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A review by jenche
The Artificial Silk Girl by Irmgard Keun
4.0
i feel like people don't like this book, but i really did? it's like right up my alley of 1900s gossip girl; if you liked house of mirth you'll like this. actually this was easier and less dense than house of mirth, but still. i think it's easy to hate or dislike doris for being shallow and materialistic but it's important to remember that she is a young girl trying to make it in berlin, she's places a lot of importance on having material goods because of her experiences - like, she's learned that the only way to get ahead is to have nice things because that's how women were treated in pre-war berlin. they're judged on their appearances which is why keeping them up is so important to her and why her story basically revolves around that.
people in my class (i was supposed to read this for class in like...november? and i didn't, but now i'm writing my final paper on it holla) didn't really think of it as feminist and i kind of do? doris isn't a feminist character but the novel itself serves as a commentary on society and the extremes women are driven to trying to ""make it"" and the struggles that they face in a male-dominated world. idk. i feel like people are too quick to dismiss doris, i liked her enough and felt like i understood her but that might also be just because she reminded me a lot of like, the archetypal gossip girl/a list/it girl/etc character trying to make it in society and keep up with trends and such. she seemed like a genuine character to me even though like most of her problems are kind of self-created lmao.
people in my class (i was supposed to read this for class in like...november? and i didn't, but now i'm writing my final paper on it holla) didn't really think of it as feminist and i kind of do? doris isn't a feminist character but the novel itself serves as a commentary on society and the extremes women are driven to trying to ""make it"" and the struggles that they face in a male-dominated world. idk. i feel like people are too quick to dismiss doris, i liked her enough and felt like i understood her but that might also be just because she reminded me a lot of like, the archetypal gossip girl/a list/it girl/etc character trying to make it in society and keep up with trends and such. she seemed like a genuine character to me even though like most of her problems are kind of self-created lmao.