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A review by yunsq
The Last Housewife by Ashley Winstead
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Preliminary thoughts: I don’t think I’ve drafted more content warnings for any book than this one. A tense and very difficult read, which I felt like came into fruition and meaning in one way or another - unlike a lot of the other intense thrillers I’ve read where I ask myself all this pain and gory details for what. For whom?
There’s meaning and purpose to The Last Housewife. And I hope more people read it and talk about it because the commentary on the patriarchy, the male gaze, issues of power reclaiming and consent around gender roles and sex… covered in this book isn’t fiction. It’s reality. Ah. I’m mindfucked.
This is my second cult book, thank god it was because I’d have otherwise never noticed that Don is a cult leader and that Shay and her friends were manipulated by him to stay until wayyyy later into the book. I- argh. It’s so easy to linger in the dark and crouch in fear. It’s breaking into the light that’s easier said than done.
There’s meaning and purpose to The Last Housewife. And I hope more people read it and talk about it because the commentary on the patriarchy, the male gaze, issues of power reclaiming and consent around gender roles and sex… covered in this book isn’t fiction. It’s reality. Ah. I’m mindfucked.
This is my second cult book, thank god it was because I’d have otherwise never noticed that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Rape, Self harm, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Suicide
Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury