Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - When Women Were Dragons

Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique called it "the Problem with No Name": the lack of fulfilment white American women faced in the 1950s and 60s as they were encouraged/forced out of education and work outside the home to support their husband and children instead - why were they not feeling fulfilled by this, their life's calling to be a wife and mother? A problem hidden in plain sight as no one talked about it but they all felt the same and many hid a bottle of vodka among the cleaning products under the sink. Set your face and get on with it. This is not the first novel to tackle that period, but by using a magical element - as women realise they feel constrained and start to literally look up to the sky and seek out something bigger, they turn into dragons, but people pretend that nothing has happened, pretend that a woman who has "dragoned" never existed - the book attempts to show how hiding something that really cannot be hidden contributes to a strange collective trauma, confusion, and McCarthy-esque censorship. A sort of Emperor's New Clothes.

I have a big issue with this very white American viewpoint though. It's been heavily critiqued in multiple waves of feminism since, but this author doesn't pay any attention, and everyone in the book is white, maybe recent European migrants but otherwise it's like there's no race, racial differences, or even any place for people of colour anywhere in the book. There's a MINOR unnamed mention that could be about the civil rights movement. This is very odd in a book that tries to show the problems of pretending everything is ok, ignoring dissent and rebellion. I had no idea if it was just housewives who suffered and later dragoned, nor even if it was worldwide or just in the USA? Once again white middle class America is presented as the whole world. This annoys me and otherwise it would be pushing 5 stars.

Things done well: the dad - an excellent villain, he is spot on. Some definitely quotable bits about the search for knowledge. Libraries as the source of rebellion. Alex's anger is a bit confusing but perhaps accurately portrays a teenage girl unsure of how to deal with what is thrust on her, and her powerlessness, trying to figure out where to direct her blame.

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givemeyourbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Perhaps one of the best things I’ve ever read. Engaging funny beautiful rage inducing and emotional in all the best ways.

And a lesbian dragon polycule, of course.

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seubecca's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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vagrantheather's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jeleigh16's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.25

The concept for this book is phenomenal. It would have made for a spectacular short story! Unfortunately for me, as a novel, I think it made a promise that it didn't quite keep. It said, "I'm going to tell you about the time thousands of women became dragons (for whatever their individual reasons might be), but then I'm just going to talk around that event for a few hundred pages and never really dig into the thick of it, okay?" I wanted to be alongside a woman who "dragoned". I wanted to see a POV other than the one we are given of a teenage girl whose aunt "dragons" in the 1955 event. The teen's perspective was interesting, yes, but I felt like it would have been even more intriguing if we saw a couple of other perspectives in this novel, mainly one of the women who turns into a dragon. There are so many missed opportunities here. So many. This is billed as a feminist rage novel by many, but I thought it was way too quiet for most of the book. Where was the rage?? It's there, sure, but I really had to search for it. I wanted more.

I did appreciate the protagonist's story as a girl who is left behind and the narrative of her dealing with essentially raising her cousin after everything falls apart. I also appreciated the choice to include the reports of the events in between the chapters from the protagonist's POV - which helped give background - but I wished I could have seen those events as scenes instead. That's the stuff I wanted to dive into!

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scarlett_f's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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sydniv's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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