Reviews

I do so wish this book hadn't been narrated by a man - even more so when I realised it was set in the 21st century, which wasn't immediately apparent due to the setting of the Mennonite community. I sort of understand why this choice was made, but I still think it would have been completely possible to have a woman narrator or a third-person narration; however sympathetic, I didn't want to read about violence against women and decision-making by women from a man's perspective.

Apart from that, though, the actual writing of the book was masterfully done and made for a compelling read despite being, genuinely, very little more than a group of women having an important conversation in a barn. I got a great sense of the different characters and their various motivations, and wanted nothing but good things for them. I want to know what happened next - as well as what happened to the real women the book is based on.

Although the premise of the book relies on horrific sexual violence (so I've marked it as graphic), I'm grateful that it didn't rely on vivid depictions of this for shock value. The few sentences alluding to the impact of the violence on different women and girls both got the point across and demonstrated its routine nature in the community. You don't need to know exact details of what happened to the women - after all, they don't themselves - and I appreciated Toews' focus on the aftermath without resorting to flashbacks and trauma porn.

I would recommend this book, in spite of my issues with the parts of it that focused on August. It felt like an important read.

Content Warnings

cafeautai's review

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challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

thezoetrope's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced

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

3.0

kymayhew's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

slimefudge's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

veganheathen's review against another edition

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3.0

This book was recommended to me by a friend. The narrative style was different and interesting. It really did feel as if I was reading notes someone made while listening to others have discussion. It's a quick read and is definitely a book that ruminates. I have a feeling this will be one that I'll think about for years to come off and on.

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