MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewA Dangerous Woman may fall short in exploring the complexities of a clearly captivating woman, but Ronald’s group portrait of people of great wealth — their expensive squabbles over inheritances and divorce settlements, their disinclination to pay taxes (Frank skipped out on paying federal income taxes for more than 30 years), their ability to manipulate people in power, all in the service of adding even more zeros to their bank accounts — is breathtaking and quite modern.
Jessica Bennett
MixedThe Los Angeles Review of BooksAs feisty, smart, and well researched as this book may be, it can’t help but seem like a sweet artifact from another time ... Feminist Fight Club is all about focusing on how to avoid being victimized by sexism, even from nice guy co-workers, one workplace interaction at a time, and in that Bennett succeeds brilliantly ... What Bennett does especially well, and I’m guessing inadvertently, is convey the degree to which women can’t really win. She excels at nailing how much it can suck to be a woman in the workplace, how impossible it is to thread that needle ... her sharp, smart writing is overwhelmed by funny illustrations, lists, flow charts, faux handwritten contracts, and footnotes.
Terry McMillan
MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewJanis Joplin once described herself as passionate and sloppy, and the same could be said of I Almost Forgot About You. McMillan falls back on dialogue a little too often. For every sharp and well-observed paragraph about the challenges of aging, or wise reflection on the unexpected benefits of a failed marriage, there are too many long, overstuffed expository conversations. In addition, seemingly important story lines are introduced, including a possible foreclosure, then simply evaporate, as if the author lost interest. For fans of McMillan, and they’re legion, these shortcomings won’t spoil anything. Though flawed, the novel is immensely companionable.
