Review by dayvyjones - Enter the Body

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

dayvyjones 's review for:

Enter the Body by Joy McCullough

2.5

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’ve never been a fan of “feminist retellings,” and while I can give Enter the Body credit for being a new take on the concept, the feminism was so in your face as to just be simple. The poetry was well-written, if not just chock full of thesaurus entries. The chapters written in dialogue between the women is really where my issue comes in. It’s a jump from flowery, descriptive and period-appropriate language to the equivalent of schoolgirl gossip, which was interspersed with the heavy-handed feminism. Just to make sure you got the point. This, not necessarily for fault of the author, is also an impersonal read if you haven’t read Shakespeare or if you haven’t done your research. It was impossible to really care about these women or entirely grasp what was happening, without that background knowledge. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you’re a 12-year-old feminist or just a huge fan of Shakespeare’s ladies.

Content Warnings