Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by christytidwell
Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the central characters a lot, and it made me happy. There is humor in this book and an approach to love, romance, and marriage that is grown-up and realistic while still maintaining a sense of fun and optimism. This isn't the kind of romance novel where the leads spend the whole book trying to avoid having sex and then when they do it's just happily-ever-after. They have to work at their relationship. They have to negotiate with each other to get what they need, to avoid hurting the other person, and to learn from their past mistakes. They grow as people and will continue to grow after the book ends because that's just what people do and, as this book acknowledges, the best relationships, the ones that work and that last, leave space for that kind of growth.
There is no rape in this book. There are no man-roots or honey-ovens. Sex isn't always tied to true love, but it isn't used as a punishment or a means of control, either. This is a sex-positive book.
Finally, there are positive female relationships and meaningful male relationships. A huge part of the book, in fact, revolves around the central female characters' friendship. They support each other, joke with each other, and do far more than simply talk about men or sex. There is also at least one significant male friendship, one in which the men talk, at least sometimes, about things that are important to them personally and in which they defend each other against others who don't understand or who would hurt them. On both sides, this makes the characters more likeable and believable and shifts the focus away from fulfillment through a romantic or sexual relationship and toward a broader sense of what defines and fulfills an individual (not just sex, but work, family, friends, hobbies, pets, etc.).
The only major complaint I have about this book is that I think the title gives the wrong impression of the kind of women Crusie is writing about.
There is no rape in this book. There are no man-roots or honey-ovens. Sex isn't always tied to true love, but it isn't used as a punishment or a means of control, either. This is a sex-positive book.
Finally, there are positive female relationships and meaningful male relationships. A huge part of the book, in fact, revolves around the central female characters' friendship. They support each other, joke with each other, and do far more than simply talk about men or sex. There is also at least one significant male friendship, one in which the men talk, at least sometimes, about things that are important to them personally and in which they defend each other against others who don't understand or who would hurt them. On both sides, this makes the characters more likeable and believable and shifts the focus away from fulfillment through a romantic or sexual relationship and toward a broader sense of what defines and fulfills an individual (not just sex, but work, family, friends, hobbies, pets, etc.).
The only major complaint I have about this book is that I think the title gives the wrong impression of the kind of women Crusie is writing about.