The Feminist Persuasion (Genre: Literature, Novel)
by Meg Wolitzer
This Feminist Persuasion asks the question: which is more important to you, your relationships or your ambitions?
Wolitzer tells a beautiful story that has a long arc of wonderfully rendered characters. Essentially, it is the love story of Greer and Cory and how they grew up and together, and then apart. That is the best and main part of the book and it is such a warm, charming, and often funny story. But within that story we get to know Greer as an ardent and committed feminist, and Cory as a good man who tries his best in the face of a family tragedy. That tragedy and Greer’s striving ambitions as an activist, seek to pull them apart. Wolitzer brings these and other story lines together so well by the end of the novel the reader is left with a deep sense of satisfaction and awe. The author amply displays a keen understanding of relationships and human nature.
I felt enriched for having read The Feminist Persuasion. However, there is one caveat to this read: the entertainment value of the book for me was only about 75%. Wolitzer spent too many words and pages on the plight of women, the injustices done to the female half of our species. Everything she writes here is true and bears repeating, but she’s speaking to the choir, and that can become tiresome. I found myself skimming pages to get back to Greer and Cory’s love story.
