A review by instn
Nasty Women by Laura Jones

3.0

This book was my first real experience of reading essays (outside of an academic context). While I appreciated the intention behind it, I felt that its claim to be a collection of essays and accounts on what it is to be a woman in the 21st century missed the mark. At least three essays looked at feminism and punk rock music, while a large remainder centred on Scottish female experience. Although I can understand the latter considering 404 Ink's origins, as many other reviews have pointed out, there is a sense of haphazardness when reading. The anthology does well in covering numerous topics from immigration, contraception, motherhood, weight loss and religion, however, there were some essays that I struggled to really connect to or see the point of, and at times, felt more like an outlet for the writer rather than an insight into the multiple facets of being a woman.

A bit disappointing, but some absolutely standout essays that definitely made an impact for me were 'The Difficulty in Being Good' by Zelba Talkhani, 'The Rest is Drag' by Kaite Welsh, 'On Naming' by Nadine Aisha Jassat, 'Adventures of a Half-Black Yank in America' by Elise Hines.