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A review by alexisrt
Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason by Gina Frangello
4.0
A memoir about how you blew up your marriage by having an affair invites judgment, and Gina Frangello doesn't shy away from inviting it. Whatever her flaws, an unwillingness to make herself look bad isn't one, because she does—along with her lover and her husband. In fact, this willingness is the best part of the book.
I'm not quite sure I'd call it honesty, however. It is and it isn't. As she says in her disclaimer, this is "creative nonfiction," so a grain of salt is necessary. Her rage and passion make this worth reading. Her attempts to justify her actions, whether on a personal level or by seating her actions within a feminist perspective, sit a little less comfortably. To thine own self be true, perhaps, but she (and her partners) left quite the trail of carnage in their wake.
(Small note: it got somewhat annoying having them referred to as "my husband" and "my lover" for the entire book. She gave her kids pseudonyms and it would have been better to just do the same for the men.)
I'm not quite sure I'd call it honesty, however. It is and it isn't. As she says in her disclaimer, this is "creative nonfiction," so a grain of salt is necessary. Her rage and passion make this worth reading. Her attempts to justify her actions, whether on a personal level or by seating her actions within a feminist perspective, sit a little less comfortably. To thine own self be true, perhaps, but she (and her partners) left quite the trail of carnage in their wake.
(Small note: it got somewhat annoying having them referred to as "my husband" and "my lover" for the entire book. She gave her kids pseudonyms and it would have been better to just do the same for the men.)