PositiveThe White ReviewToews’ decision to have a man narrate a novel titled Women Talking appears provocative, but is a complex and often moving feature of the book ... August seems like a technical necessity. How could Toews, given her propensity to write in such a personal, distinctive voice, write convincingly as one of these women? In August, Toews’ perception, oddness and wild joy can co-exist with the transcription of the meeting ... Despite the solemnity of the task, Women Talking is as steeped in humour as any of Toews’ other novels, but the tone of her humour has altered. The jokes in Women Talking, understandably, don’t have the intricacy or risk of the ones shared with her family in her earlier books ... Toews’ occasional disregard for irony can result in scenes that feel a little too wholesome ... Toews’ sentimentality seems part of a deliberate disinterest in sophistication or refined style. It lends her work emotional power, but at times risks undermining the intelligence of her ideas ...
Women Talking is a claustrophobic novel that can be difficult to read but, unexpectedly, it can also delight. Even in the face of sexual degradation, violence and horror, Toews’ irrepressible spirit pours through...
