Welcome to Litsy!

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?

I don't recommend this book for everyone. I didn't really like the structure but in the end there was something about the characters & story that moved me. Main reason I read it is that it's about Mennonites, which is uncommon to find in mainstream lit. I grew up in a Menno. family and church (not Menno. now & def do NOT endorse this religion), so it's interesting to read about a culture that I'm familiar with & most ppl don't know much about. ⬇️

Book 86 Women Talking is a historical fiction novel about women in a Mennonite community in Brazil that were drugged and raped at night by men in their community but were told they were being punished by demons for their sins. I was so drawn in! The title is apropos; the novel is the women trying to decide what to do. It's funny and philosophical but dry. The author is an ex-Mennonite, and I am very interested to read her memoir.

3.5 stars

This book is based on a true story. A group of Mennonite women finally speak up about their sexual assaults and how they are going to put a stop to them. I enjoyed this book and found the women to have some incredible courage. 🌟🌟🌟🌟!

It‘s not you, it‘s me, Miriam. Y‘know I love you, right? Just not this book. #bookspin bail @TheAromaofBooks

I landed two Canadian authors for May‘s #bookspin. @TheAromaofBooks

This was a weird book and I wasn't a fan.

When you accidentally buy more books. #bookoutlet

I‘ve had this on my tbr stack for too long. Set in a Mennonite colony where it‘s men were drugging and raping its women and children, the book centers on the choices these women had when it‘s men would return. The tale is told by a male transcriber documenting the choices the women had, discussing it philosophically and practically. An interesting internal view of a closed off real life community in Bolivia. Toews is a remarkable writer!

PSA: If you are in the States and own a Kindle, Women Talking is on sale today for a super low price. I highly highly highly recommend it!!!!

👍

(Soundtrack: Chilly Gonzales - A Very Chilly Christmas)

#manitoba #readcanada @Book_Fiend_Melissa

4 3/4🌟

Goodreads challenge completed.

367pts #tbrbook #teamreadnosedreindeer #wintergames2020 @StayCurious

I read this in late June & was deeply moved by it. At the time I rated it 4 stars, but it has stuck with me since I read it. What Toews accomplished in a little over 200 pages is astonishing & Women Talking is easily one of my favorites of the year. I've revised my rating to 5 stars. I 💯 agree with the Lithub headline:
https://lithub.com/frances-mcdormand-and-sarah-polley-are-bringing-women-talking...

Of the 4 books I‘ve read so far in December, I guess this was my favorite, though none of them blew me away. I‘m looking forward to the rest of the month and hoping for some great reads!

I had been nervous to read this book because of the subject matter (a Mennonite community where women and children are being drugged and raped at night) but I'm glad I finally took the plunge. The book is about the women deciding what to do in light of what has happened. It's about justice and collective decision making and faith and autonomy and love. It's powerful and funny and sweet at times, heart-breaking at others.

Next up!

Mennonite women who have been drugged and raped repeatedly along with their children and friends are told they must forgive their abusers, who are being bailed out of jail, in order to gain entry to Heaven. They gather to discuss what they consider their only options do nothing, stay and fight, or leave. None of these choices are easy. Just women talking but a powerful conversation to hear and reflect on. #thinkpink #booked2020

#women #foreverNovember @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Post 4 of 5.

Fiction card for #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

#3Books....That Made Me Mad......Tagged book made me SO MAD!!! Based on a true events that happened between 2005-2009
The other two books are NF and will make your blood boil.....#NewsAlert ✴️America is not the land of equality

That headline has got to be the best description of my favourite books!

https://crimereads.com/diverse-women-authored-novels-set-in-remote-and-forgotten...

Powerful Book, I inhaled it over the course of 24 hours. Philosophical and disturbing. Another author that I want to read more of. 4 🌟

Right between a pick and a so-so for me. I liked the insular community and short timeline for this book, and I liked the storyline as well, horrifying and upsetting as it was. But I didn‘t totally love it and can‘t put my finger on why. Enjoyed the writing, though, and will be looking at more of the authors work in the near future. 3.5 stars

I knew nothing about the real story this is based on, it‘s a short novel but powerful.

#HappyCanadaDay to all my Canadian Littens 🇨🇦and thanks to @KVanRead for this fun giveaway ❤️1. Tagged book was brilliant 2. Emily St. John Mandel and the lovely Margaret Atwood 3.Timbits 🍩, Eh? I‘ll tag the wonderful @TheKidUpstairs who introduced me to Tim Hortons wayyy back when I only knew Dunkin Doughnuts existed😜

1) A very recent favorite.
2) Margaret Atwood.
3) Poutine.
#HappyCanadaDay to all the Littens to the North 🇨🇦

There are quite a few aspects of Toews' novel I greatly appreciated: the women's sense of humor even in bleak situations, a portrait of a community through a handful of the members, flashes of rich characterization & rewarding introspection. Enter caveat, I can't help but feel like this would have worked better if it had been narrated from the pov of one of the women-Salome, Mejal or Ona. I didn't love this one, but I def found it worthwhile.

This book is based on real events at a Mennonite colony in Bolivia. Women were raped, for years, and told that God or Satan was punishing them or that they were simply making it up. Like....WTF!!! This fiction book is about what comes next. The book is told in minutes of meetings the women have where they will decide their response after the truth came out. Listening to them grapple with their faith and their trauma will stick with me.

Currently reading for my IRL book club (which was supposed to meet in early April).

We‘ll be meeting next week for a socially distanced, backyard discussion and I‘m quite excited. My first visit with friends in over 3 months! 😮

A thoughtful story you can sink deeply into. There is little action, literally just women talking about action, and doesn‘t that feel honest? Their conversations are transcribed and told and given meaning by a man and isn‘t that the way it usually is? Masterful. I‘ll be thinking about this one for a long time. #netgalley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hello Litsy! It‘s been a while.
45 pages in.....This is so great.

Wow! This book is powerful, upsetting, unexpected and memorable. Based on a true story, this novel explores pain, faith, and power in a sheltered Mennonite colony. I will be thinking about this story for a long time.

#current read on this gray, gloomy day. I‘m feeling under the weather and the outdoors and this book seem kinda perfect for the day.

I finished this book in March and I'm still not entirely sure how to review it. It's a pick for me, but I can't really pinpoint why.

It's written in a very unique style and is based on true events. I never felt like I connected with these women or their stories, but regardless I am glad that I read it.

Told as the minutes of a series of meetings between women in an isolated Mennonite community who are debating whether to escape their abusers or stay and fight. It is based on a horrendous real life event. The women, all of whom are illiterate and kept from positions of authority in their community, must decide: When enough is enough, how do you start anew? Who do you save? How do you keep/ practice your faith when it has only been taught by men?

I'm not sure "enjoyed" is the right word for this book. I'm glad I read it and will probably think about it for a while.
I do wish it continued on, but that would be another story.
#StayHome24in48 #Readathon @24in48

Yes I am still lounging around and reading. I've done nothing productive yet today.

#Booked2020 #liveandlearn
@Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

This was probably not the best book to be reading at this time when I'm feeling stressed out and anxious. Perhaps a cozy mystery should be up next.

Busy night ahead.

I live in an area with many Mennonites and Amish. Like this novel, we‘ve had recent news stories of sexual abuse in those communities. It‘s that connection which prompted me to read this, although the novel deals with the emotional and practical aftermath rather than events themselves. Moving and thought-provoking. See @Blaire ‘s review also.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2020
#booked2020 #hatorheadcoveringoncover

The novel consists of the minutes Mennonite women‘s talk of whether to leave or stay after learning the men have subjected them and their children to years of sexual violence. It covers the range of emotions, philosophical arguments, faith, choice, and bonds of culture and family. The unexpected act of mercy and love toward the end moved me nearly to tears. Within the story are also gems of curiosity and love. Slow in parts, but worth reading.

A very interesting read, concept, and perspective despite not fully hooking me. As one of the characters exclaims at one point: "There's no plot, only women talking." This is a brave take on women's agency, sexual violence, and how domestic pressures and labor affect women and their decisions.
Still, very worth it!

Starting Sunday off with a reread of my selection for the reading/book retreat friends and I are going on next month. So much to discuss in this book: abuse, sexual assault, forgiveness, illiteracy, isolation, patriarchy, misogyny and more. Even the structure of the book, the use of a male narrator for example, can be debated. That the story is based on real events is heartbreaking and enraging. I‘m anticipating a very interesting discussion.