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A review by bookph1le
The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam
4.0
4.5 stars
I like fiction like this, where it's as readable as genre fiction but also has plenty of meat on its bones. That's not to say I'm opposed to reading purely for entertainment; that's something I often enjoy. But the books that tend to stick with me the most are those that make me think, and this was one of them. If I don't have to feel like I'm suffering on the road there, as some literary fiction makes me feel, all the better.
Anyone who has experience working in startups will probably get more from that aspect than I did. It was very clear to me it was partially a send up of that particular culture, and I appreciated it, but it wasn't what stuck with me the most. What did really stick with me were two themes: 1) the ways in which society will often make allowances for "genius", as if it's inevitable that genius requires harming others and/or stomping over them on the path to genius and 2) the compromises women are often required (or at least feel required) to make in order to concentrate on the things that really matter to them.
The first point interests me because I think it's a worthwhile moral question. I'm often bemused by the way society will excuse some seriously shitty behavior on the part of people (and, of course, they are almost always men) who run the gamut from terrible human beings to complete monsters, all in the name of sanctifying genius. It's as if society believes that as long as some good comes of it, it's probably okay for "visionaries" to be utter garbage human beings because greater good or something. Given our current political climate in the U.S. and given all the fallout from movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, I find it really hard that people still seem to think it's okay to defend the position that others must suffer in order for geniuses to do what they do. Shouldn't it maybe occur to people that those suffering might be geniuses of an even greater order, whose brilliance can't flourish because of the oppressive behavior of the supposed "visionary" they work for? Cyrus wasn't as terrible as some of the awful people making headlines lately, but he did plenty of terrible things, from minimizing his wife's contributions and robbing her of some of her agency to ignoring the advice and misgivings of others so he could feed his own ego. He was a good example of how having good intentions shouldn't excuse the bad things you do.
As for the second point, I wouldn't place all the blame on Cyrus. There were times when Asha acquiesced to Cyrus rather than standing up for herself, but it's also undeniable that there's such a cult of admiration surrounding Cyrus that the other people in their orbit would sometimes dismiss Asha in favor of doing what Cyrus wanted. I was particularly disturbed by the advice Mira offers her when Asha goes to her for advice. Again, I think this is reflective of society, as the U.S. is a culture that tends to not only reward but encourage hubris, and even when hubris proves to be the downfall of the person exemplifying it, society makes excuses. At some point I think we need to stop worshiping people simply because they exude confidence or an aura of competence and start looking more closely at the quality of the ideas they're presenting. I also think it's undeniable that Cyrus is given as much leeway as he is because he's a man. Had Asha behaved the way he did, she wouldn't have gotten away with anything close to what Cyrus is able to pull off.
I really appreciated the time I spent with this book and plan on looking for more from this author.
I like fiction like this, where it's as readable as genre fiction but also has plenty of meat on its bones. That's not to say I'm opposed to reading purely for entertainment; that's something I often enjoy. But the books that tend to stick with me the most are those that make me think, and this was one of them. If I don't have to feel like I'm suffering on the road there, as some literary fiction makes me feel, all the better.
Anyone who has experience working in startups will probably get more from that aspect than I did. It was very clear to me it was partially a send up of that particular culture, and I appreciated it, but it wasn't what stuck with me the most. What did really stick with me were two themes: 1) the ways in which society will often make allowances for "genius", as if it's inevitable that genius requires harming others and/or stomping over them on the path to genius and 2) the compromises women are often required (or at least feel required) to make in order to concentrate on the things that really matter to them.
The first point interests me because I think it's a worthwhile moral question. I'm often bemused by the way society will excuse some seriously shitty behavior on the part of people (and, of course, they are almost always men) who run the gamut from terrible human beings to complete monsters, all in the name of sanctifying genius. It's as if society believes that as long as some good comes of it, it's probably okay for "visionaries" to be utter garbage human beings because greater good or something. Given our current political climate in the U.S. and given all the fallout from movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, I find it really hard that people still seem to think it's okay to defend the position that others must suffer in order for geniuses to do what they do. Shouldn't it maybe occur to people that those suffering might be geniuses of an even greater order, whose brilliance can't flourish because of the oppressive behavior of the supposed "visionary" they work for? Cyrus wasn't as terrible as some of the awful people making headlines lately, but he did plenty of terrible things, from minimizing his wife's contributions and robbing her of some of her agency to ignoring the advice and misgivings of others so he could feed his own ego. He was a good example of how having good intentions shouldn't excuse the bad things you do.
As for the second point, I wouldn't place all the blame on Cyrus. There were times when Asha acquiesced to Cyrus rather than standing up for herself, but it's also undeniable that there's such a cult of admiration surrounding Cyrus that the other people in their orbit would sometimes dismiss Asha in favor of doing what Cyrus wanted. I was particularly disturbed by the advice Mira offers her when Asha goes to her for advice. Again, I think this is reflective of society, as the U.S. is a culture that tends to not only reward but encourage hubris, and even when hubris proves to be the downfall of the person exemplifying it, society makes excuses. At some point I think we need to stop worshiping people simply because they exude confidence or an aura of competence and start looking more closely at the quality of the ideas they're presenting. I also think it's undeniable that Cyrus is given as much leeway as he is because he's a man. Had Asha behaved the way he did, she wouldn't have gotten away with anything close to what Cyrus is able to pull off.
I really appreciated the time I spent with this book and plan on looking for more from this author.