bvlberri 's review for:

The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda

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this collection has around 52 short stories, each one offering a sharp societal critique through playful, reflective satire. they are clever and quick to read, as many are only a one-liner or a single page, but for me this what made collection fall a little bit short. it didn’t feel cohesive or had a solid theme running through, and i didn’t find lasting satisfaction with most of them. 

however, out of the 52, these are my fav 8 stories:

The woman dies (titular story)- calls out on the normalization of using violence against women in media just to drive a plot. basically a big ‘fuck you’ to most male directors. got a 10 minute standing ovation in my room

I hate the girls that you like- a wonderful feminist piece critiquing the patriarchal beauty standards

When the girl broke up with her boyfriend-shows how a suffocating loop of obedience strips you of personal agency. 

Youth and sadness-perfectly questions the idea that youth is the best time of a person’s life

The masculine touch-exists as a parody of phrases like “the feminine touch”/“the feminine perspective” in literature. the author was tired of seeing women’s creative works automatically labeled and reduced to having a “feminine touch”. it is limiting and stupid. and u know what? hell yeah!!!

The purest woman in the kingdom-hilarious and so clever in twisting a traditional prince and princess folktale to critique purity culture

Victoria’s secret-a short story of self discovery and gender identity

CV-structured as a literal CV that highlights all the sexual harassment the woman endured throughout her career. riveting yet gut-wrenching

honorable mentions: The year of no wild flowers, Dissecting misogyny, Remembering technology, The start of the weekend