A review by kimberussell
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer

4.0

I don’t know why I thought this was a nonfiction book. Much like her previous book The Interestings (two stars), this follows a handful of privileged young people over a span of time. But because this group is younger, it’s mostly set in the present-ish era. Our main character is Greer, a very smart woman who is a college freshman when we first meet her. She and her boyfriend Cory are the smartest kids in their high school and possibly their town. She and Cory end up at different colleges. The first weekend at college Greer meets Zee, who quickly becomes her best friend. Zee takes Greer to see Faith Frank speak in the college chapel. Faith Frank is an outspoken feminist and activist in her 60s. She runs a feminist magazine and Greer falls hard for Faith’s message and medium.

We go back in time sometimes to see how Greer, Cory, Zee, and Faith came to be who they are. And we move forward to the present time. Along the way, they all make choices and mistakes. But they’re honest, stupid, human mistakes. Like we all made and probably still make.

Their stories are so real it could be nonfiction. The book takes a hard look at feminism the movement and Feminism the product.