THREE WOMEN

by Lisa Taddeo

One of the many places I read book reviews is in theSkimm. For those of you who don’t subscribe, I highly recommend it. Every morning they send me an email that succinctly reviews the previous day’s news. Started by two young women from Penn, who are now in their thirties, it is quick, informative and often funny. (To subscribe go to theskimm.com.) As much as I like their daily take on the news, I’m finding I don’t always (often?) agree with their taste in books.

Not only did theSkimm praise Three Women, but a friend had recommended it. In this non-fiction book, Taddeo explores desire in women. The book’s flap copy promises “the deepest nonfiction portrait of desire ever written.” Taddeo does in-depth studies of three different women – of different ages, backgrounds and regions of the US. I found the book read like pornography. Since finishing it, I keep thinking about why I had such a strong, negative reaction to it. I think Taddeo, in trying to legitimize that women do indeed have strong sexual desires just as men do, ends up portraying her women as having very male-oriented sexual fantasies and encounters. I found this not only grating, but also unbelievable.

I set out thinking Three Women might be an interesting book to recommend to one of my book clubs. Part of me would still like to do that just to hear other women’s reactions. Readers, if you’ve read it, please let me know what you think. For now, I’d say it was definitely Not My Cup of Tea. (Liz)

SECOND HELPING

If you ignore the premise that this is supposedly a study of female sexuality, then this is a book I would recommend.  The three interwoven stories are engaging, risqué and take a frank look at three very interesting women and their relationship to sex.  But all three stories begin with sexual trauma, and so are less generalizable than perhaps the author intended. (Lily)