Ten Women
Ten Woman was another of the free books Amazon offered for World Book Day. This one is a Chilean work of fiction translated from Spanish. It follows the lives of nine women who have nothing in common but their therapist. The frame story - which is pretty thin - has them all meeting for the first time and sharing their life stories and the reasons they've been attending therapy. The tenth woman is the therapist herself, who also has a story to share.
These stories were interesting, and they painted a diverse picture of womanhood. There was something in each story that I was able to relate to, though some of the women were more similar to me than others. One of them had a startling amount in common with my mom. Others had experiences that were completely foreign, though they were valuable to read about.
While I enjoyed reading the individual stories, I struggled with understanding the book as a whole. The women barely interact with each other - each chapter is just a different one of them relating her life story. In that way it's almost a collection of short stories than a novel. And the reason they've been brought together is never explained in a satisfying way. Moreover, I don't know that they'd really get along. I can imagine the investigative journalist who was raped on assignment, denied an abortion, and turned to alcohol to cope being properly pissed at the aging mother of two who decided to leave her husband after twenty years of marriage and occasionally felt sad about it.
Not that you need a reason for depression. But some of the suffering was just not on the same level, and I can't imagine these women really being bosom buddies after this single meeting.
As a series of unrelated short stories, detailing the various lives of Chilean women, I liked this book a lot. But the frame story detracted from that enjoyment. It felt forced and unnecessary.
These stories were interesting, and they painted a diverse picture of womanhood. There was something in each story that I was able to relate to, though some of the women were more similar to me than others. One of them had a startling amount in common with my mom. Others had experiences that were completely foreign, though they were valuable to read about.
While I enjoyed reading the individual stories, I struggled with understanding the book as a whole. The women barely interact with each other - each chapter is just a different one of them relating her life story. In that way it's almost a collection of short stories than a novel. And the reason they've been brought together is never explained in a satisfying way. Moreover, I don't know that they'd really get along. I can imagine the investigative journalist who was raped on assignment, denied an abortion, and turned to alcohol to cope being properly pissed at the aging mother of two who decided to leave her husband after twenty years of marriage and occasionally felt sad about it.
Not that you need a reason for depression. But some of the suffering was just not on the same level, and I can't imagine these women really being bosom buddies after this single meeting.
As a series of unrelated short stories, detailing the various lives of Chilean women, I liked this book a lot. But the frame story detracted from that enjoyment. It felt forced and unnecessary.
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