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Nicky's Reviews > The Female Man
The Female Man
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I think people are wrong when they say this book is out of date. Many of the feminist issues Russ engaged with are still with us today, the double-standards women are held to and the things men expect of them. That part of the book seemed perfectly reasonable to me: a little out-dated, perhaps, as all of this sort of thing will become in just a few decades, but not irrelevant.
The story, however... I found it incomprehensible, buried under the weight of the feminist concerns and issues raised. I would rather have read the story and the examination of the role of women separately, I think. For me, I came to this book expecting a classic of science fiction, and to be honest, it doesn't seem like there's much. It's a thought experiment, which can be done in literary fiction just as well (better?).
I'm a little uncomfortable with it being relegated to the class of science fiction, in a way, instead of being read as a classic in general. So often that's used as a way to minimise the importance of a work: oh, quaint old genre fiction, rather than oh, social commentary. Those of us in the genre know how powerful a tool it is when used to examine society (and if you don't, may I introduce you to the works of Ursula Le Guin?), but in academic circles... we're starting to see more work on genre fiction -- part of my MA was on Tolkien, and mainly on his fiction -- and there's been some good work on fantasy and SF, but it's not as if any of that is even approaching "the canon".
I almost feel like rereading this in an annotated version, or a Norton Critical Edition, would help me appreciate it more. But just on the merits of it as a story... no, I can't say it did much for me.
The story, however... I found it incomprehensible, buried under the weight of the feminist concerns and issues raised. I would rather have read the story and the examination of the role of women separately, I think. For me, I came to this book expecting a classic of science fiction, and to be honest, it doesn't seem like there's much. It's a thought experiment, which can be done in literary fiction just as well (better?).
I'm a little uncomfortable with it being relegated to the class of science fiction, in a way, instead of being read as a classic in general. So often that's used as a way to minimise the importance of a work: oh, quaint old genre fiction, rather than oh, social commentary. Those of us in the genre know how powerful a tool it is when used to examine society (and if you don't, may I introduce you to the works of Ursula Le Guin?), but in academic circles... we're starting to see more work on genre fiction -- part of my MA was on Tolkien, and mainly on his fiction -- and there's been some good work on fantasy and SF, but it's not as if any of that is even approaching "the canon".
I almost feel like rereading this in an annotated version, or a Norton Critical Edition, would help me appreciate it more. But just on the merits of it as a story... no, I can't say it did much for me.
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Reading Progress
July 11, 2012
– Shelved
December 26, 2013
–
Started Reading
January 15, 2014
–
Finished Reading
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It's definitely worth reading. While I didn't enjoy it as a story, I recognised a lot in its message.And yes, Le Guin hasn't always trodden the right side of the line -- though I've appreciated Tehanu and The Telling more with rereads.
I doubt I'll reread The Telling any time soon, but I do in fact plan to reread Tehanu for precisely this reason. There are some impressions I have from the previous reading that I'm curious to see if they still hold upon rereading a few years later. It would also be interesting to be able to make a closer comparison with The Female Man if and when I read that.
I think The Telling came along at a key time for me (I think it may've been the first positive openly LGBT book I ever read), and so I have a soft spot for it.
The themes the book takes on are great! It is the book itself that is awful though. The narrative is too bland/dull. The writing style was simply awkward and not pleasurable to read. Does one have to make a book unbearable simply to discuss certain themes? I barely finished this book...
The problem with the story becoming secondary to the political points is unfortunately a common trap in fiction with a Message (with capital M). I am not particularly surprised that this is where you find the weakness of the book, but I am sorry to hear it. It is interesting, though, that you bring up the example of Le Guin in this context. I agree completely with what you say, but at the same time, in my opinion she also fell victim to the same trap in some of her books (e.g. The word for world is forest, The Telling, and, to a lesser extent, Tehanu). I guess once you start going on a political mission, it is easy to start taking your audience for granted -- a mistake that can be fatal in fiction.