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se_wigget's review
5.0
This is such a depressing book—well, for the first half. If Mira hadn't been sexually attracted to men, she wouldn't have dropped out of college, gotten married to an asshole, and gotten unwillingly pregnant. Failing that, if she had been in college at a time and place where birth control and abortion were easily accessible and legal, she wouldn't have married at the age of nineteen and completely lost control of her life. She would have stayed in college, gone straight to grad school, and gotten that Ph.D. before she hit thirty.
But... she was sexually attracted to men and in college in the 1950s.
Occasionally I'm struck by how little I truly relate to straight people, and this book brought that up. It also got me wondering, not for the first time, how it's possible that anyone female is heterosexual. It's quite baffling.
But… it takes quite a shift later in the book, and the protagonist isn’t as hetero as she seemed earlier. The feminist community she finds is delightful.
There’s a lot of realism, and it’s a wordier book than something publishers would accept and publish today.
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Women’s Room is a modern feminist classic. It follows Mira, from her life as a dissatisfied housewife in the 1950s and 1960s, through her return to university as an older student. Along the way we meet many of her friends which provides a slightly broader lens to view the experiences of women at the time. This book is a little bloated and its feminism is not particularly intersectional; a lesbian relationship features prominently later in the book, but the women are predominantly white. This isn’t a perfect book but it made me rage and cheer at all the right places and I’m glad to have finally read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Domestic abuse
flora_3138's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
framoli's review
5.0
WHAT A READ
Infuriating, clever, lucid, this novel is just astounding in how it manages to be so brash in such a subtle way. It required a slow, gradual read, mainly because at times it was just so realistic and painful to take it all in. Marilyn French is masterful in presenting us a wide parade of meticulously layered characters for an all encompassing portrait of sexism in all forms and instances. TRIGGER ALERT the are no rants in this novel, its brilliance lies in fact in how the elements presented are so seamlessly embedded in the narration that they leave no room for sterile lamentations.
A difficult one to read, but I'm glad I did.
Infuriating, clever, lucid, this novel is just astounding in how it manages to be so brash in such a subtle way. It required a slow, gradual read, mainly because at times it was just so realistic and painful to take it all in. Marilyn French is masterful in presenting us a wide parade of meticulously layered characters for an all encompassing portrait of sexism in all forms and instances. TRIGGER ALERT the are no rants in this novel, its brilliance lies in fact in how the elements presented are so seamlessly embedded in the narration that they leave no room for sterile lamentations.
A difficult one to read, but I'm glad I did.
emmy_is_a_bee_23's review
It was a bit too long and slow for me!
I might try again another time!
I might try again another time!
divyasudhakar's review
5.0
Why haven't more people my age read this book?? Why haven't most people my age even heard of this book??? This is one of the most important and relevant books I've ever read and should be mandatory reading above most classics that no longer hold relevance to our current lives. This book made me angry and sad and grateful for my mom for being the person she is so I can think the way I do now and live the life I am living. This book made me want to buy 2 dozen copies and mail it to a whole bunch of men and women. I might still do that. But honestly, I feel like starting a campaign to make this book more famous than it is now.
babsbick's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
keira_reckons's review
4.0
I read this when I was a teenager. I haven't revisited it since - every time I find a copy I end up lending it to someone. I remember it made me angry, but also gave me some words for what I was already angry about.