Welcome to Litsy!

Themes: gaslighting, agency and love. Isolated Mennonite women who have been drugged & sexually abused by the men in their society meet alone over 2 days to discuss their options - do nothing, stay & fight or leave. The novel records the thoughts, arguments, songs, fears, beliefs & hopes of the women along with August, a man who has been outcast by the other men who is recording the process. While disturbing, this is a compelling read.

More than 100 girls (3+ years) and women (some +100 years old) were sexually assaulted in a Mennonite town in Bolivia in the early 2000s. This account is told by a man, the minutes taker of a fictional village‘s women deciding whether to stay (& forgive the men), stay & fight, or leave. Why a man? Because the women were not taught to read & write. They‘d been taught their only purpose was to serve men. The women debate their religion, the ⬇️

Audio coloring and thought of you @TheBookHippie 😊 Isn‘t she gorgeous?

My next audiobook

#foodandlit #Bolivia @Catsandbooks

4.5⭐️ Really enjoyed the book despite it being about a topic that is difficult to talk about. #2025 #bookreview #bookclub #fiction #contemporary

Three faves that I don't hear talked about much:

1) Women Talking
2) Jojo Rabbit
3) The Favourite

Thanks for the tag, @dabbe ! #ThreeListThursday #TLT (on Friday)

I am very impressed with this novel. Toews takes a topic that is bleak and weaves subtle colors through the somberness. The humor, deep philosophical thought, and strength of the characters carried me through the book and made me hopeful despite the horrific circumstances that set the narrative in motion. This is the kind of novel that will have me pondering life for quite awhile now that I‘m setting it down.

Very interesting - it‘s a short read based on the true story of the rape and violation of over 100 women in a Mennonite colony . The book bases its story around the decision making and reasoning of the actions the women decide to take . So interesting rather than riveting I would say .

Just finished for my movie/bookclub.
3⭐

Part 3 of 3: My favorites from the 144 books I read (in no particular order). I don‘t include rereads. I‘d love to hear your favorites!

11) Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
12) Women Talking by Miriam Toews
13) The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
14) The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
15) Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

I can't stand the narrator and I'm not emotionally invested in this book.

Based on a true account of a group of Mennonite women who were repeatedly drugged and assaulted by men in their community. The entire book consists of the women discussing whether to leave the colony or stay and fight back. Thought provoking.

Ona habla :...

¿Deberían las mujeres vengarse del daño que se les ha infligido? ¿ o deberían en cambio perdonar a los hombres y, en consecuencia, tener garantizado el paso por las puertas del cielo? Si no perdonamos a los hombres o aceptamos sus disculpas, nos obligarán a abandonar la colonia, dice, y, mediante esta excomunión, perderemos el derecho a entrar en el cielo

No tenemos pensado cruzar el planeta ¿por qué no?, réplica Ona, que añade un dato interesante : ¿Sabíais que el período de migración de las mariposas y las libélulas es tan largo que a veces sólo llegan al destino sus nietas?

I love this line. So true

A nuanced look at a Mennonite community that is facing an impossible decision. Loosely based on real events, I was moved by the descriptions of the women as the decide their fate. The story is told from the POV of a male school teacher, which gives us the feeling of looking in from the outside. The story feels simple, but the result is a powerful look at the complicated relationships these women have built in their tight-knit group.

Finished this on the treadmill this morning, and I loved it. The ending left me unsatisfied, but it was realistic and fit with the rest of the book. I don‘t think we‘re supposed to be satisfied. We‘re supposed to think. And this raised lots of things to think about.

@lynneamch this is the perfect reward after spending my afternoon at the laundromat. If I‘d gone to the post office first, I would have started it while I waited. @BookishPiper I sent my husband the post office to ship The Book Hater‘s Book Club a few days ago, so I‘m not sure exactly when it will be delivered but it shouldn‘t be long.

I wanted to read this before seeing the adaptation. I found it a bit hard to follow at first due to language, but it got easier as I went along.

It‘s very grim, as a group of women in a Mennonite community try to decide what to do when they find out several of the men have been drugging and raping them. It‘s interesting the range of reactions and feelings they have about the situation.

Good but very difficult read.

My favorite in this grid was greatly enhanced by seeing the adaptation 2 nights earlier. Also here is a binge read of an entire series! And did I squeeze in the Weyward read because I thought I was funny - yes I did!

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

This is a tough one, both in underlying subject and in delivery. Women who have long been held down by the men of their Mennonite community examine their lives and their faith and come to a group decision as to what to do next when they discover the men have been drugging & raping them for years. ⬇️

I watched the film tonight. It‘s of no surprise that I loved it. What is a surprise is that it‘s taken me this long to see it.

Following @Christine ‘s Saturday evening post about this movie having a short window on Amazon Prime, I abandoned my typical Hallmark movie in favor of grit and consideration. I thought the movie so moving that I had to stack the book. Libby had a hold on the book but the 6-hour audio was readily available. So good! Seeing the movie gave life to the audio, and the book gives depth to the characters so perfectly portrayed in the movie.

Congrats to Sarah Polley (she was Sarah Stanley on Road to Avonlea) on her Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay from Miriam Toews‘ novel Women Talking. #oscars

I loved this book but wasn‘t sure what I would think about the adaptation. I found it incredibly well done, devastating, with an amazing cast giving memorable and moving performances. Definitely worthy of the Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay Oscar nominations (and should have earned others, in my opinion!). So glad I saw that it was on Prime on a limited basis, expires around this time tomorrow!

I read this and it gave me pause to think about the roles of women. The discussion of women playing the role of basically being a broodmare, or another farm animal only to cook, clean and bear children and that was the totality of their lives. Saw the movie yesterday gave me even more to think about the whole idea that the men should be forgiven or the women could not go to heaven was appalling these were brave, courageous women.

I went to see this movie today with a friend who also loved the book. As the credits rolled all we could do was look at each other and say, “Damn…” I had worried it wouldn‘t live up to the book despite the phenomenal cast, but it was so well done. Has anyone else seen it?

4.5 ⭐️s only because I wanted more, lol!

Interesting story, good writing, the characters could have used more development I think.
This one was triggering. The subject matter is tough. I loved the power that Toews gave to these women to take control over themselves.

Finally able to get into a book again. I‘ve been listening to a lot of podcasts. The last few books I‘ve tried haven‘t been catching me and I honestly just haven‘t felt like reading.
So far this is good.

I have not read the book. In fact, when I went to see the movie, I did not know that 1. it was based on a true story and 2. The movie was adapted from tagged novel. The movie was incredible. My husband and I spend an hour on the ride home talking about it. Anybody read the book. Anybody see the movie? (Photo not mine.)

First of all, I had no idea going in that this was based on a true story, which is a game changer, for me. Amazingly horrific abuse suffered by the women of a Mennonite group by their own community. The victims gather to discuss their plans, and because they cannot read or write, a man takes the meeting minutes. Though this is dark, there‘s still moments of levity.

My images tonight are subpar —just trying to get through the backlog of reviews!

Absolutely haunting.

I found it was difficult to keep keep track of some of the characters in this book (with the exception of Salome - I loved her anger and Ona). That being said, I think this is an important book and Toews has put into words a wonderful discussion of the state of the lives of these women. Do the women raised there, without an education or ability to read, really make a free choice? I look forward to watching the movie. A powerful 4 stars.

Adding this to my holiday viewing !

https://lithub.com/the-13-best-literary-adaptations-of-2022/?utm_source=Sailthru...

1) I greatly appreciated the subject matter...abused women deciding to stand up for themselves. And I want to love it just based on that.
2) However, the way it's written...like minutes from a meeting, not an actual story...made it very difficult for me to get emotionally invested. I think I will enjoy the movie more as it should have that storytelling element I found missing here.

Starting this one. The movie preview for this looks AMAZING. I've had this on Kindle for awhile, but that preview really pushed me to start it next!

Second - probably a great book, but not for me in a row. This is based on a horrific real life case of a long period of sexual assault against the women of a small community. The fiction here is the conversations between them as they decide whether to stay in the community or leave vs coexist with their attackers. It‘s a powerful story with theology and more but I struggled to engage with it

A horrible tale. An important telling

A powerful, disturbing and tragic story inspired by real events. The conversation between these abused women is wonderfully used as a means of illustrating all major philosophical themes and a feminine universe where fragility and vulnerability coexist with strength, wisdom and love.

These poor women! This had me emotionally invested from the get go, although the format on this one really threw me off and along with the unfamiliar names made it harder to process. A heavy, heavy read that will definitely stay with me. 💔

🚨 Kindle deal alert🚨

This gets a Wow. I'll be thinking about these characters for a long time. And even the narrator, who I really disliked for most of the book.
This group of women and their children are victims of absolutely horrifying crimes, and with so much heart and love and rage and even humor, they discuss what they must do next.
Has this ever been adapted into a play? I think it would be amazing.

(So glad this was my #bookspin book! @TheAromaofBooks)

This book was very good. I will say though, I did find it very distracting that the narrator was a man. I will have to look into why the author made that choice. But it is one of the reasons why I think this would be an excellent book club pick. It's also based on true events (that I will also be looking more into).

Such an original and powerful story! I'm not sure how to review it though.Written as the minutes of a two-day meeting among women of a Mennonite colony trying to sort through their choices after the widespread rape of the women of the colony by a group of men in the colony who had snuck into their homes and drugged them over the course of 2 years. First, the town leader tried to convince them it was spirits punishing them. ⬇️

Not sure how I feel about a book called “Women Talking” being narrated by a man, but overall I still found this book to be pretty powerful and I‘m glad I read it.

This one packs a punch.

I didn't realize this was based on a true story until I Googled it after finishing the book.

What a tragic story.

The women in a Mennonite community wake up groggy and aching after being sedated with a spray used on animals and raped.

The men are sent away for a couple of days 😡 and the women meet in a hay loft to discuss what they should do next.

Unbelievable.

$1.99 on Kindle today; I grabbed it! Sounds really interesting. Has anyone read it?