sphinx reviewed on 12/16/2015 + 97 more book reviews

I found this to be an engrossing, if not particularly deep, read. The author's skill at storytelling is finely honed, and I was invested in the fate of the various characters right to the end.

This is a story about a handful of women who are in various types of relationships with parasitic men - as self-sacrificing, blind-eye-turning wives of philanderers, as starstruck, vulnerable fans of predatory, opportunistic pop stars, as deeply insecure, approval-seeking social butterflies who screw over other women to gain men's all-too-brief sexual attention and approval, as unwitting f*ck-buddies whose hearts are broken when the truth of their "partner's" lack of caring is revealed, as victims of a world that blames women for men's misdeeds. And so on.

I was wondering through the story whether the obvious point would be brought up, and it was, ever-so-briefly, in the title character's column, towards the end of the book: the only thing that could help all these women to have better self-esteem, and therefore, better relationships with men is feminism.

The author didn't really go far enough with this point, but at least she mentioned it, something that far too many people are ignorant of.

Even without an awareness of this meaningful undercurrent in the story, the book will entertain at a more superficial level, with its addictive twists and turns.

The art is sensitively done and a pleasure to look at, and the book borders between true graphic novel and illustrated book, containing large paragraphs of text, as would be found in a standard text-based book.

Four stars.

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