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boxofdelightsI read this on a recommendation from someone in my bookgroup, who gave up on describing it, said, "You just have to read it, it's so funny!"
Which it is! It is so funny. But I think it needs a warning label for misogyny.
I didn't notice the misogyny at first, because the main voice is Bernadette's and she hates everything. Especially everything about Seattle. Especially Seattlites. And tourists. She hates women who do not adhere to the grooming standard, but not as much as, say, Canadians. And she doesn't use gendered slurs: she calls the other parents at her daughter's school "gnats". It takes a while to notice that every individual gnat she hates is a woman.
Most of the characters are women, but the only friendship between women we see is a thin veneer over mutual using.
A sexual relationship between a single woman and her boss, who is a married man, is somehow... entirely the woman's fault.
The gendered slurs stood out after Bernadette's voice disappeared. Here's Bee, Bernadette's daughter, being reprimanded for repeatedly imitating a foreign accent:
And here's Bee using a gendered slur against her dad:
And here's Bernadette again, in a letter to her daughter, describing a marine biologist who happens to be a woman:
So, yeah. Misogyny warning label. Which doesn't say this is a bad book; it says, if misogyny makes you sick, you might want to steer clear.
Which it is! It is so funny. But I think it needs a warning label for misogyny.
I didn't notice the misogyny at first, because the main voice is Bernadette's and she hates everything. Especially everything about Seattle. Especially Seattlites. And tourists. She hates women who do not adhere to the grooming standard, but not as much as, say, Canadians. And she doesn't use gendered slurs: she calls the other parents at her daughter's school "gnats". It takes a while to notice that every individual gnat she hates is a woman.
Most of the characters are women, but the only friendship between women we see is a thin veneer over mutual using.
A sexual relationship between a single woman and her boss, who is a married man, is somehow... entirely the woman's fault.
The gendered slurs stood out after Bernadette's voice disappeared. Here's Bee, Bernadette's daughter, being reprimanded for repeatedly imitating a foreign accent:
"Voucher," Dad said. "Don't be such a little bitch." The truth was I didn't understand what the lady was saying. But I was being a little bitch in general, so I let Dad have this one. (p. 258)
And here's Bee using a gendered slur against her dad:
It was emanating from Dad's junk on the table. There was so much of it, and it was so neatly arranged, it was worse than a girl. It just made me sick. (p. 273)
It was sad, though, because the thought of him and all his accessories always made me sick. I wished I'd never made the connection about Dad being a gigantic girl, because once you realize something like that, it's hard to go back. (p.280)
And here's Bernadette again, in a letter to her daughter, describing a marine biologist who happens to be a woman:
She was a drab type, with a ten-gallon ass, unctuous toward the waiters in some "see how well I treat the help" show of superiority. (I think it's a midwestern thing.)Bernadette describes several male scientists with similar amount of detail, but with no loathing for their bodies, their manners, or their origins.
So, yeah. Misogyny warning label. Which doesn't say this is a bad book; it says, if misogyny makes you sick, you might want to steer clear.
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Date: 2013-06-25 02:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-26 04:21 am (UTC)The misogyny sounds intolerable for me, so thanks for the heads-up.
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Date: 2013-06-27 04:32 am (UTC)