Tag Archives: Women’s Issues

Daughters of Zion: My Family’s Conversions to Polygamy by Kim Taylor

American Literature March 24, 2012 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: A memoir by a girl who grew up in a Mormon sect practicing polygamy that spawned a feud between brothers that became a massacre. Review: In Daughters of Zion, Kim Taylor really made me understand the inner life of a girl who would accept polygamy. I really appreciated her honesty and candor in portraying the spiritual abuse she suffered and how she never questioned what was going on around her. She also showed the positive side of growing up in a tight knit community,…

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman

American Literature March 3, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A young woman grows up in the extremely conservative Satmar group of Hasidic Jews, and the failure of her arranged marriage leads her to yearn for freedom. Review: I was very impressed by Deborah Feldman when I heard her on the Leonard Lopate show, and I was inspired to read her memoir Unorthodox. I am fascinated by strict religious groups, particularly when their practices elevate men and demean women. I loved Deborah’s honesty and insight into the way her identity was shaped by her…

When Sparrows Fall by Meg Moseley

American Literature January 8, 2012 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A homeschooling widow with six kids finds her life thrown into chaos when her pastor announces the whole church is moving to another town–and she doesn’t want to go. Review: I just loved When Sparrows Fall. It’s the rare book about Christians that manages to portray a life of faith while still remembering that the characters are people, too. It was critical of things that are wrong in certain sectors of Christianity without condemning the faith as a whole. And the details brought to…

The Midwife’s Confession by Diane Chamberlain

American Literature July 14, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: After the suicide of their friend, an underground home birth midwife, best friends Tara and Emerson discover a mare’s nest of secrets that threaten the happiness they’ve worked so hard to create. Review: I found no surprises in The Midwife’s Confession, which is a decent but not great read. I found the whole thing a little frustrating, waiting for the characters to catch up with me. But it was nice to see home birth portrayed as a safe and reasonable option, rather than an…

Bossypants by Tina Fey

American Literature May 29, 2011 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: Tina Fey’s memoir of her rise from nerdy little Philly girl to comedy superstar and member of the showbiz power elite. Review: Naturally, I opted for the audiobook version of Bossypants since Tina Fey was doing the reading herself. Yay! Bonus: it included the full version of the Katie Couric/Sarah Palin interview sketch that she and Amy Poehler did for SNL. Unbonus: it does not include the worldbeatingly awesome rap that Amy Poehler did when Sarah Palin actually visited SNL (what Fey labels a…

Labor of Love: A Midwife’s Memoir by Cara Muhlhahn

American Literature February 4, 2011 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The autobiography of a homebirth midwife in New York City. Review: Labor of Love is a book that really meant a lot to me. I had both of my daughters at home with midwives and worked quite hard this spring lobbying Albany to pass the Midwifery Modernization Act. My first midwife is featured heavily in the book as she is a good friend to Muhlhahn, and it was nice to encountar her in a different way. Muhlhahn became a divisive figure after an unflattering…

City of Veils by ZoÃ« Ferraris

American Literature August 2, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A murder mystery set in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, featuring a veiled police officer, an American woman whose husband has gone missing, and the secret history of the Koran. Review: Not impressed by City of Veils, which aims to be a Da Vinci Code for Islam. Conspiracies, coincidences, and religious stereotyping combined with a lackluster plot just didn’t work for me at all. Many thanks to Little, Brown for the review copy.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

American Literature June 30, 2010 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A white woman writes the lives of the black women who work for her and her friends in early 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. Review: After having a half a dozen people recommend The Help, and then not being able to find it at the library, I decided to take the plunge and buy myself a shiny new hardcover copy. I went in with low expectations, because more often than not I’m disappointed by these kinds of books. Thank goodness I listened to my very smart…

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

American Literature October 29, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A quartet of unlikely best friends deal with a post-feminist, post-grad life out of Smith College. Review: The appeal of Commencement is in its depiction of Smith College, caught between poles of conservative femininity and radical lesbianism. Each of the four protagonists deals with life issues that have something to do with the plight of the modern women. Their struggles are portrayed with nuance and pathos, but I wondered if the story would have resonated had it been set in a less idiosyncratic place.…

Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz

American Literature April 13, 2009 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: A Princeton admissions officer faces a long-buried secret in the height of application season. Review: The college application process, shrouded in secrecy and constructed with fuzzy logic, proved quite fascinating in Admission. Watching Portia speak to prospective students, looking over her shoulder as she read through applications, and hearing her defend a process most believe inherently unfair and corrupt perked up a book with an otherwise unimpressive plot. Portia and her long-time boyfriend Mark have reached a crisis in their relationship, just as Portia…

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