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A review by greatlibraryofalexandra
Disclosure by Michael Crichton
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Decent re-read. I read this years and years ago and I'm a great fan of Crichton's work. I'll also mention I read this years ago when I was in my "I don't need Feminism because I don't hate men" phase and thought it was a 5 star masterpiece. Now I just think it's a decent corporate thriller - Crichton is good at thrillers.
I do appreciate his role-reversal here, and I am amenable to more stories on men's experience with sexual harassment, how it differs. and how patriarchy actually enables it in ways starkly different than it enables and encourages harassment towards women - i.e., men are viewed as pussies if they claim harassment, or men are viewed as being unable to be harassed at all (a common believe is that erection + consent) - I also appreciate that Crichton made the precipitating event very great. He does explore a lot of the issues here, and makes interesting commentary on the rules changing, but he ultimately gets lost in or distracted by the business intrigue storyline, and fails to examine the harassment issue with true nuance.
Crichton views the role-reversal as a complete tit-for-tat swap, with every instance of it sort of implying that by putting shoes on the other feet, everything is exactly the same. There are different dynamics at play when men are harassed in a patriarchal world, and Crichton either doesn't consider them, or doesn't see them. I don't mean men aren't facing real issues, I mean specifically that they are facing different issues - for a small example, men are often conditioned that to be gentlemanly is to refuse to hit a woman, so how does a man react when being sexually touched but is hesitant to push someone away? I also thought Crichton clung annoyingly hard to the old adage of "one accusation can ruin a man's life" - this book was written in 1994, meaning the Anita Hill hearings had already been televised, and Crichton would know damn well that a major example of accusations not doing a damn thing was once front page news. It is now 2023, and men are only starting to face consequences for real accusations. What Crichton consistently fails to sensitively acknowledge in this book is the harassment women had been expect to put up with as a normal part of employment for a century before women began gaining equal rights and calling attention to inappropriate behavior. A role reversal that interrogates the social norms and beliefs isn't complete without nuanced exploration, and this book lacks that.
But, it is a fast-paced corporate/legal thriller with Crichton's usual densely and impressively researched subject matter, and it's a fun read.
I do appreciate his role-reversal here, and I am amenable to more stories on men's experience with sexual harassment, how it differs. and how patriarchy actually enables it in ways starkly different than it enables and encourages harassment towards women - i.e., men are viewed as pussies if they claim harassment, or men are viewed as being unable to be harassed at all (a common believe is that erection + consent) - I also appreciate that Crichton made the precipitating event very great. He does explore a lot of the issues here, and makes interesting commentary on the rules changing, but he ultimately gets lost in or distracted by the business intrigue storyline, and fails to examine the harassment issue with true nuance.
Crichton views the role-reversal as a complete tit-for-tat swap, with every instance of it sort of implying that by putting shoes on the other feet, everything is exactly the same. There are different dynamics at play when men are harassed in a patriarchal world, and Crichton either doesn't consider them, or doesn't see them. I don't mean men aren't facing real issues, I mean specifically that they are facing different issues - for a small example, men are often conditioned that to be gentlemanly is to refuse to hit a woman, so how does a man react when being sexually touched but is hesitant to push someone away? I also thought Crichton clung annoyingly hard to the old adage of "one accusation can ruin a man's life" - this book was written in 1994, meaning the Anita Hill hearings had already been televised, and Crichton would know damn well that a major example of accusations not doing a damn thing was once front page news. It is now 2023, and men are only starting to face consequences for real accusations. What Crichton consistently fails to sensitively acknowledge in this book is the harassment women had been expect to put up with as a normal part of employment for a century before women began gaining equal rights and calling attention to inappropriate behavior. A role reversal that interrogates the social norms and beliefs isn't complete without nuanced exploration, and this book lacks that.
But, it is a fast-paced corporate/legal thriller with Crichton's usual densely and impressively researched subject matter, and it's a fun read.