Name: Heather Margaret's review of The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Item: The Female Persuasion
Rating: 3
Author: Heather Margaret

Meg Wolitzer

** The New York Times Bestseller ** 'The wit, intelligence and deep feeling of Wolitzer's writing are extraordinary' Jeffrey Eugenides 'Greer didn't really know why Faith took an interest. But what she knew for sure, eventually, was that meeting Faith Frank was the thrilling beginning of everything. It would be a very long time before the unspeakable end.' Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student when she meets the woman who will shape her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant, has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades, a figure who inspires others. Hearing Faith speak for the first time, in a crowded campus chapel, Greer - misunderstood yet full of longing for an ambition that she can't quite place - feels herself changed. And then, astonishingly, Faith invites her to make something out of this new sense of purpose, with a career opportunity that leads her down the most exciting and rewarding path as it winds towards and away from her meant-to-be love story with high school sweetheart Cory and the future she had always imagined. Expansive and wise, compassionate and witty, The Female Persuasion is about the spark we all believe is flickering inside us, waiting to be seen and fanned by the right person at the right time, and the desire within all of us to be pulled into the light.

The Female Persuasion

Emily fowler

Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman when she meets the woman she hopes will change her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant at sixty-three, has been a central pillar of the women's movement for decades, a figure who inspires others to influence the world. Upon hearing Faith speak for the first time, Greer- madly in love with her boyfriend, Cory, but still full of longing for an ambition that she can't quite place- feels her inner world light up. And then, astonishingly, Faith invites Greer to make something out of that sense of purpose, leading Greer down the most exciting path of her life as it winds toward and away from her meant-to-be love story with Cory and the future she'd always imagined

The female persuasion

Heather Margaret

“Self-preservation is as important as generosity. Because if you don't preserve yourself, keep enough for yourself, then, of course, you have nothing to give.”
I keep going back between liking this book at a 3 and really liking this book at a 4. I think it's a good base of the story that is about growing into the world of being women. The slow build of realizing your voice and how to use it. This book links the build of a bridge between all the generations of women and their role of becoming a feminist. It's a good base of that there shouldn't be a one fit all mold of being one. Also, the flow of standing up for your rights continues like a loop on repeat. We believe we are taking a step forward yet there is always something in the shadows us women need to compete with. The ending was really great.

Lindy

It's disappointing to give this one star, but after finishing the book, I cannot think of a single aspect that I enjoyed, or admired from a writerly perspective, or that stimulated me intellectually. 

The Female Pursuasion follows several characters, primarily Greer who's a freshmen in college when the story starts and Faith, who was a famous feminist activist in the 1970s, from 2006 to 2016. The book charts their changing relationships to one other and to feminist ideologies and practices, paying specific attention intergenerational feminist conflict. I think the intended vibe was "continuation of The Heidi Chronicles". 

Does The Female Persuasion succeed?

In my opinion, it does not. At all. The plot needs work and the characters are irredeemably ridiculous.

The largest issue, which is the most important to me because I spent a lot of time reading the thing, is that the book completely lacks any forward momentum. Part of the problem is that the plotting is too loose for readers to find threads to grab onto. For example, the Big Shocking Climatic Twist occurs when a random minor character who has appeared in two scenes previously calls Greer and is like, "Hey, here's some Shocking Information that I conveniently know." The Shocking Information, however, will not be shocking to the readers unless they are unfamiliar with the entire concept of foreshadowing, because the foreshadowing is about as subtle as an anvil. The Big Shocking Climatic Twist is both built up too much and not enough; unlike the Greer, the reader gets no shot of adrenaline from uncovering the secret, nor are the readers able to root for Greer as they would if she were doing the uncovering herself. 

And then there are the characters. All of them vaguely gesture towards vaguely feminist-y things, but fail to display conviction for any of them; no one is about to die on any hill. This sucks because supposedly we're talking about how some women do feminism differently than other women, so the book's main source of conflict becomes trite. About 40% of the way through the novel, I was yearning for something so idiosyncratic and colorful as, for example, that time bell hooks called Beyoncé a terrorist. I had no such luck. (Additionally, when we're supposedly talking about feminism contending with its own history in a novel that is constantly and blatantly telling you that it's about The Now, it's telling that there was a single throwaway mention of transgender women's entire existence, which is a glaring omission when there are presently about six different factions desperately writing, rewriting, and hashing out ugly ideological battles regarding trans women's contributions to the feminist movement and what writers of foundational feminist texts Really Thought About Them. But addressing this would require stand-taking!)

The other problem with the characters and their developments over the course of the novel is that they lean into stereotypes rather than subverting or deconstructing them. Again, this renders a book that's supposedly about differences between feminists and the conflicts that arise from that entirely nonfunctional! Zee annoyed me the most because she was clearly intended to be most representative of People Like Me, so I'm going to use her as an example. (view spoiler)[Zee is introduced as, and finishes the book as, a moral center to the story. Zee is a lesbian. She gave herself the name Zee. She's androgynous. She's Jewish. Her parents are both judges and Zee grew up in a mansion (I get the feeling you're supposed to think,  ah, a regular Jewish-American Princess). She was moved to vegetarianism/animal rights activism as a tween. As a teenager, she sneaks out to gay bars, where she spotted by one of her mother's subordinates and is subsequently outed. Her parents are mad but not like super mad. In college, she hooks up with a male friend because he's whining about the friendzone, which is inexplicable because Zee otherwise demonstrates healthy self-esteem and this episode doesn't later inform her character in any way and is never mentioned again. [Insert something pithy about homophobia in the literary community.] After college, Zee does Teach For America, where she is speeched at about the non-profit industrial complex and the general ineffectiveness of the program. Zee becomes a trauma therapist and enters a long-term relationship with a black woman. By the end of the book, Zee has decided that she's going to be identifying as queer because she's A True Radical Who Has Disidentified From Her Previous Privileged State (this is only a slight paraphrase, truly).  (hide spoiler)] I don't even know what to say about this other than it's so lazy it's frustrating. Eyes were frequently rolled. All of the main characters are like this. 

I don't think it's worth spending any more of my time contemplating this, but The Female Persuasion has some half-formed wackadoodle things to imply about whether it's morally acceptable for people to have personal ambitions (it's only OK if your parents are immigrants and you're a dude??) and what Good Motherhood entails (it involves being the woman your children want you to be as opposed to the woman you are??). 

... I think that's all.

Julia Lundberg 

camille peiffer

very boring which is why it took me 3 months to read it

New York Times Bestseller! New York Times Notable Book of 2018 One of People Magazine's Top Ten Books of 2018 One of USA Today's Top Ten Books of 2018 "Ultra-readable." --Vogue "Equal parts cotton candy and red meat, in the best way." --People "Wolitzer's social commentary can be as funny as it is queasily on target." --The Wall Street Journal "Wolitzer is one of those rare writers who creates droll and entertaining novels of ideas." --Fresh Air, NPR From the New York Times-bestselling author of The Interestings, comes an electric novel not just about who we want to be with, but who we want to be. To be admired by someone we admire--we all yearn for this: the private, electrifying pleasure of being singled out by someone of esteem. But sometimes it can also mean entry to a new kind of life, a bigger world. Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman when she meets the woman she hopes will change her life. Faith Frank, dazzlingly persuasive and elegant at sixty-three, has been a central pillar of the women's movement for decades, a figure who inspires others to influence the world. Upon hearing Faith speak for the first time, Greer--madly in love with her boyfriend, Cory, but still full of longing for an ambition that she can't quite place--feels her inner world light up. And then, astonishingly, Faith invites Greer to make something out of that sense of purpose, leading Greer down the most exciting path of her life as it winds toward and away from her meant-to-be love story with Cory and the future she'd always imagined. Charming and wise, knowing and witty, Meg Wolitzer delivers a novel about power and influence, ego and loyalty, womanhood and ambition. At its heart, The Female Persuasion is about the flame we all believe is flickering inside of us, waiting to be seen and fanned by the right person at the right time. It's a story about the people who guide and the people who follow (and how those roles evolve over time), and the desire within all of us to be pulled into the light.

Amy Place

Read this again for a book club that might never happen. Liked it slightly better this time.

heleen de boever

not flawless, but very good. glad to have read it while i am still living my "extemporaneous life" - feeling like i could emotionally and temporally (oh and white-middle-class-privilegy) relate to the characters and the messy way your life finds a shape in your mid-twenties. considering the book's thorny themes of privilege, intellectual and financial power, and social responsibility, i'm impressed the plot and the characters' relationships never fell victim to sweeping generalisations. also, it contains one of the most poignant descriptions of grief-depressions i read in a long time, and the writing of the dialogues was excellent (as in, they were unrealistic but covetable in their perfection).

Amy Thibodeau

I found this book engaging but old fashioned in a way I’m having trouble explaining. The cultural references, the self-consciousness of the dialogue, the ending that tied everything up a little too neatly ...

I liked reading this but I didn’t love it.

A Novel

Jayme Bosio

I would have given this book five stars if it had focused solely on the relationship between Faith Frank and Greer Kadetsky, and explored more deeply how feminism has evolved over time.

Caitlyn Baldwin

The story is not bad, I really enjoyed some characters and some plot points. However, I found the novel to be drawn out in a way where I simply did not have a lot of interest in a lot of the goings on of the characters.

Flavia Louise

I was actually really pleasantly surprised by this book.

Kelly Smithwick

I read part 1, but wasn't enjoying it enough to keep reading

** Selected by 8 National Newspapers as a Book of the Year ** ** The New York Times Bestseller ** ‘A page-turner that succeeds both at character and ideas’ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie A warm and immersive novel about ambition, power, women, friendship and finding your place in the world, from the bestselling author of The Wife and The Interestings. Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student when she meets the person who will change her life. Faith Frank, an influential and glamorous figure from the women’s movement, inhabits a very different world to Greer’s. But after a chance encounter Faith singles Greer out and invites her into her life, leading her down a thrilling path as it winds towards and away from her meant-to-be love story with high school sweetheart Cory and the future she had always imagined. Expansive and wise, compassionate and witty, The Female Persuasion is about the spark we all believe is flickering inside us, waiting to be seen and fanned by the right person at the right time.

Laura

A source of inspiration. Motivated me to speak up and share my ideas. Very captivating.

Emilie Thea Bohrk

This is a 2,5 at most… I was so excited about this book but it was nothing like I thought. 
The book is way way too long, and even though the author seems to have a lot of good ideas, none of them unfortunately gets executed well.

Mariana Afonso

I really really really liked this book.

I was completely immersed in the story and in the wise words of Faith Frank. I still am. Because even though I don’t fully agree with all the feminist perspectives on the book, everything that is said through the characters speeches is absolutely right and necessary.

But this is not a feminist theory book; it’s a very grounded and realist story about people who come together because of feminism- and that premise is in itself beautiful: that people, that women, can create amazing relationships and be there for each other because of a fight that unites them all.

The author brilliantly portrays real people in this book, by showing how flawed everyone can be, from our loved ones to our mentors and idols.

Valentina Cherednichenko

I understand some people when they say this book has no true plot, but you know what, life doesn't have a plot. Life doesn't follow one quest or stick to a path, life is raw and painful. When people cheated on their partner in this book, it pulled at my heart strings. When people died, I felt the pain of the characters. It didn't follow a simple plot, it followed life (or tried to as best as it can). I related to this book, to the unlikable parents, to the breakups with no true closer, to the struggles the characters faced. This book was not overly feminist like you would think (though the theme was 100% there), it more about the life of these characters who happened to focus on feminist jobs and relationships.

Emily C Peterson

I would have liked this a lot more if it were 100-150 pages shorter.

Daryl Houston

I read this one right on the heels of The Interestings and found it a pretty significantly inferior book. I did enjoy it, but the details weren't as keenly (or at least as consistently) and perceptively imagined, and overall it just felt, stylistically, like a lesser achievement. If this had been my first by Wolitzer, I don't think I'd have marked her down as a must-read.

Chelsea White

Maybe it’s because I listened to it, but this book really dragged. I appreciated it taking the reader the years with Greer, Cory, Z, and Faith Frank, but whew boy was it long and slow.

Tori Shamlian

2.5 stars

It felt like there was no real plot to this book, like things happen but it was just wherever the author felt like taking it. Granted, I went into this book having read some negative reviews (to kind of know what I was getting myself into). I didn’t feel like any of the characters were well-rounded, likable people. The whole book felt like a very long-winded way to get in a couple rants about feminism that weren’t usually further discussed/developed. I didn’t find this book awful to get through, but I wouldn’t really suggest it to someone.

Grace Gaswick

I really did not like this book. It seemed so unfocused and the different characters’ stories were underdeveloped and uninteresting to me. I didn’t really “get” or connect with the main character Greer. 

There were also a lot of cheesy non sequiturs throughout the book that seriously annoyed me.

Just meh overall.

Emily fowler &
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

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