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lottiemort's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
alineoderso's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
letitia_iya's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
3.25
hewlettelaine's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this. Very reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale
emlm4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eshalliday's review against another edition
1.0
What I want to discuss in a review of ‘The Seawomen’ relies upon events from midway to the close of the novel, and so contains major spoilers.
On one hand, the fact that a novel broaches discussion of a same-sex relationship between women should be noted. However, what is the wisdom of comparing that lesbian relationship between Maddow and Rose to the central relationship between the female protagonist Esta and the male object of her desire, the merman Cal?
Publishers, librarians, reviewers, and readers should question the virtue of commending an author for simply glancing at female homosexuality. Why should we feel especially grateful just for showing up in a text; just for gleaning a mere mention?
Furthermore, I was enraged by the conflation of the lesbian character with the archetype of 'bad mother', who leaves her child behind to run away with her partner. This presentation of lesbians as unmotherly, barren, and unwomanly is anything but original, and I'm sorry to say that this novel appears to bolster the opinion that women in same-sex relationships are somehow the antipathy of femininity, a corruption of what it is to be female: i.e., fertile, maternal, and child-bearing, child-rearing.
‘The Seawomen’ undertakes no genuine exploration of Esta’s mother’s motives; Timms paints her lesbian character as one-dimensional, flat. There is a unique and vital opportunity here to investigate women’s experiences of homosexuality in an isolated, oppressively patriarchal society. In fact, in the absence of this investigation, I find it bizarre that Timms seemingly randomly assigns this sexuality to Esta’s mother. It’s absurdly arbitrary.
As an author from a marginalised minority group, an advocate for equality, accessibility and inclusion, I had expected more from Timms. She opens up a charged space to discuss the motives of a lesbian mother faced with the dissolution of her family and imposed heterosexual marriage, as well as the implications for her child. Yet instead of participating in this discourse, Timms has Maddow function solely as a foil for Esta, to throw into relief Esta’s heteronormativity and experience of the overdone motif of ‘forbidden [straight] love’.
The ultimate insult is that the author overwrites any significance or value added to Maddow’s experience by giving Esta the happy ending, where she is reunited with her straight paramour and lives, what looks like (by all accounts in the final words) a fulfilled life as a mother who can keep and raise her child in a peaceful and free community.
Is this novel's takeaway message supposed to be: STRAIGHT = GOOD, GETS TO BE A MOTHER; LESBIAN = BAD, CANNOT BE A MOTHER? Because it takes very little effort to read it as such. And if the author has even remotely left that open as a possible interpretation, then this text is problematic in the extreme. For this reason, I have rounded down to one star as the minimum rating.
As I read 'The Seawomen' past 70%, I felt a little ashamed of myself for always being such a hopeful reader, eager to award that fifth star in a review, which I normally reserve for books that are ‘lesbian friendly’. And I would note that that is a shamefully small reserve of books; readerships shouldn’t be quick to assume that all novels labelled LGBTQ can be counted. Very rarely do any of the authors who slap on that populist label actually fairly represent lesbians in a realistic or normative manner. Often, lesbians won’t even get a mention amongst a cast of GBTQIA characters. Hence, my hopeful eagerness to award that ‘lesbian-friendly’ fifth review star matched with my awareness that a precious few books will reflect me and my genuine life experiences. Even in this age of ‘wokeness’, authors and publishers too often remain unaware or ignorant of the fact that they are compounding the worn-out ‘Dead Lesbian Syndrome’ narrative, or simply neglecting to feature any female homosexuality at all. Can you name three successful, well-promoted novels published in the last year that feature a lesbian relationship centrally and where the lesbians get a happy ending?
In my perfect world as a librarian and a reader, I wouldn’t have to interrogate every book where my sexuality was reflected, to see whether it was realistically done, or to question the motives and virtues of authors and publishers, because I would be able just to trust that I would get a fair deal - and not just in Sarah Waters or Emma Donoghue novels, or Virago publications, for instance, and their Lesbian Landmarks reading project.
I’d be really interested to hear what other lesbian readers think of this novel.
On one hand, the fact that a novel broaches discussion of a same-sex relationship between women should be noted. However, what is the wisdom of comparing that lesbian relationship between Maddow and Rose to the central relationship between the female protagonist Esta and the male object of her desire, the merman Cal?
‘I knew what forbidden love felt like. It drove me the way it had driven her.’The novel forcefully claims that both relationships are equally doomed and unholy, and a blight upon the community. By doing so, the author eliminates the possibility for commentary upon the visibility of homosexual females, by - in actual fact - doing just what society does to us. That is, erasing or overwriting our experience in favour of heteronormativity. If the barriers erected in the way of a lesbian relationship are simply presented as a foil to inspire pity for the protagonist who suffers in her heterosexual relationship, is the author really making any statement at all about how marginalised and silenced lesbians are?
Publishers, librarians, reviewers, and readers should question the virtue of commending an author for simply glancing at female homosexuality. Why should we feel especially grateful just for showing up in a text; just for gleaning a mere mention?
Furthermore, I was enraged by the conflation of the lesbian character with the archetype of 'bad mother', who leaves her child behind to run away with her partner. This presentation of lesbians as unmotherly, barren, and unwomanly is anything but original, and I'm sorry to say that this novel appears to bolster the opinion that women in same-sex relationships are somehow the antipathy of femininity, a corruption of what it is to be female: i.e., fertile, maternal, and child-bearing, child-rearing.
‘The Seawomen’ undertakes no genuine exploration of Esta’s mother’s motives; Timms paints her lesbian character as one-dimensional, flat. There is a unique and vital opportunity here to investigate women’s experiences of homosexuality in an isolated, oppressively patriarchal society. In fact, in the absence of this investigation, I find it bizarre that Timms seemingly randomly assigns this sexuality to Esta’s mother. It’s absurdly arbitrary.
As an author from a marginalised minority group, an advocate for equality, accessibility and inclusion, I had expected more from Timms. She opens up a charged space to discuss the motives of a lesbian mother faced with the dissolution of her family and imposed heterosexual marriage, as well as the implications for her child. Yet instead of participating in this discourse, Timms has Maddow function solely as a foil for Esta, to throw into relief Esta’s heteronormativity and experience of the overdone motif of ‘forbidden [straight] love’.
The ultimate insult is that the author overwrites any significance or value added to Maddow’s experience by giving Esta the happy ending, where she is reunited with her straight paramour and lives, what looks like (by all accounts in the final words) a fulfilled life as a mother who can keep and raise her child in a peaceful and free community.
Is this novel's takeaway message supposed to be: STRAIGHT = GOOD, GETS TO BE A MOTHER; LESBIAN = BAD, CANNOT BE A MOTHER? Because it takes very little effort to read it as such. And if the author has even remotely left that open as a possible interpretation, then this text is problematic in the extreme. For this reason, I have rounded down to one star as the minimum rating.
As I read 'The Seawomen' past 70%, I felt a little ashamed of myself for always being such a hopeful reader, eager to award that fifth star in a review, which I normally reserve for books that are ‘lesbian friendly’. And I would note that that is a shamefully small reserve of books; readerships shouldn’t be quick to assume that all novels labelled LGBTQ can be counted. Very rarely do any of the authors who slap on that populist label actually fairly represent lesbians in a realistic or normative manner. Often, lesbians won’t even get a mention amongst a cast of GBTQIA characters. Hence, my hopeful eagerness to award that ‘lesbian-friendly’ fifth review star matched with my awareness that a precious few books will reflect me and my genuine life experiences. Even in this age of ‘wokeness’, authors and publishers too often remain unaware or ignorant of the fact that they are compounding the worn-out ‘Dead Lesbian Syndrome’ narrative, or simply neglecting to feature any female homosexuality at all. Can you name three successful, well-promoted novels published in the last year that feature a lesbian relationship centrally and where the lesbians get a happy ending?
In my perfect world as a librarian and a reader, I wouldn’t have to interrogate every book where my sexuality was reflected, to see whether it was realistically done, or to question the motives and virtues of authors and publishers, because I would be able just to trust that I would get a fair deal - and not just in Sarah Waters or Emma Donoghue novels, or Virago publications, for instance, and their Lesbian Landmarks reading project.
I’d be really interested to hear what other lesbian readers think of this novel.
clotalksbooks's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I have never read anything like this before. Truly mesmerising and unsettling in equal measure. The mistreatment of women is nothing new (sadly) but the way this was explored in this book I feel was unique. There was a lot to disgust you, and it is really quite brutal and raw. It contrasts so well with the portrayal of the sea and the beauty of freedom.
The journeys the characters went through were expertly portrayed, and I was moved and emotional. I liked how you were able to fill in things left unsaid with your own imagination. I was completely sucked in to the depths of this book, and it will take me some time to surface.
The journeys the characters went through were expertly portrayed, and I was moved and emotional. I liked how you were able to fill in things left unsaid with your own imagination. I was completely sucked in to the depths of this book, and it will take me some time to surface.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Homophobia
annecarts's review against another edition
4.0
An atmospheric dystopian novel set on a remote and isolated island. The descriptions of the sea and land are well done and the sense of dread about what might happen next.
I did think some of the characters could've been developed more as it can be rather good v evil without much in between. And I'm not sure about the ending, there's a lot left unconcluded and the back stories were quite quick.
I will definitely read more from this author though as she has great imagination and skill.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I did think some of the characters could've been developed more as it can be rather good v evil without much in between. And I'm not sure about the ending, there's a lot left unconcluded and the back stories were quite quick.
I will definitely read more from this author though as she has great imagination and skill.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
ohkay28's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75