Review: “She: A Cautionary Tale”
There’s something disturbing and beautiful about this novel, despite the seemingly lacklustre rating.
Bear in mind I’m a picky reader, and I know exactly what I loved and didn’t love about it, which I’m happy to share with you so that you can make up your own mind. I can see that this would be an excellent and empowering book for some women, but it fell short for me personally due to my own preferences.
*Disclaimer: as part of a book club, I chose this one out of hundreds of books because I loved the premise and I was looking for something with NO TROPES for a change! I also write women’s fiction/romance without tropes, so reading this kind of book was part of my journey to develop my own writing.*
The Premise:
Told through two characters in the third person “Olivia” and “She”, the novel traces a relationship from the onset of passion to the nosedive of marriage fraught with a seemingly schizophrenic man. One minute he’s hot and the other he’s abrasive and cold. It’s unclear what his motivations are, and he is frustrating the woman he is with. I felt just as confused as the female character(s). Despite strong friendships and heartwarming relationships with her kids, this man is ruling her emotions and has her doubting who she is and if she deserves love.
The Pros:
I really enjoyed reading a novel with NO TROPES for a change. There was no destination that screamed “HAPPILY EVER AFTER, right this way”. From the very title, you know it’s a CAUTIONARY TALE, so you don’t expect it to end in anything fluffy. The writer captured some of the nuances of conversation and actions in a relationship where a man leaves a woman in debilitating mistrust of her own memory. The stream-of-consciousness laced with insecurity is something that resonates with every woman. I also enjoyed the fact that there were a lot of loose ends never figured out. Despite not knowing, “She” went with her gut in the end. In real life, sometimes there aren’t any answers. So while it felt unsettling, that was the whole point.
The Cons:
While I liked the chapter separations of “She” and “Olivia”, and I liked the general idea of what was done stylistically, the execution left a bit to be desired. I had a sensation of a general malaise with the jumping to and fro. It felt like things were glossed over or rushed in an effort to get to the end of the story. The man’s issues in his past were blurted out, rather than “discovered” — as were many other key elements of the story, which combined to dilute the tension that I would have liked to feel building up. Some readers prefer this style, but it was not my own preference so it led to disappointment overall. I really wanted to FEEL the emotions, not just read about them.
Conclusion:
Nevertheless, the overall message is beautiful: “She” could be any of us. There are so many “She”s around us: women in situations that they know are not healthy for them, but they stay anyway because they are afraid of being alone. I can see how this book can land in the hands of a woman in the same situation, and it can be just what she needs to give herself a kick in the pants to get the hell away from a toxic relationship. I do think this book is worth giving a try, or passing it along to a female friend who you think may get something out of it.
