Recently I finished the book, The Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzer, and I have some thoughts. I will be completely honest, what first caught my eye was the bright and colorful book cover with its bold text and rainbow patterned design. However, as a fan of Wolitzer’s books in general, I decided to pick this one up and I am so glad I did!
I will try and keep this as spoiler-free as possible but before I continue, SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
This book centers around a young woman, Greer Kadetsky, as she navigates college, relationships, a career, and what feminism means in a modern world. After listening to a famous feminist speaker, Faith Frank, speak at her small, liberal arts college in New England, Greer is immediately taken by Frank and her work and sets out to build a relationship with the woman. However, after gaining a job working alongside Frank, Greer realizes that the capitalist side of feminism and female empowerment far often rears its ugly head.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It laid out the issues that come alongside the “girl boss” mentality, including fraud, anti-intersectionality, and ego, while still celebrating what the female identity can mean. It calls out the idea of the “White Feminist” that started in the 90s and has existed in Western society even now and criticizes this concept in a way I had not expected.
I found myself relating hard to the character of Greer. From navigating a high school relationship through college, forming mature female friendships, and the joys and heartbreak that accompanies a mentor relationship, she was relatable and I felt as though her struggles were my own. She is still flawed, with problems that read as trivial and a level of naivety that as the reader I found frustrating but relatable nonetheless.
As a whole I would recommend this book to the modern female reader. It was an excellent display of the complexities of feminism and activism in the consumer space with plots woven in discussing the challenges that accompany relationships as you mature. I would give it overall 4 out of 5 stars. Not to mention this book looks very pretty sitting on my bookshelf!