The Women's Room by Marilyn French (chosen by JM)JM chose this book after reading an article about Marilyn French in the Good Weekend magazine in May. The article referred to it being the 30th anniversary of The Women's Room this year, and highlighted the importance of this novel. JM hadn't ever heard of, so decided to choose this novel to "drag herself out of the cultural wasteland" and to haul all the No.1 Melbourne Ladies' Bookclub members along with her!
French was born in New York to a family of Polish descent. She did a BA at Hofstra College in Long Island in 1951, and left the college to marry. She started to write seriously in 1957, but it was 1976 before her first book was published. She has two children and divorced their father in 1967. She gained an MA and a PhD, and has taught in universities/colleges.
French's first book was her thesis on James Joyce (1976). A year later it was followed by The Women's Room. Her sixth novel was released in 2006 and is called In the Name of Friendship.
21 million copies of The Women's Room have been sold. It has been translated into 20 languages and has been made into a TV movie (1980).
In 1992 at the age of 61, French was diagnosed with metastasized esophageal cancer, and was given no hope. She did, however, win her battle. (Biographical details from here)
The synopsis of The Women's Room from amazon.co.uk:
What we discussed about the book:A landmark in feminist literature, THE WOMEN'S ROOM is a biting social commentary of a world gone silently haywire. Written in the 1970s but with profound resonance today, this is a modern allegory that offers piercing insight into the social norms accepted blindly and revered so completely.
'Today's desperate housewives eat your heart out! This is the original and still the best, a page-turner that makes you think. Essential reading' Kate Mosse
'They said this book would change lives - and it certainly changed mine' Jenni Murray
'Reading THE WOMEN'S ROOM was an intense and wonderful experience. It is in my DNA' Kirsty Wark
'THE WOMEN'S ROOM took the lid off a seething mass of women's frustrations, resentments and furies; it was about the need to change things from top to bottom; it was a declaration of independence' OBSERVER
- To what extent is this book still relevant 30 years later?
- Are men scared of women's sexuality? Is that at the heart of attempts to retain power over women?
- Did Mira do the right thing in refusing to accompany Ben to Africa?
- The rape of Chris highlighted injustices in the way the judicial system in the 1970s dealt with victims of sex crimes. Is this still the case?
- The suburban party scenes of the first half of the book - where married couples flirted (and took it further) with other husbands and wives. What was the motivation for this behaviour? Did it spring from the fact many had married young and inexperienced, and later yearned for some adventure?
- Was Mira's name intended to be a reference to her acting as a 'mirror' to all women? Was 'Norm' intended to represent the normal man?
- Is this book a cautionary tale about the futility of searching for 'love' in a relationship?
Issues we were sidetracked into:
- Why are (traditionally) predominantly male-occupied jobs (eg. engineering, law, accounting) paid more than predominantly female-occupied jobs (eg. nursing, teaching)?
- Is it neccessary for both partners in a marriage to work? What risk does not working pose to the non-working partner?
- How can you change long-held attitudes across a whole society? How have some of the Scandinavian countries managed it?
- Does the 'knight in shining armour' mentality still exist among the young Australian women of today?
- Is there an ideal age difference between partners in a marriage? Would an older man be better suited to a younger women, and an older woman, a younger man?
- Does 'education' alone cause women to question the status quo...or does it depend on the type and content of the education?
- Could communal living work better for women than nuclear-family living?
And in other news:
- Kensington is doing well with her gorgeous baby boy!
- TeamSAK is back on track with her chemo...having only missed a few days.
- M will be down from Sydney for the Writers Festival next weekend and hopes to catch up with as many No.1 Melbourne Ladies as possible on Saturday night.
- T-Rex had seen Ian McKellen in King Lear and was most impressed with his performance. Melbourne radio media has commented in past weeks about his nude scene at great length!
Ratings
Average: 5.875
Range: 4 to 6.75
Next book: Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
