A review by mbgates
Women Talking by Miriam Toews

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A really difficult and challenging book, but definitely worth a read. I definitely think this is one I will have to re-read to get the full grasp. I loved the format of the book and felt it was really served by the symposium format. The characters were just so well fleshed out and I felt that I could really feel their feelings. Every page of this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster. I feel like this is one of the best representations I have ever read of the feelings and lasting trauma for victims of sexual assault. The prose wasn't pretentious or overdramatized, but I was fully crying during several instances at the way Towes was able to give such simple dialogue and sentences an incredible emotional punch. One of my favorites; "Ona...mentions if [all skin on the body is replaced every month], the skin they, the women, had during the attacks is gone now, has been replaced. She smiles." This is not a light read, but 100% a worthwhile read. Fair warning that there is absolutely no plot. It is just women talking about what they are going to do in the aftermath of the violence they faced by members of their community. The only reason I have not given it a 5 is because I'm not sure the overall theme and thesis of the book was served by August's monologue at the end. This may change when I inevitably reread this, although the monologue was incredibly touching, I do feel like it made the novel and the ending for the women lose a little bit of its impact. In many ways, this is a story where I'm not entirely sure I appreciated a male narrator. Granted, the fact that the narrator is male is a huge theme in the book, and his reckoning with members of his own community is an insightful aspect of the book. So, while in this initial reading, I was not entirely won over by this artistic choice, I do see how it forged the path of the novel and definitely added an interesting texture. So, like I said, I'm sticking to my rating now, but may very well change it in a future read, which I will definitely, as I mentioned, need to read this one again. All in all, a must-read.
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