Heather McDaid

Thank you to 404 Ink and NetGalley for this free honest reviewer copy of "Nasty Women: A Collection of Essays and Accounts on What It Is To Be a Woman in the 21st Century."

As a side admission: I kickstarted this book before it ever found its way to NetGalley, but I love it so much that I want people to be seeing reviews of this book everywhere that it is possible for them to be. This book does not disappoint on any level.

Everytime you think you've discovered an issue the book hasn't covered or that any type of woman isn't being properly discussed and shown, you'll turn the page, or ten, or twenty, and they will have that and then raise it by five or ten more things you never even thought you needed.

Nasty Woman looks at the experiences of all women, in all walks of life, and discusses where they all intersection, how they all are impacted and impact each other. It's not just based on the election that spawned (and spurned, I dare say with pride) it into being, but about several of the issues facing women, all races, all sexes.… (mer)

A well curated, and diverse, selection of essays, interviews and accounts. A truly eye-opening read on what it means to be a woman in the 21st century, and how this is interlinks with identity and issues such as race, body image, sexuality and disability.

I’ve seen some reviews describe some of the writing as ‘clunky’ and while I don’t necessarily disagree, it’s not actually something I had an issue with. To me it shows (I really hope this is the case) that these voices are represented by their own words. It’s the unfiltered sharing of their own experiences, in their own voice. Heavy editing would have taken away from this.

This collection has introduced me to lots of new voices, which I look forward to hearing more from in the future.… (mer)

I wanted to love this, but I'm afraid it wasn't as stand out impressive as I wanted it to be. It has a series of short biographies of women, presented in graphic novel form. With any book like this, it is the selection that has a huge impact on the book. It needs a balance of women from past and present, covering the period of interest and the breadth of focus. I felt that the book was too heavily weighted to the present, with what felt like the final 1/3 of the book being living politicians. While I'm sure that the ladies featured will prove to be influential, it is surely too early to discuss their legacy, especially where that may well not be entirely positive in some cases.
The first half worked for me, there were a mix of women, some of whom I had not heard of, and they had a variety of roles in society. The second felt too politically skewed, although it did make a valiant effort to deal with Mrs Thatcher which I admired for capturing the difficulty of her legacy. The section dealing with those who are unknown, but have been role models in a private manner were also taken into account, which I thought was a very good touch.
Should you read this? Yes. Will it be all you read on the subject? No, but it does give you a jumping off point. Was I blown away? No, does that make it any less valuable, no, I think not. Read it. Make sure the young women in your lives read it too.… (mer)