Flori

I couldn't put this down! I was so compelled by the world that Gilman has created in this novel. I raced through my first reading in just a few days so that I could learn the answers to all the questions that came up in the reading and find out how the stories intersect. I've now read it multiple times (more slowly) and I've found it even more interesting and thought-provoking than the first read.

There are so many themes that are touched on in this book. Some are brief, some are more fleshed out. This book may appeal to you if you're interested in themes of gender, sexuality, asexuality, class oppression, the ethics and practices of anthropology (or xenology as they call it in sci-fi), or culture clash between alien planets. Not to mention the many other provocative topics that will probably leave you thinking about this book for a long time.

In terms of structure, the book alternates between narrators, switching from third-person to two different first-person backstories. I personally like this style - where the plots intertwine and meet in the middle of the timeline. Tedla's backstory is very compelling, and contains a lot of beautiful and interesting world building. The backstories also have another interesting component: the author does a really nice job of introducing the idea that one or both of the narrators may be unreliable. Something that I found wonderful and frustrating about this book is that some ambiguities like that one are never resolved and the reader is left to speculate about what the truth might be. Like I said, I've been thinking about this book so much even after reading it twice.

Some other reviewers may have noted this, but there is some disturbing, graphic material in the book. It's pretty short and isn't referred to explicitly after the scene ends, but it's something to be aware of. Don't let it stop you from reading the book though; it's not a vital scene so you could definitely skip it if you wanted to.

All in all, I recommend this book highly! I'm actually surprised that it isn't more popular, but I hope people will continue to discover it and enjoy it. I think it would make an excellent book club selection, because there is definitely a lot to talk about when you're done.

Also, if you enjoyed this book I recommend checking out Gilman's most recent novel Dark Orbit. You'll find some familiar characters referred to, and one that even makes a cameo appearance.

So much to think about with this book. It is very weighty and of course the topic is incredibly disturbing. While I was reading I was thinking about how incredibly put-off Vanessa is by basically every man in her life, from the teenage boys in her classes, to the teachers she interacts with and the men she hooks up with as an adult, right down to Strane himself. So many descriptions of the mens' lecherous behaviors and repulsive physicality. By contrast, Vanessa is so tender with all the women. Even the ones she feels antagonistic toward, she humanizes by noticing sweet little details of their personalities and their appearance. As I was thinking this, and pondering if Vanessa might be attracted to women, I wondered why she seemed to only be in relationships with or date men. I don't know if the author was saying this intentionally, but for an insecure young woman it's pretty easy to get men to pay attention to you, to get men to compliment your looks, etc. Vanessa seemed to want, more than sex or love or anything else, to be told that she was special to someone and I think that's the root of why she was targeted and ultimately abused by Strane.

I ended up liking how thought-provoking this book was, although it was horrible to read the scenes of Vanessa and Stane getting phsyical. So disturbing. I also thought the book was much longer than it needed to be and probably could have been cut significantly.