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A review by ghem_
Outside Looking In by T.C. Boyle
2.0
this book could have been a 4 star. the plot was relatively engaging, the characters interesting.
however. the narration was FILLED with perverse misogynistic phrases including (but not limited to) describing a woman as a “fleshsack”, implying that the sweat a man could smell came from between a woman’s legs, comparing a hot dog bun to a woman’s genitalia, not to mention detailing the breasts of every woman in any scene (and including how they compared to those of every other woman present.) additionally, vaguely racist remarks were also scattered around the book, for little more than shock value. i understand the book is set in the 60s, however many of these phrases were NOT dialogue, nor were they from a first person viewpoint.
while i was prepared to make mild concessions when i operated under the assumption that this book was published in the 70s or 80s, after learning that t. c. boyle had the gall to write like this in 2019? i am appalled.
however. the narration was FILLED with perverse misogynistic phrases including (but not limited to) describing a woman as a “fleshsack”, implying that the sweat a man could smell came from between a woman’s legs, comparing a hot dog bun to a woman’s genitalia, not to mention detailing the breasts of every woman in any scene (and including how they compared to those of every other woman present.) additionally, vaguely racist remarks were also scattered around the book, for little more than shock value. i understand the book is set in the 60s, however many of these phrases were NOT dialogue, nor were they from a first person viewpoint.
while i was prepared to make mild concessions when i operated under the assumption that this book was published in the 70s or 80s, after learning that t. c. boyle had the gall to write like this in 2019? i am appalled.