The Female Persuasion

The Female Persuasion was billed as a feminist novel, and in some ways it is, but the women at my book club all agreed it's not REALLY about feminism. The main character, Greer, works for a feminist foundation, but you could have changed what the foundation's purpose was, or made her work for a corporation, and the essence of the book would have been exactly the same. It was only tangentially about feminism. It was about women supporting each other, though, and the mentor relationship between an older woman and a younger woman, so in some ways, yes. If I was asked to make a list of books about feminism, though, it certainly wouldn't make the cut.

All of the characters have some major flaws. Greer is selfish, and doesn't understand when things don't go according to plan. Cory's life gets entirely derailed by a tragedy he couldn't prevent, but in some ways he lets the derailment happen. If he'd really wanted what he said he wanted (and perhaps he didn't) he could have fixed his trajectory. Zee is a little brash and headstrong, but the most likable character in the book. Faith - oh, Faith. Faith is the older feminist mentor who turns out to be far more jaded than expected.

I have lots of conflicts about Faith. She is one of those feminists who doesn't seem to care for individual women - she can't even remember most of the women who credit her with changing their lives - but she keeps her eyes on the big picture. And as I brought up in book club, the movement does need people who see the big picture. Those people are important - but they still need certain principles that I think Faith lacks.

IR mentioned that Cory was a good foil to all the female characters in the book, and he needed his flaws, because otherwise he would be the perfect feminist boyfriend. And no one is perfect.

We were all a little disappointed with the ending; it felt like Wolitzer skipped a whole section of the story. How did Greer get from point A to point B? (Well, really, it's more like the book covers Points A, B, C, and E. And skips D.)

I think one of my favorite quotes from the book (I misattributed it to Faith at the book club, it turns out it came from Greer) was the one about being given permission:

“I think that's what the people who change our lives always do. They give us permission to be the person we secretly really long to be but maybe don't feel we're allowed to be. Many of you here in this room.....had someone like that, didn't you? Someone who gave you permission. Someone who saw you and heard you. Heard your voice.”

I think that really sums up mentorship, in some ways. Women are often still socialized to not trust their own instincts, to lean on outside opinions for validation. (I know I was.) To be given permission and encouragement to trust yourself can be a life-changing event.

I really enjoyed this book. I saw bits of myself in all four characters - Faith's practicality, Greer's impressionability, Zee's idealism, and even a little of Cory's foggy despair and lack of ambition. I wouldn't call it a feminist classic. But it was a good book.

To see all my reviews (and my experience at the Barnes & Noble Book Club event where we talked about this book!) go to Goddess in the Stacks.

I was wrong about Meg Wolitzer. Three times.

I've always seen her name on books. Her name is big on books, often bigger than the title. That's a big warning for me. I tend to stay away from books by authors whose name on the cover is bigger than the title. Too popular, I thought. I'm not interested in someone who writes popular fiction. No Wolitzer, I thought.

Then I saw several small reviews of her book. The reviews were very positive. Okay, I'll take another look at this author. I browsed through a list of her titles. The Ten-Year Nap. The Uncoupling. The Wife. Oh dear, I thought. Women's fiction. Maybe a little worse than popular fiction to me are women's stories about women's lives and women's problems. No Wolitzer, I thought.

Then I heard more positive buzz, and I felt compelled to look again. I got a copy of the book and I started to read. Oh no, I thought. Preachy. It's going to be a diatribe for against anyone opposed or even ambivalent to the women's movement. Oh dear. If there is anything worse than popular fiction and women's fiction, it is fiction that has an agenda.

Somehow I read on. And on. By chapter three or four, I realized I was completely wrong about Meg Wolitzer. By chapter six or seven, I was ready to start telling other people about this book. By nine or ten, I found that I was a Meg Wolitzer fan.

What's the story about?

The Female Persuasion is the story of a young woman, Greer Kadetsky, who begins as a shy and quiet college freshman and grows under the influence of her mentor and idol, Faith Frank. But The Female Persuasion is so much more. It's the story of the women's movement, yes, but it's also the story of how one person influences others and it's the story of relationships and how they can become stronger and more important or weaker and almost die and it's the story of how little things can change a life....It's funny and tragic and sad and surprising....

I'm rambling, I think, but it's such a good book that I want to tell you how good it is so that you go and read it, too.