Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
clever premise and a fun read, April 10, 2011
This story moves the plot of an ancient play (Lysistrata) to modern suburban New Jersey, where it becomes magic. I thought the idea was incredibly clever when I read the review and I still do. The plot of Lysistrata is that the women of ancient Greece agree among themselves to deny any sex to the men until the Peloponnesian war is ended. Here, the same cooling effect by the women comes back in the modern suburb involuntarily, in the form of a spell when the play (edited to be more age appropriate) is staged by the local high school. The spell takes all local women one by one - cooling the ardor of teenagers, both in the passion of a first relationship and as well as those sexually active but not really sure why or whether they enjoy it. It also takes young mothers with happy relationships in spite of their weariness, women in later stages of long,happy marriages, and even middle aged women who've 'let themselves go' and were celibate or nearly so within their marriages. The way that these emotions are expressed by all of these various women as they experience the spell and the change in their desires and in their views is masterful. The reaction among the men to the loss ranges among anger, patience, sadness,fear, and barely noticing. Wherever your stage in life and whatever your experience you are overwhelmingly likely to identify with someone in this fictional town.
I was disappointed by the way that the spell was resolved, with a highly dramatic, very quick ending. It felt deflating after all of the good work and good writing that had been done to understand and express the complex emotions of these women and men. It would have been more rewarding to continue the individual perspectives in more detail and explore the emotions more fully as they recovered. Possibly it would have been a longer book, however it is a good book so you'd be happy to read it.
My other criticism is a plot line that seems half baked. Lysistrata is an expression of anti-war sentiments as well as an exploration of relationships. Uncoupling pulls the anti-war element in with a character that had recently been a local high school student, went off to war, and returned home with a life changing injury and a failed relationship. This character makes a brief appearance, something to the effect of war is bad/people get hurt/we shouldn't have war is expressed in a few pages, another character stages a protest, and the war veteran character falls out of the story shortly thereafter. Serious consideration of this topic requires moving beyond slogans and protests and individual tragedies however awful, to understanding the principles of just war, even if you choose to reject them entirely, as well as analyzing every situation. This would have been a better book if the author had fleshed out this analysis more fully or skipped this Lysistrata hook entirely.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great idea, April 21, 2011
Muriel Rukeyser said that if one woman told the truth about her life the world would split open. I was hoping this would be one of those books that might, if not split open the world, at least illuminate a bit of the fault line. And to its credit, it does shed some light on the mysterious sexual chill that takes women of a certain age, in particular, by surprise. The spell, the central conceit of the book, is such a great metaphor for the exploration of women's sexuality and desire. I really wanted, was hoping for, more complex characters and more insight into that mystery.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sadly, Disappointing..., April 24, 2011
This review is from: The Uncoupling (Hardcover)
I was eager to read this book, given the possibilities of the premise as set in contemporary society. Sadly, there were no real character insights or any new ideas explored here, in my opinion. And while I won't reveal the ending, let's say that it's pretty much a cop-out. (and you will probably have figured it out as well)
The way the story is set up and revealed pretty much limits the outcome, from the start. And, unlike say Practical Magic, which had me believing in some pretty implausible situations and outcomes, this story just left me shaking my head in disbelief as it progressed (you can't have it both ways; it's either a magical/mystical tale or real life. This is neither.)
The only upside for me is that it created the desire to reread Lysistrata.
It left me feeling empty and wishing there had been more, as in more of what the characters, male and female, were really thinking and feeling.
I had high hopes for this book (there have been lots of reviews that make it seem magical and insightful) but though it was a fast read, it was also rather banal. No real insights into the females (or men) here and very little real reflection on the impact of the sea-change. And the "how" of the sea-change really didn't work well as written.
This could have been so much more. I admire the author for attempting to bring light to a topic that does resonate for contemporary women--what happens when desire seems to have disappeared. And for calling attention to Lysistrata (but even that got short shrift in the book!)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
