steinbeckbookclub's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cousingoose's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
FEM is definitely not a book you can just read once and understand. I didn’t know anything about Magda’s background before I read this book, but after I found out that she’s a poet - the book’s writing style began to make a lot more sense (in the way that it didn’t make sense - and in the way that I sometimes found myself about to roll my eyes).
Although I may have learned and gleaned much from it, it wasn’t necessarily an enjoyable read; and, I do agree with a lot of the criticisms of it. It was kind of like eating a pomegranate really slowly - it’s tedious to get through but the juicy gems are maybe worth it? Definitely a challenging book and not a casual read. You have to care enough to finish it. There was also a fat phobic scene and it took a lot of concentration from me to get through the last chunk of the book (30 or so pages) - would consider it a grueling experience. I would probably get more from it if I read it a second time, even a third time - but I’m not sure I care enough.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia
nathansnook's review against another edition
2.0
READING VLOG
"It's not about the physical manifestation of sex. Now we deal with the freak’n. But that's in volume two! First, I'm tryna get the woman to understand the dynamic power and the spiritual energy. Do you realize how magnificent you are? The god that created you is a divine architect that created the moon, the sun, the stars, Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, Venus. We are not only sexual beings, we are the walking embodiment of god consciousness." -- ("
"It's not about the physical manifestation of sex. Now we deal with the freak’n. But that's in volume two! First, I'm tryna get the woman to understand the dynamic power and the spiritual energy. Do you realize how magnificent you are? The god that created you is a divine architect that created the moon, the sun, the stars, Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, Venus. We are not only sexual beings, we are the walking embodiment of god consciousness." -- ("
brisingr's review
2.0
No because why was this bad? I wanted to be forgiving and give it a higher rating, because the beginning was really good - but then I procrastinated for 8 hours reading the last 30 pages of the book, and that's just not something that you do with a 3-stars novel, so fuck it.
Disappointing indeed. I mentioned it in an update, but it's the type of book that you can tell it is written by a poet and it is not a compliment: writing too convoluted and metaphorical (and this is coming from the biggest purple prose fan, me) and no actual plot. I also REALLY hate the "recounting past memories to another person" narrative technique soooooo much and the entire book was supposedly just this. Boring and non-engaging.
Disappointing indeed. I mentioned it in an update, but it's the type of book that you can tell it is written by a poet and it is not a compliment: writing too convoluted and metaphorical (and this is coming from the biggest purple prose fan, me) and no actual plot. I also REALLY hate the "recounting past memories to another person" narrative technique soooooo much and the entire book was supposedly just this. Boring and non-engaging.
taransamarth's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
luckykosmos's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Prose that feels cosmic. This is more of a series of short stories, in some ways about femininity, in others simply about existing beyond yourself.
rromero's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
alexaisreading's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
The blurb on the cover of Fem calls Cârneci “a Romanian Lispector,” which I can’t verify, but maybe that can contextualize it a bit for you.
Have you ever looked at photos of space until your head started to feel weird as you tried to comprehend that you exist within all of the stars and galaxies and planets? This book was like that and also like an acid trip.
The prose is engrossing, ethereal, cosmic, with many of the same images— undulating water, azure skies, sparkling crystals— and observations reappearing in the narrator’s visions that she recounts to a lover, only ever addressed as “darling” or “you.” She must pass these tales on so that they might embody other forms, because they are not hers and hers alone and exist outside of her mind and body.
Death becomes an invisible, but tangible presence; women birth and are the universe; sex is one portal to “the other side”; there are many bodies and many perceptions. Where do our memories live? Is there credence to the idea of a collective? Does rigidity exist as such, or is stasis, too, a state of fluidity?
Fem is slow but quite challenging; I had to take my time with this one, and it’s certainly not a book you can read only once and expect to understand. It would be really interesting to map out the sections and see the conceptual ordering on a page, but that’s a project for another read.
Have you ever looked at photos of space until your head started to feel weird as you tried to comprehend that you exist within all of the stars and galaxies and planets? This book was like that and also like an acid trip.
The prose is engrossing, ethereal, cosmic, with many of the same images— undulating water, azure skies, sparkling crystals— and observations reappearing in the narrator’s visions that she recounts to a lover, only ever addressed as “darling” or “you.” She must pass these tales on so that they might embody other forms, because they are not hers and hers alone and exist outside of her mind and body.
Death becomes an invisible, but tangible presence; women birth and are the universe; sex is one portal to “the other side”; there are many bodies and many perceptions. Where do our memories live? Is there credence to the idea of a collective? Does rigidity exist as such, or is stasis, too, a state of fluidity?
Fem is slow but quite challenging; I had to take my time with this one, and it’s certainly not a book you can read only once and expect to understand. It would be really interesting to map out the sections and see the conceptual ordering on a page, but that’s a project for another read.
More...