largeicedtea's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Divided into three distinct stories, "The Furies" focuses on women fighting systemic abuse. There's an American woman denied a Stand Your Ground defense after she shoots the man who had just raped her; an Indian woman who creates a gang to fight oppressors of higher castes; a bold Kurdish soldier trying to liberate her hometown and region from ISIS.
There are no weak chapters. Our author does an incredible job of drawing these women out and engaging empathetically with them without excusing their (sometimes significant) flaws. There are no "perfect victims." In the case of Brittany Smith, she is denied justice seemingly because she has struggled with addiction - as though drug users cannot be raped or have a legitimate reason to kill in self-defense. We also get a fascinating look into the female fighters of Rojava, an autonomous region in Syria, who refuse to submit to extremists. Despite terrible loss and severe injury, young Cicek vows to avenge her lost friends and restore her hometown to its peaceful existence before the arrival of ISIS.
This is not an easy read but a worthwhile one.
There are no weak chapters. Our author does an incredible job of drawing these women out and engaging empathetically with them without excusing their (sometimes significant) flaws. There are no "perfect victims." In the case of Brittany Smith, she is denied justice seemingly because she has struggled with addiction - as though drug users cannot be raped or have a legitimate reason to kill in self-defense. We also get a fascinating look into the female fighters of Rojava, an autonomous region in Syria, who refuse to submit to extremists. Despite terrible loss and severe injury, young Cicek vows to avenge her lost friends and restore her hometown to its peaceful existence before the arrival of ISIS.
This is not an easy read but a worthwhile one.
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