The Female Man is a suspenseful, surprising and darkly witty chronicle of what happens when Jeannine, Janet, Joanna and Jael - four alternative selves from drastically different realities - meet. Joanna's world is like our own, Jeannine's world is even poorer & grungier, a place where neither World War II nor its resulting developments of technology have happened. Janet - the explorer - comes from 'Whileaway' where men have died off, leaving a world without the 'poisonous binary' of gender. Finally we meet Jael, warrior and assassin, who takes the other three to where the final war between men and women is being waged. The Female Man, Joanna Russ' innovative science fiction novel, caused a furore when first published in the 1970s - it has a power that has stayed fresh, witty and WEIRD. A welcome new edition of a book that now looks as good as it reads.
Another one I don't quite know how to rate. On the one hand I did like the story itself, the concept, the worlds. On the other hand I hated the writing style, like hated it. HATED IT. It's a writing style that reminds me of cyberpunk, disjointed, crazy, senseless, hyperactive, drug induced, there should probably be some neon lights around here somewhere. Hate it. So much.
If it was written more normally, with proper world building, better timelines (I am fine with switching among several timelines, but not like this book does it), better perspective shifts, etc, then I think this could be a fantastic book. Because I really did like the idea of the story and the worlds, and even the characters. Also this is a very quotable book, I have so many highlights.
Essentially I want to give the story 5 stars. But I want to give the writing style, and thus the execution, 1 star. I am not sure meeting in the middle at 2.5 or 3 would really be accurate though.
So... Maybe I will just leave this one unrated.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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13 May, 2020:
Finished reading
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13 May, 2020:
Reviewed