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A review by zach_collins
A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert
4.0
A Short History of Women is a surprising transcendent novel. Despite the suggestions of the title and the protests of the characters, this is not a political statement, nor is it an academically detached study, but a stirring, thoughtful story of uncertainty, desperation and identity.
Though the narrative is non-linear, often jumping between characters at different points of their lives, never once does the narrative feel haphazard; instead there is a natural motion, a movement toward a point of understanding, a moment of clarity that stretches over five generations of independent women, though the moment is not always recognized for what it is, much like the women in the novel, each constantly struggling to identify who she is as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a protestor, a student, a mentor, a capitalist, an idealist or some bizarre combination of all of them.
This is not a novel exclusively for feminists or stay-at-home moms or any other particular group of women; A Short History of Women is written for anyone, woman or man, who cares about the decisions and relationships that define us.
Though the narrative is non-linear, often jumping between characters at different points of their lives, never once does the narrative feel haphazard; instead there is a natural motion, a movement toward a point of understanding, a moment of clarity that stretches over five generations of independent women, though the moment is not always recognized for what it is, much like the women in the novel, each constantly struggling to identify who she is as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a protestor, a student, a mentor, a capitalist, an idealist or some bizarre combination of all of them.
This is not a novel exclusively for feminists or stay-at-home moms or any other particular group of women; A Short History of Women is written for anyone, woman or man, who cares about the decisions and relationships that define us.