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A review by andreatypesbraille
Women Talking by Miriam Toews
2.0
Heartbreaking, gut wrenching, insightful, and also incredibly boring and a cyclical rehashing of religious tenets from the Mennonite faith that devolve into very abstract think pieces.
TW: SA, CSA, suicide, extreme violence
I think my main issue is that this was not presented in a manner, or voice, that I was hoping to hear from. And also the bulk of the conversation, what the women were talking about, is more abstract and examines philosophical elements of their faith. But it’s done in a very elementary way. It feels like the women are speaking as a child would about God, God’s expectations of them, possible eternal consequences, and also it felt like the first third of the book was the women trying to figure out whether or not they were humans or animals.
I am sure part of that is meant to relate back to how the women have not been allowed the ability to grow and learn, or even be treated as humans next to their male counterparts. And in fact the dialogue mentions that at times. The women truly do not feel part of the community, but more as commodities. However the way the conversation was handled, the narrator being male and constantly interjecting his thoughts and wants into the “minutes” of this meeting of women, led this to be very lackluster.
TW: SA, CSA, suicide, extreme violence
I think my main issue is that this was not presented in a manner, or voice, that I was hoping to hear from. And also the bulk of the conversation, what the women were talking about, is more abstract and examines philosophical elements of their faith. But it’s done in a very elementary way. It feels like the women are speaking as a child would about God, God’s expectations of them, possible eternal consequences, and also it felt like the first third of the book was the women trying to figure out whether or not they were humans or animals.
I am sure part of that is meant to relate back to how the women have not been allowed the ability to grow and learn, or even be treated as humans next to their male counterparts. And in fact the dialogue mentions that at times. The women truly do not feel part of the community, but more as commodities. However the way the conversation was handled, the narrator being male and constantly interjecting his thoughts and wants into the “minutes” of this meeting of women, led this to be very lackluster.