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evaward's review against another edition
3.0
Quick read with a couple insightful thoughts on the modern woman.
kmthomas06's review against another edition
4.0
The essays in this book are thought-provoking and often funny. Looking at how women now maneuver our role in the household in light of the feminist revolution and our new American cultural ideas of family and child-raising. The author isn't always clear on her position but she seems to have a shrewd eye in looking at herself in the role of mother, daughter and wife.
happylilkt's review against another edition
3.0
mildly interesting read. It's not quite clear in the preface or title that this is a collection of essays by Flanagan, which explains why it doesn't really 'flow,' why Flanagan's conclusions aren't very strong and are sometimes contradictory. Regardless, it's not a bad read for all mothers or aspiring mothers to contemplate their stance in the mommy wars.
khornstein1's review against another edition
4.0
OK, so I am giving this one four stars because I loved Flanagan's writing about her late 60's/early 70's girlhood as the daughter of one of the last true "housewives." She had the kind of mom who put up her own wallpaper, made a starch-potato-green dinner every night, and sewed her daughter a work uniform--but not in a Martha Stewarty-way at all (Flanagan also writes well about Martha in the book) but in a way because that is just what women at the time did. And I read this book specifically because I wanted to read essays about housework, not the SAHM vs. working mom argument (yawn).
And then I was horrified to find that Flanagan is looked at as some kind of reactionary writer, who has praised women who stay home with their children. That's not what I got out of this book--I thought Flanagan again and again sounded conflicted, ambivalent and HONEST about it!
Women just can't get away with writing anything about motherhood without critics descending...which has always reminded me of this tale from Aesop which I read as a child, and often think about: http://www.taleswithmorals.com/aesop-fable-the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey.htm Do look it up!
Then again, I found her chapter about her child's nanny fairly racist, and I was kind of horrified at her lack of boundaries in her relationship with the nanny, too--I know she was being honest about it but I was really put off (can I say that in a non-judgmental way??)
And then I was horrified to find that Flanagan is looked at as some kind of reactionary writer, who has praised women who stay home with their children. That's not what I got out of this book--I thought Flanagan again and again sounded conflicted, ambivalent and HONEST about it!
Women just can't get away with writing anything about motherhood without critics descending...which has always reminded me of this tale from Aesop which I read as a child, and often think about: http://www.taleswithmorals.com/aesop-fable-the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey.htm Do look it up!
Then again, I found her chapter about her child's nanny fairly racist, and I was kind of horrified at her lack of boundaries in her relationship with the nanny, too--I know she was being honest about it but I was really put off (can I say that in a non-judgmental way??)
skylarkochava's review against another edition
5.0
Clever, witty, and actually made me laugh out loud several times. Excellent blend of memoir, scholarly study, and pop culture read. I really appreciated the author's honest (and sometimes not flattering) portrayal of her socio-economic class. I ended up going back through the text and looking up several of the books she mentioned.
The last chapter was a total surprise and very touching.
The last chapter was a total surprise and very touching.
amchica's review against another edition
3.0
Flanagan takes a humorous look at whether or not the modern American woman is really any better off than our mothers or grandmothers are. Sure, we have more choices...we can work, we can stay at home, we can work at home...but are we trying to do too much? She wonders why we balk at the thought of doing dishes, but at the same time we're obsessed with Martha Stewart. The quality of these essays vary. Some were five star, others not so much. I think that women like myself (educated, working, middle-class moms in their 30s and 40s) are exactly the demographic she was going for.
crabbygirl's review against another edition
4.0
Flanagan is one of my fav magazine authors (her article about abortion in The Atlantic does the best job I've ever read wrt seeing - really seeing - both sides of a fraught situation) so I was thrilled to see she'd written this nostalgic (for me) timepiece capturing the highs and lows of early parenting.
like the author, I too straddle the contradictions of being an independent feminist attracted to the traditional role of motherhood. yes, as children we grew up dreaming of the day we'd have our own homes and families to care for. yes, as young adults we absorbed the message that it was demeaning for women to be subservient to men and relegated to the home to perform repeated, menial tasks. but yes, once married and with offspring, we found some meaning in being that integral, necessary, person to the functioning of the home; a zen practise amidst the laundry and the decluttering.
like the author, I too straddle the contradictions of being an independent feminist attracted to the traditional role of motherhood. yes, as children we grew up dreaming of the day we'd have our own homes and families to care for. yes, as young adults we absorbed the message that it was demeaning for women to be subservient to men and relegated to the home to perform repeated, menial tasks. but yes, once married and with offspring, we found some meaning in being that integral, necessary, person to the functioning of the home; a zen practise amidst the laundry and the decluttering.