that arises from it. Should we leave,stay,or fight? Make your list
binchsensei's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Man this was really great.
I love a “nothing much happens” type story, and this is that, but the stakes are sky-high. Really thought-provoking, huge and small at the same time.
I love a “nothing much happens” type story, and this is that, but the stakes are sky-high. Really thought-provoking, huge and small at the same time.
bearenda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lucysmom717's review against another edition
5.0
Stylistically, this is a difficult book to read. There are no quotation marks, so it takes a while to adjust. Other than this, I loved the story. It doesn't focus on what happened, but rather what the women do going forward. The women learn that they have been drugged and raped for years by men in their isolated community. The women now face a choice: stay or leave. While the men are in town posting bail after the rapists have been arrested, the women have a meeting to determine their next step. The first page has a list of the families (which is incredibly helpful and I referenced throughout). Throughout the book you get to learn more about the women's choices and the motivations behind them. It explores their rationale and what they consider when making such a big decision.
mollbergin's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely needed to read this one as an audiobook. Spent the majority of this book enraged on behalf of these women, but the sentimental moments between August and Ona sold this for me. The moments spent discussing religion, ethics, and womanhood in a patriarchal society were my favorites. Can't wait to watch the show!!
camillegourdet's review against another edition
3.0
A bit torn about this one. It is an important story, and a good premise. But it seemed an odd choice to have a male narrator tell this story, especially with his constant , distracting nsertions into the story. It was a tedious read, about rage inducing subject matter. The film version might be better.
jaybeebee's review against another edition
DNF…I might revisit at another time but is not what I expected.
ajokayokay's review against another edition
4.0
enormous content warning, but i’ve really been slurping up miriam toews’ oeuvre lately. a lot of reviewers question august’s place as narrator due to his being a man but i enjoyed the dimension he added as a weird little guy doing his best. i definitely did get confused on who was who and how they were related, but that is not a big crime.