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caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is haunting me and I don't think it'll ever stop.
The story is simple: something weird is happening to women in Stepford, where the longer they live there, the less agency they exert, the more their attentions turn toward domesticity and making themselves look "perfect", and the cagier their husbands get about discussing the changes that have happened in their wives. However, despite many a decade passing since Levin first wrote this story, the underpinnings of misogyny in the men of Stepford echo all too closely the grumblings of alphaholes in the mannosphere demaning trad-wives and a return to a hyperpatriarchal familial structure (as though our backs aren't already breaking under the yoke of patriarchy even now). ( If you don't understand those words, please tell me where you're from so I can go there and escape, since it's not too late for me quite yet.) Given the twitter and reddit threads that pop up in the year of our lord 2023 where men fully talk about the "part of the relationship where you start to hate your girlfriend/wife" as though that's a normal relationship step and the gaslighting and emotional abuse they put her through is par for the course since she's being annoying enough to try to make things work... yeah, it's not a far stretch of the imagination to think men like that would love the option to have a council of techbros in a little boy's club kill their female partners and have them replaced with cooking, cleaning, child-minding robots who never gain weight or smell bad or aren't fully made up and dressed to the nines . Hating women and yet wanting them as a trophy for proof of one's own masculinity is a disease and it looks like it's reaching pandemic proportions. I only hope it's not terminal.
On a structural level, Levin's mastery of pacing can't be overstated. The exponential ramping up of the tension in the story as the characters within became more aware of Something Going On made me real-life nervous, and I felt true sorrow when the protagonist, whose name escapes me, is killed by a robot wearing her former friend's face even as she's trying to escape the town and her husband's attempted murder . The slow attitude change on the protagonist's husband was chilling and so insidious, it very much felt like I turned a page and realized "oh. oh, despite his promise to try to change the patriarchal structure from within, he has found in it a way to assert power and feel in control, and he's forsaken the woman he claimed to love for it. got it. nobody is safe here." The final chapter, where the cycle begins anew made me full body shiver. The prose is tight, the characters feel modern and resonant even decades after they were written, and the themes stick with you long after you close this book. Absolute masterpiece.
The story is simple: something weird is happening to women in Stepford, where the longer they live there, the less agency they exert, the more their attentions turn toward domesticity and making themselves look "perfect", and the cagier their husbands get about discussing the changes that have happened in their wives. However, despite many a decade passing since Levin first wrote this story, the underpinnings of misogyny in the men of Stepford echo all too closely the grumblings of alphaholes in the mannosphere demaning trad-wives and a return to a hyperpatriarchal familial structure (as though our backs aren't already breaking under the yoke of patriarchy even now). ( If you don't understand those words, please tell me where you're from so I can go there and escape, since it's not too late for me quite yet.) Given the twitter and reddit threads that pop up in the year of our lord 2023 where men fully talk about the "part of the relationship where you start to hate your girlfriend/wife" as though that's a normal relationship step and the gaslighting and emotional abuse they put her through is par for the course since she's being annoying enough to try to make things work... yeah, it's not a far stretch of the imagination to think men like that would love the option to have a council of techbros in a little boy's club
On a structural level, Levin's mastery of pacing can't be overstated. The exponential ramping up of the tension in the story as the characters within became more aware of Something Going On made me real-life nervous, and I felt true sorrow when
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder
turnip11's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Classism, Sexism, Stalking, Body shaming, Confinement, Murder, and Fatphobia
dear_alice's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Unfortunately, the foreword of this book spoils the ENTIRE plot of the book within the first 5 sentences, that could have been done better. I read this book because of an episode of the 'You're Wrong About' podcast. It started slowly but looking back that really reflects the experience of the protagonist and the mystery and gaslighting that is going on. I was very impressed with the book and how eerie it ended up being. Certainly something I would recommend and something I would consider reading with my students.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Emotional abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, and Confinement
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
3.25
I read this in anticipation of watching the film. The author does a good job of building up suspense. However, I felt a bit cheated by the ending, not knowing how they "changed" the women.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Stalking and Confinement
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Drug use, Child death, and Blood
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