A review by eveningreverie
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This played out like an anime in my head—I can definitely see the credit sequence every single time there’s a giant robot battle.

I’m entirely confused about the themes suddenly interjected into the book in quite literally the very last chapter.

Zeitian is definitely a badass, but her choices don’t really make a lot of sense and aren’t really explained. She has emotional realizations and then—when asked to essentially follow up on those realizations—regresses in her character development. Some of the arguments for not being shamed with one’s own body or sexuality don’t really hold up either since she is still bending to the wills of men in order to potentially (I say potentially because
there are certain moments that absolutely would not have ended at whatever she thought they would. See: the video Yizhi's dad forces her to take of her reading her contract naked. She says "what's he going to have? A video of me naked? I'm done being shamed about my body" and the only thing I can think of is "girl what the hell you really think this guy is going to stop at only having a video after he's already made you do that?!?!" A lot of the arguments for lack of shame feel like they're based on her actually taking men at what they say, which felt like red flag after red flag
) get a step closer to her goals. I understand it, for sure, but it’s never interrogated too deeply and it feels as though there’s a big portion of this book that requires that deeper interrogation. Why are we portraying things this particular way? Why are we achieving self-actualization through
having sex with specific men?
What does this particular angle of bending to others' whims to achieve self goals add to the narrative and themes? Could it have been stronger if she denied these male “desires?” 

I’m not sure, but the breakneck pace of the plot didn’t leave much room for characters to sit with these questions, and much less time for the audience to. I'm not saying the vengeful post-feminism has to hinge on completely shutting down any sort of desire for the masculine, but this tension is really not interrogated to the level at which the nuance would actually jump out of the page.

Gripping plot and definitely a page turner—I got through it in under a day. Feels like it lost its footing in the last couple chapters, though, as if a sequel setup was all the rest of the story was. 
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