Customer Reviews

The Longings Of Women

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

 

 

This is not a perfect book. But, again, as always with Marge Piercy, she has a way of putting you right inside the characters. Especially Mary, the homeless woman. Fascinating to read about a woman who lives like a mouse, hidden inside the homes of the people for whom she cleans! And so gut-wrenching to feel what Mary has to go through. Leila, of course, is supposed to be the one most readers can relate to, the one "most like me." And Becky - I can't get with her program - and I am sure we are not supposed to.
The longings of women - obviously Piercy presents what we want as a home of our own. And she writes so well about how easily we can lose "our" homes. Married women - husbands die or we split up with them. Working women - we lose a job and are out on the street. As long as we are dependent on the men in our lives, we are vulnerable. This is not "man-hating", this is reality. Though I am married, and happily, this book makes me want to make sure I have money put away and my name on the deed of the house. And a way to make a living and keep my home if my husband is suddenly gone one day...this could happen to any of us.

Marge Piercy's compassion and understanding of our human nature is at the forefront of this novel and is its greatest strength. Anyone who defines this generous writer as a Feminist based on "The Longings of Women" has given it a most superficial reading. Three women's stories, each spotlighting a male cad who defines the arc of the women's lives, yet the book is so thoroughly the stories of those women that the men function to move the plot but not to provide easy scapegoats. Piercy doesn't stack the deck for either Leila or Becky as they maneuver their lives' choices around their loutish husbands, so as the book neared its conclusion I found it very exciting. The way Piercy reveals the character of Becky in particular is masterful. Of course, the story of Mary Burke is quite a singular exploration of the homeless, very specific and hard to shake.

And I am a feminist (so, I can be critical!) Marge Piercy's books are too pat. The women are all serious and dedicated, the men are all bad, and no one has a sense of humor. She makes her point, albiet in a very preachy manner. Her best books consist of her vision of the future. Read the book, He, She and It for her best.

And I am a feminist (so, I can be critical!) Marge Piercy's books are too pat. The women are all serious and dedicated, the men are all bad, and no one has a sense of humor. She makes her point, albiet in a very preachy manner. Her best books consist of her vision of the future. Read the book, He, She and It for her best.

This is not a great novel, I think, but some real truths do wind in and around in it. And they stay with you.

Piercy's three intertwined heroines (?) seem aspects of what you might call an overview of Female Coping with The World. They all network with other women (the friendships are there) and wrestle with economic and emotional survival; they manage, cringe, create small triumphs, rage. Each is also also distinct. One is a homeless woman who can "pass" as lower-class, cleaning homes/feeding pets, and staying in her clients' places very carefully, while the owners are gone. One is a middle-aged professor and author, married to an adjunct drama prof who directs plays and has (per an agreement with her) affairs with his leading ladies. And one is a woman from a poor, large family, who, buttressed by personal goals and a determination to make her way, takes no prisoners, and herself becomes one. Indeed, they all seem imprisoned in beliefs about themselves that have developed from their relations with their various families and jobs.

The husbands and kids, have to say, are written as a large part of the problem - Piercy's description of the young distancing themselves is dead on - so it's not an even-handed treatment. I also found it long in the beginning and too quick at the end. Still - that sense of having to invisibly manage things, of being responsible that they turn out well, of carrying that off - of that as a life task - seems dead on, too. Worth pondering, maybe especially by women.

I was disappointed in this book. I thought that the story could have been told much more effectively using about 1/3 of the words and details. It took me over a week to read, not because of its length so much as my lack of interest. The storyline of Leila and Becky were interesting but I found myself becoming bored with Mary. I feel like this was an "almost there" book as I think the premise was good but the wordiness and the lack of character-depth was disappointing. I found Leila's extended family to be a superfluous addition to the story and many of the metaphors were borderline juvenile. I know this was the author's attempt to capture the characters' voices, but I think she missed the mark. I gave it 2 stars because I did plow through and finish it, because I wanted to know what happened. Though, since I didn't connect with the characters, I was ambivalent to whether they got divorced or married or killed or put in jail or fired or hired...I was just curious about the plotline, so that's something, I guess.

From the first page one finds oneself completely absorbed in this extraordinary novel. The caracters are so well developed that it is easy to become caught up in the book as if one knew and cared about these diverse individuals personally.

I recommend it highly to anyone in search of a thought-provoking good read.

This book was a disappointment from start to finish. Characters that are not believable populate mundane events that never lead to anything, nor do they resolve in the end. Three women who we are to believe are strong in positive and negative ways come across as shallow and peripheral. A thoroughly unsatisfying read.

Leila; succesful in her career, a failure in her marriage. Mary; once a happily married housewife, now homeless. Becky; from a poor background, is desperate to move up to a rank in society, but is on trial for murder. An important book we must all read.