Customer Reviews

Dirty Weekend

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"This is the story of Bella, who woke up one morning and realized she'd had enough."

This is the beginning of this incredibly well written novel. Dirty Weekend is about revenge. It told the story of Bella, a woman who took justice into her own hands. She'd gone mad, mad I tell you! Seriously, this novel is excruciatingly brutal and surprisingly funny. There is some extreme male-bashing going on in this book, but then again Bret Easton Ellis degraded women in American Psycho. Dirty Weekend is a black comedy that should be read in one sitting. Yeah, it's that good!

This book is amazing. Read it. Read it twice. Read it a million times. Bella exacts sweet and beautiful revenge on scumbag after scumbag in this delicious black comedy that will have you chanting "BELLA BELLA BELLA" way before you turn the last page. Beautifully and wickedly written. There will be no suicidal jump off the Grand Canyon for Bella, ladies. Just pure and gleeful justice for all those that prey on and hurt women. Bella's had enough, and you'll wish she was your best friend for it.

This book was truly astonishing. I can count on two or three fingers the number of books that I have read in my life where the woman protagonist feels, acknowledges, and acts upon justifiable rage toward men. All I can do is thank Helen Zahavi for a wonderfully cathartic reading experience. Never apologize for vengeance.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. It was recommended to me years ago by a British friend, with an arched eyebrow and a knowing look. Once I found it and read it, I knew why.

This book is only for those with a dark sense of humour, and a willingness to look unflinchingly at the underbelly of misogyny and its repurcussions. It is a work of fiction, but oh, how many of us wish we could have our own Dirty Weekends!

What some of the book's detractors may fail to realize is that Bella only metes out justice to those men who assault/invade/abuse her; the predatory neighbor, the wolverine punter in the car park, etc....she never goes looking for trouble; rather, it comes to her and she spits in its ugly face.

To understand this book, you must understand (and, mostly likely, have first hand experience) with the way in which women are constantly deluged with the inappropriate (at best) and predatory (at worst) attentions of unsavory men. By the time most women are 21, they have been subjected to everthing from catcalls, obscene phone calls, being grabbed, being humiliated, and even being raped - with very little public acknowledgement of this subjugation, and continued messages to men that this is acceptable behavior (not rape, of course, but other types of unsolicited attention). The natural result of this is RAGE.

Of course, nice girls do not angry. Nice girls do not raise their voices. Nice girls do not make a fuss. And nice girls certainly do not bludgeon their neighbors with hammers. Except. Bella does. And we stand by and cheer Bella on. Bella, who's had enough.

Not only has Helen Zahavi told a brilliant story with equally brilliant characters, she also writes like a divinely inspired, slightly mad poet. Read this book aloud and savour the language. Better still, read it aloud to a friend.

The female protagonist in this book totally makes up for all of the books and movies where the women are portrayed as wimpy little ankle sprainers who need strong men for protection. Over sexed men who treat women as sex objects would be well advised to steer clear of our Bella.

For lovers of black humor only. That includes me. Great book.

This book is very well written and is written in a way so that we can find Bella inside of each of us. We can feel Bella's rage. And when she's pushed too far, she decides she's not just going to sit there and take it, she's going to do something about it. I would recommend this book to anyone who's ever felt powerless or inferior. This is the story of one woman who decided to do something about it.

I completely enjoyed this book, and have a secret case of Bella-envy. All throughout this quick read are little hints with which people, though I would say mostly women, can identify or even find their point of difference.

If you are lucky enough not to have experienced violence in your life you may find it hard to see past the brutality of much of the story. An abused dog will bite, what should we expect of a maltreated woman?

Zahavi creates a murky world in which everyone and everything is a threat to Bella; people, words, even the environment works against her. The plot moves quickly without requiring excuses for itself.

All in all I think this book is thought provoking, empowering, dismaying and sobering all at the same time.

It's been shown in psychological studies that revenge increases dopamine and other chemcials that induce a happier state. You don't have to be a psychologist to know it feels really good when someone gets their comeuppance either.

This is probably my favorite revenge story. Zahavi is poetic and plays with the sound of words on the tongue. The writing is rythmic, building with each new task the main character, Bella, accomplishes. In the book Bella is given a choice - to either continue being a lamb or become a lion.

Delciously devious at times too, this book shows the other side of being a victim - when the victim stops the world and starts turning it. Highly suggested reading for someone in the mood for some revenge.

Written with deftness and wit this novel remains unsurpassed as a tale of what happens when a woman wakes up one morning and decides she's had enough of men bothering her,iambic pentameters and all..