A review by rsinclair6536
Adèle by Leïla Slimani

4.0

I never thought that a book that includes a lengthy episode of sexual assault of a woman by two men at her invitation would be one to which I could award so high a rating. The sexually adventurous Adèle is similar to characters who are representations of the worst and most-harmful-to-women male fantasies. But as I read this book with increasing alarm, I realized that Slimani has deftly positioned Adèle’s sexual exploits as an oddly safe harbor from the confines of traditional female roles – professional, matrimonial, and maternal – that she finds unbearable. Some women rant. Some work on policies. And some just look for another way to get by. Distraught but brave women like Adèle suffer in many ways for striking out against the roles they are expected to take. Her story bears witness to the physical and emotional consequences they often suffer for doing so. Her sexual life is not titillating. It’s an uncomfortable solution for one woman’s experience of the complexity and unfairness of modern life for women.