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A review by intothestarrysea
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
I really wanted to like this book. Conceptually, it had a lot of great things, and the MC was unhinged in an amazing way.
But man, the misogyny. And I don’t just mean the evil patriarchy in the book. I mean in the way her sister is fridged and then almost never brought up again, as if she didn’t exist except as plot motivation. I mean in the way the MC has 0 female friends and there is not a single female character she has a positive relationship with. I mean in the way the MC wants to end the killing of girls but is 100% okay with slaughtering boys. I mean in the way this book doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. I mean in the waysome guy makes her strip naked and read a contract on camera, and she says whatever, humiliation is just a state of mind, effectively invalidating all the women (and people) who have felt shame and humiliation from that same thing. It kind of blames them for feeling shamed.
It was a good idea, and in many ways, it actually felt like the hunger games. It just didn’t hit the mark for me.
But man, the misogyny. And I don’t just mean the evil patriarchy in the book. I mean in the way her sister is fridged and then almost never brought up again, as if she didn’t exist except as plot motivation. I mean in the way the MC has 0 female friends and there is not a single female character she has a positive relationship with. I mean in the way the MC wants to end the killing of girls but is 100% okay with slaughtering boys. I mean in the way this book doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. I mean in the way
It was a good idea, and in many ways, it actually felt like the hunger games. It just didn’t hit the mark for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Gore, Alcohol, Murder, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Violence, Fatphobia, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, and Alcoholism
Foot binding