listened to the author discuss this on "Pod Save the UK" and it sounds really great - how (especially in-groups) we can have conversations with other listened to the author discuss this on "Pod Save the UK" and it sounds really great - how (especially in-groups) we can have conversations with other people for change (rather than to win debates) based on activist and community group experience. Looking forward to when it is published across the pond!...more
the answer to The Refridgerator Monologues as Lois Lane handles her business without/despite her overprotective man in the cape and in the face of misthe answer to The Refridgerator Monologues as Lois Lane handles her business without/despite her overprotective man in the cape and in the face of misogyny, political intrigue and a xenophobic administration (that will seem quite familiar)
the multi-verse stuff wasn't necessary, but it also wasn't critical to understanding this edition so at least there is that (could have done without the witchcraft as well but oh, well)...more
gonna put some thoughts down since it just lost the Opening Round of the Tournament of Books and while I walked into the reading with a heavy cynical gonna put some thoughts down since it just lost the Opening Round of the Tournament of Books and while I walked into the reading with a heavy cynical chip on my shoulder ('she's just writing this to capitalize on Handmaid fever') - it turned out to pleasantly surprise me. I realized there were several viewpoints I'd been longing for from Handmaid; that of the women supporting the oppressive regime (what were their motivations!? did they regret anything? did they actually get something out of it?) and that of the 1st generation of girls to grow up in the Gilead regime (did they know what they were missing in not learning to read? did it make them easier to brainwash? etc.). This novel delivers both along with a bunch of stuff I didn't ask for or need - e.g. details on how the coup occurs (the hints from Handmaid were scarier and somehow more believable as they were more a gentle slide into martial law rather than an overnight fait accompli... really, no men pick up guns to prevent the widespread arrest of any professional women?!) or a girl's adventure tale of infiltration from Canada despite no obvious aptitude for subterfuge (or listening to one's trainers). Also, she injects a lot of dark humor.
It's fast paced and engaging while Handmaid was introspective and full of dread which made it a very readable (ahem, listenable) book, but provides ample reasons to excuse those who hate on the sequel in favor of the original. It's been likened to fanfic, and really that's mostly what it is, just written by the very steady hand of the original author. I would have preferred this as a story collection from all different points of view, especially as it is supposedly being relayed 100+ years in the future at a historical symposium. That would provide some juicy insights without wrapping things up in a neat bow. Harder to syndicate I suppose (oh, there's that cynicism!) but more in the spirit of continuing the story.
Some of the best, most relevant pieces were those reflecting on the backlash that is always to hand against women stepping into visibility/leadership as well as the default willingness of men to allow other men to be terrible when the perpetrator provides a convenience to themselves & targets only women. There was a lot of subtle commentary on men not seeing crimes against women (and unhappiness with the regime) because it benefits them (oh, and any complainers are of necessity punished) which is oh so relevant today. I am hoping Atwood stops here & doesn't decide to turn this into a trilogy where she suddenly shows the dangers of the #MeToo movement going too far once men are being held accountable because for the moment, she's halfway to redeeming herself in my eyes. (She still owes a better apology than, "I'm sorry if some people felt..." for her shenanigans)
Much latitude is given by those in power to professionals who can relieve them of pain – the doctors, the dentists, the lawyers, the accountants – in the new world of Gilead, as in the old, their sins are frequently forgiven them.
How to solve the mystery that is woman? Ask a woman.
Last read of the year! Thoughts (so many thoughts) to come. Should be necessary reading for all pubHow to solve the mystery that is woman? Ask a woman.
Last read of the year! Thoughts (so many thoughts) to come. Should be necessary reading for all public and private sector policy creation; there are only benefits to be gained from engaging, listening to and SEEING women’s issues as often as we see men’s....more
This story made me deeply uncomfortable, which is perhaps the best thing a work of fiction can do for a privileged, straight white girl.
It is riddled This story made me deeply uncomfortable, which is perhaps the best thing a work of fiction can do for a privileged, straight white girl.
It is riddled with wry observations on class, money, ethnic stereotypes, mommy guilt and the consumerism that is the baby-making/having/out-sourcing industry. No one gets out of this one without a few bruises.
I can't wait to discuss with my IRL reading pal. ...more
This mostly makes 3-stars due to the artwork which is fabulous but the message is a little on-the-nose and over-earnest which ends up feeling like pubThis mostly makes 3-stars due to the artwork which is fabulous but the message is a little on-the-nose and over-earnest which ends up feeling like publishers taking advantage of girl-power making money right now more than ‘hey this is a decent story with fleshed-out characters.’ The girls are all ‘types’ and I’m just not gonna check out the next one.
For better crime fighting with a similar cleanliness but good representation (and actual layers to characters), see Goldie Vance, for better all around girl-gangs with loads of layers and messages that don’t have to hit you over the head and become fodder for those who use SJW as a slur, see Paper Girls
Hate to diss a female-fronted piece but there’s much better out there....more
Anyone who wants power within a white male power structure has been asked to quell anything that sounds like wrath, to reassure that they come in coop
Anyone who wants power within a white male power structure has been asked to quell anything that sounds like wrath, to reassure that they come in cooperative peace and are not looking to mete out repercussion against those who have oppressed or subjugated them.
I had already been a fan of Rebecca Traister's when I came to this book so I expected a well-researched manifesto (as in, with things to do) to amp me up... but what I got was repeated narrative about all the times when women have hit the Catch-22 of not being allowed to be angry about true injustices while paying the price for inauthenticity. --- It was a lot of preaching to the choir.
There was very little example in the first half of the book that I read of women's anger actually proving powerful in effecting change, and when I skipped to the conclusion, the same was true. There was some cathartic stuff in the end about how expressing anger is not in any way a negative thing for women, nor an 'unfeminine' thing - that instead it reveals that which is not okay in our world and which we are warranted to do something about... but there any strategies about how to overcome societies' repulsion of female anger, nor how to strategically turn it to our advantage as I might have hoped. There were some decent stories of women who prevailed... but they were also at times depressing: Maxine Waters being one of them, a pillar of a woman who has fought and fought and fought despite her detractors, but it also highlit how issues she's been fighting for for 20+ years are just now seeing the light of day on the floor of congress (without necessarily the hope of passing). Ouch.
Overall, the title started feeling like it should have been: "Good and Mad, and Tired." This would have been much more effective as a long-form New Yorker piece. ...more
Much improved from the first volume, primarily because a character that was seemingly introduced in Volume 1 just to kill off now gets a back story coMuch improved from the first volume, primarily because a character that was seemingly introduced in Volume 1 just to kill off now gets a back story complete with family and an underground resistance to the state of the union. Also - I am strongly influenced by the turn our political environment has taken since I read Volume 1 which makes this series as relevant as The Handmaid's Tale, in that one can see the end result of certain current legislation and emboldened women-haters should their actions fail to be curtailed....more
a lyrical and inspiring tale of a little girl and her friends who learn to keep on creating and to find the progress & learnings out of failures
this ra lyrical and inspiring tale of a little girl and her friends who learn to keep on creating and to find the progress & learnings out of failures
this reads very quickly and rhymes so it's great for pre-school age. One star-off for the busyness of the drawings which are a little overwhelming....more
a little wordy for a picture book... my 3-year-old was easily distracted. But I loved the common refrain of a gal who did not fit the directive that ga little wordy for a picture book... my 3-year-old was easily distracted. But I loved the common refrain of a gal who did not fit the directive that girls and women should be quiet and complacent, and how she consequently made the world a better place. Let's all teach our little girls to stand up and say "I disagree" or "That's not right!" when they know these to be true!
I'll be pulling this out again when she's a little older....more
So teach Chizalum that biology is an interesting and fascinating subject, but she should never accept it as justification for any social norm. Because
So teach Chizalum that biology is an interesting and fascinating subject, but she should never accept it as justification for any social norm. Because social norms are created by human beings, and there is no social norm that cannot change.
To do: buy copies for everyone! Read and re-read. (And listen, the audiobook is excellent) memorize, recite, repeat.
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