grimondgalgmod's review against another edition
3.0
Black Narcissus...in space! Interstellar nuns colonize planets for a Galactic Empire but are also sometimes horny. Hm. The art is great, though. Very expressionistic. Like an Edvard Munch lithograph. Which is cool.
kiahgardner's review against another edition
3.0
A very odd story that left me wishing there was a bit more to round things out. I enjoyed the Aubrey Beardsley vibes the illustrations were giving me.
ayatamus's review against another edition
2.0
Art was good (very interesting for just black and white). Story was meh. Predictable and seemed to glamorize colonialism.
caedocyon's review against another edition
3.0
Mmmm, interesting. I have been picking up and putting down this book at SPX a few years in a row, so I was pleased to find it at the library. There's lots of meat to the story (colonialism and empire and "bringing civilization," with more-or-less nuns and the evils of heterosexuality and science) but what you make of it is up to you. I can't decide what I think. The art is interesting, though.
Some misc. thoughts:
- highlights the absurdity of teaching the natives english and reading and embroidery when the women don't care at all what the natives' lives and culture are actually like outside the compound. What do they think the native women are going to do with this education, other than become prey to any human/colonizer who wants to take advantage of them? (Sexually, or physically/scientifically, or economically)
- Rivkah is a super unflattering Jewish stereotype/villain, both physically and in character traits
- the four missionaries are depictions of some of the violent ways white women act on their colonial subjects
- at what point did Rivkah construct her little shrine? All her own creation or something she brought from the empire, with a few additions of her own?
- wow did i ever mention it really annoys me when sci fi writers unthinkingly borrow elements of human gender for aliens? In the case Goldstein is trying to play with the natives' gender/sex, and yet there's still binary gender completely legible to humans and the native women have boobs and etc etc
- I do like the way Goldstein draws women's bodies, though
- lurking, unseen, scary, accidentally deadly male natives = ?
- the white man who's "gone native": irrevocably damaged for life in polite society; protective of the white women in ways they don't know about or ask for; takes advantage of native women
Some misc. thoughts:
Spoiler
- highlights the absurdity of teaching the natives english and reading and embroidery when the women don't care at all what the natives' lives and culture are actually like outside the compound. What do they think the native women are going to do with this education, other than become prey to any human/colonizer who wants to take advantage of them? (Sexually, or physically/scientifically, or economically)
- Rivkah is a super unflattering Jewish stereotype/villain, both physically and in character traits
- the four missionaries are depictions of some of the violent ways white women act on their colonial subjects
- at what point did Rivkah construct her little shrine? All her own creation or something she brought from the empire, with a few additions of her own?
- wow did i ever mention it really annoys me when sci fi writers unthinkingly borrow elements of human gender for aliens? In the case Goldstein is trying to play with the natives' gender/sex, and yet there's still binary gender completely legible to humans and the native women have boobs and etc etc
- I do like the way Goldstein draws women's bodies, though
- lurking, unseen, scary, accidentally deadly male natives = ?
- the white man who's "gone native": irrevocably damaged for life in polite society; protective of the white women in ways they don't know about or ask for; takes advantage of native women
aschurtz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
radclyffe_uhaul's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Very much just "Black Narcissus" with a sci-fi veneer but I enjoyed it
oliviak07's review against another edition
4.0
If Sophie Goldstein's "House of Women" was a pulp science fiction novel in the 1960's and 1970's it would have absolutely become a B-rated or C-rated horror film that aired after 11 pm on your black and white TV. It could also appear in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
In terms of plot, I would give the graphic novel a three, but for illustrations it is a solid five stars. Like many, it was the cover and pages that caught my attention, and my interest in science fiction and the potential of psychosexual themes that caused me to give it a shot.
It was interesting to see the outcome for the four types of women in literature (for lack of better terms mother, crone, seductress, and heroine). Their fates made sense in certain ways given their portrayal in the history of art and literature, but there could have been a little more to make it creative and out of this world different/unexpected.
Also, it is not science fiction that in educating and 'improving' the lives of young girls and women in this world, or another planet, in a patriarchal society holds danger. There is not an universal method to eliminate the tension and empower the women of the world, which can be a positive and a negative. With time, and actual conversation, this will continue to change. (Note: I will reflect on this observation and edit this paragraph at a later time).
I know many are not 100% fans of this book, and that is fair. However, I liked it and look forward to more work from Goldstein.
In terms of plot, I would give the graphic novel a three, but for illustrations it is a solid five stars. Like many, it was the cover and pages that caught my attention, and my interest in science fiction and the potential of psychosexual themes that caused me to give it a shot.
It was interesting to see the outcome for the four types of women in literature (for lack of better terms mother, crone, seductress, and heroine). Their fates made sense in certain ways given their portrayal in the history of art and literature, but there could have been a little more to make it creative and out of this world different/unexpected.
Also, it is not science fiction that in educating and 'improving' the lives of young girls and women in this world, or another planet, in a patriarchal society holds danger. There is not an universal method to eliminate the tension and empower the women of the world, which can be a positive and a negative. With time, and actual conversation, this will continue to change. (Note: I will reflect on this observation and edit this paragraph at a later time).
I know many are not 100% fans of this book, and that is fair. However, I liked it and look forward to more work from Goldstein.
cdbert's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Odd. Imaginative. Thought-provoking. Alike to LeGuin
packagedseph's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0