Secure Your Copy The Female Persuasion Authored By Meg Wolitzer Accessible As Paper Copy

up

sitelinkThe Female Persuasion is my first book by sitelinkMeg Wolitzer but it will definitely not be my last! Even though it wasn't what I expected I really enjoyed it.


The Female Persuasion focuses mostly on a woman named Greer who we are introduced to while she is going to college at Ryland, a college in Connecticut.
We follow her through her life until she is middleaged, while also skipping around to other characters like her college boyfriend Cory, and her mentor Faith Frank, among others, I liked that we got a bunch of different viewpoints in this book, including secondary characters, Even though there are a lot of characters, Wolitzer somehow managed to keep the book from getting convoluted and confusing,

The Female Persuasion is about a girl and her mentor, but also many other things, It looks at relationships between parents and children, romantic partners, and friends, There is a hefty dose of feminism and the tone of the overall book would be considered feminist in my opinion,

I loved reading about the characters in this book and I felt as though this book is more about the characterization than the actual plot, If you asked me to tell you what the plot was I frankly wouldn't be able to tell you because I was so focused on the characters and their stories.
Is this the plot I don't know, all I know is I loved this book,

Final Thought: I actually can't really think of anything I didn't like about this book, There was tragedy, love, hardship, feminism, political topics, friendship, betrayal, and so much more, It was more of a coming of age tale to me, so I guess that might be my only complaint, The blurb makes it sound more like it is just about the mentor/mentee relationship, but there was a lot more to it then that, I can't wait to read more from this author because I adore her writing style, and I think she is a masterful storyteller!

The Female Persuasion inish words: Memorable, Witty, Observant The Female Persuasion has all the right ingredients, but manages to be both underbaked andpages too long.
I'm glad I read it and grateful to my book club for selecting it, even though this novel ultimately didn't quite satisfy,

Its subject the evolution and commercialisation of the feminist movement over the pastyears is delivered through the story of two women, one a Boomer and the other a Millennial.
Most descriptions including the author's of the relationship between Greer and Faith call it mentoring, Certainly Greer heroworships Faith, who in turn employs and encourages Greer, but to me at least, a mentor is more than just a supportive boss, I was left wanting more interaction between these two, but their stories largely run parallel to one another,

This is a well written novel, astute and perceptive, with shrewd characterisations, and very engaging for much of its length, But it becomes ponderous, as Wolitzer feels the need to relate each character's entire life story even the minor ones, Presumably this is intended to add psychological depth and better

understand the characters' actions, which it does succeed in doing, but there is rather too much backstory at the expense of forward motion.
The foreshadowed conflict, when it finally arrives, is also a bit of a letdown,

The Female Persuasion offers lots of food for thought and fodder for discussion, so while I didn't love it, I'm very much looking forward to the book club conversation.
starsstars

The Female Persuasion was a decent book, It failed to make a strong impression on me, despite its main theme feminism through the eyes of the older and the younger generation,

Faith Frank is the distinguished, feminist figure who's in her sixties, Hearing her speak at university left a strong impression on young Greer Kadetsky,
After finishing college, Greer ends up working for the new foundation Faith Frank had started with the help of a Venture capital investment firm,
Greer is devoted to Faith Frank, she admires her energy, her kindness, poise and sense of justice,

I appreciated several aspects in this novel:
the juxtaposition of different kinds of feminism
the fact that nobody is perfect, even with the best intentions, outside forces, be it financial, personal, social, affect everyone.

it's important for the older feminists/women to inspire and propel the younger generations,
The Sisterhood is essential,

I didn't object to any ideas, characters in this novel,
The novel's structure and the way it was written contributed to my somewhat diminished appreciation, There was a bit too much backstory, unnecessarily long at times,

This is yet another novel that should have resonated much more than it did, In saying all that, I'm not sorry I read it,



Stars!

This may be an unpopular opinion but I had some issues with this book, I ended up reading it because of the hype, This was also the Barnes and Noble Pick for their book club so I really read it for that,

The book has so many points of view I'm not even sure where to start, We meet Greer in the beginning: she's a scholastic girl who likes to read a lot of books and definitely different from her parents who do odd jobs and don't even make dinner for her.
Greer has a boyfriend named Cory who is thend smartest person in their school, They come together since they are both at the top of their class but soon they form a romantic relationship, Sadly, Greer's family drops the ball on college applications and Greer is forced to her safety school,

One night Greer's friend, Zee, forces her to go to a lecture by Faith Frank, Faith is the face of women empowerment and Greer is overwhelmed by how inspiring Faith is to her, Greer runs into Faith in the bathroom and receives her contact info, From there a journey starts, Greer ends up reaching out for a job and we watch her go through ups and downs and make choices in her life, both good and bad, I have to say at the end, when the characters true colors come out, it may really surprise you, It did for me anyway,

What did I like, I thought Greer was relatable, I'mand I think that some of the struggles she faced I and/or people in my life have too,. I think the female ambition in this book was inspiring at times,

So why thestar rating Well a few things:, This was hyped as a metoo movement book, There wasn't much of that,: This was told from a lot of points of view yet onlychapters so within the long chapters it bounced around a lot,. I thought this would be more of a story about female empowerment and honestly it felt to me like this was about how someone who is your mentor may not be all that they seem.
. This book was simply too long, It could have easily been cut backpages,

I know some may love this but sadly it was just OK in my eyes, Not every book can be astar winner! I was lucky to have an early read of this funny, important and intelligent novel about what it means to be a human of the female persuasion in our complicated world.
The characters here are compelling, their struggles are real, and Wolitzer's fundamental love of them is always in evidence, This novel manages to cover some of the most important issues of our day in all their complexity without ever sacrificing storymasterful and entertaining at the same time, I highly, highly recommend. A satisfying novel of a young woman trying to figure out who she is, and who she is supposed to be in the world,

SUMMARY
Greer Kadetsky is a shy college freshman at Ryland College, Shes there because her parents could not fill out the financial aid forms that would have yielded her entry into Yale, This isnt where she wanted to be, While at Ryland, she meets Faith Frank for the first time, Faith,, is a feminist icon and has been a central player in the womens movement for decades, Faith can carry a room with her knowledge and wit, and her suede boots were enviable, Greer is captivated by Faith, and after graduation goes to work for her, interviewing women for their stories and writing speeches, Her relationship with Faith as her mentor becomes complicated,

Greer and Cory had been a couple since high school, They had planned on going to college together, but that didnt happen, Cory was accepted at Yale, while Greer was relegated to Ryland college, Though hundreds of miles apart their relationship survived, and they made plans for after graduation, But once again things didnt work out as planned for either Greer or Cory, Greers best friend, Zee whos is gay, is also struggling to make a difference in the world, She too wanted to work for Faith Frank,

“I think there are two kinds of feminist, The famous ones, and everyone else, Everyone else, all the people who just quietly go and do what theyre supposed to do, and dont get a lot of credit for it, and dont have someone out there every day telling them theyre doing an awesome job.
”

REVIEW
THE FEMALE PERSUASION is a novel about a young woman who is trying to find her place in the world, It about a woman trying to figure out who she is supposed to be and who she is suppose to be with, Its about the obstacles in her life that prevented her from achieving the things she thought she was supposed to be doing, While the writing was great I found reading it to be a struggle at times, and my interest sometimes faltered, The story was long but interestingly raised a variety of social issues that played significant role in the narrative: privilege, personal/professional ethics, and family responsibility to name just a few.
The modern day feminism aspect of the book left a little to be desired,

The people in Greers life, her bestfriend, Zee, her boyfriend, Cory and her mentor, Faith, all played pivotal roles in guiding Greers decisions and impacting her life, Greers character was at times frustrating, she left me waiting for her to evolve into a stronger, bolder character, All characters were well developed and I particularly liked Cory, and how he handled the difficulties he faced after graduation,

Meg Wolitzer is a New York Times best selling author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The TenYear Nap, The Position, The Wife and Sleepwalking, I listened to the audio version of the book, which was narrated by Rebecca Lowman, Publisher Penguin Random House Audio, Publication Date April,.

“I do it for women, Not everyone agrees with the way I do it, Women in powerful positions are never safe from criticism, The kind of feminism Ive practice is one way to go about it, There are plenty of others, and thats great, There are impassioned and radical young women out there, telling multiple stories, I applaud them. We need them. We need as many women fighting as possible, I learned that early on from the wonderful Gloria Steinem the world is big enough for different kinds of feminist to coexist, people who want to emphasize different aspects of the fight for equality.
God knows the injustices are endless, and I am going to use whatever resources are at my disposal to fight in the way I know how, ”
AUDIOBOOK You know how sometimes a book is SO hyped that its almost unfair to the actual story Personally, I know that hype can set me up for unrealistic expectations that no book can live up to.


In the case of THE FEMALE PERSUASION, Im happy to say that some of the hype was warranted, . . as in, I listened to the audio version of the book and was thoroughly entertained and invested throughout the entire LONG story, The narration was excellent and I came to deeply care about the characters, However, was it the best book Ive read all year Or all week Not especially, See, thats the problem when EVERY list and magazine on earth tells me THIS is the book to read, I expect NO ISSUES, And I had some minor issues with especially the lastof the book and how things got wrapped up, Issues that for a book with less hype I probably wouldnt even mention,

BOTTOM LINE I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a contemporary womens fiction story with themes of feminism and friendship, I loved the listening experience and definitely recommend the audio version, Go into it without the weight of the hype, though, youll have more fun.
This novel doesn't add much insight into "what it means to be a feminist in the modern age," but it is a fast, readable read showcasing Wolitzer's intelligence and wit.
I had a few problems with it,

The clunky structure featured too much "telling" with pages of unnecessary backstory filler for the various characters, Wolitzer tells the reader many times that the feminist icon, Faith Frank, is charismatic and dynamic, But the character she revealed in the book is bland and unappealing, As is her acolyte Greer, The character I was most interested in was unfortunately on the sidelines Greer's boyfriend, Cory, who turns out to be the ultimate feminist,
This book is a beast, in that the hardcover ispages, I started this book on a Sunday in the hopes of finishing by Wednesday, Maynd to make the Barnes amp Noble Inaugural Book Club Night on said book, I did it but it was no small feat! Lots of late night reading and carrying the book with me everywhere and reading while waiting on line, or while walking to the subway, or whenever I had a free moment.
But, you dont care about that, You want to know if you should read it or notwell you can only decide that, I just hope you enjoy my comments,

This book actually wasnt what I expected, Not that I didnt really know what to expect, but thought it would be the beginning and end of the story of Greer and her mentor Faith: how they came to meet, how Faith would help mold Greer, and Greer rising to power.
But, here the supporting characters backstories were part of the narrative and sections were devoted to learning about each one the story was split intoparts: The Strong Ones Twin Rocket Ships I Get To Decide and, Outside Voices.
I was a big fan of this structure, although most of the chapters were super long and I often had to stop in the middle of them which can be a pain when picking back up!.


We navigate Greer, Cory, Zee, and Faiths lives through finding themselves, settling into careers, and their relationships with each other and outside forces, They experience happiness, grief, success and disappointments and will learn who they are in the face of each their journeys are different and sometimes not aligned, The writing is authentic and genuine: and strong character development is evident, I enjoyed getting to know these characters and will miss them a bit,

The title can throw you off I didnt think this was a book about feminism really, but of people finding their way and learning that what they know or want to believe isnt always as it seems.


If you attended the BampN Book Club event, let me know how it went!

To read my reviews visit: sitelinkwww, saturdaynitereader. com
.