Talking About Sex, Baby

When you were in school, did you ever have a time when you did an assignment, followed the instructions to the letter, and got like a B, even though you technically did nothing wrong? Maybe because the professor took off points for not going above and beyond or something like that? Yeah me neither. Definitely never happened. But that’s what this book is. It talks about what it says it’s going to talk about, but doesn’t give me that extra something needed to push it into ‘greatness’ territory, especially for a non-fiction piece.

Three Women is a book that follows, wildly enough, three women, and specifically follows their sex lives during a roughly 8 year gap. Lina, Sloane, and Maggie are each dealing with different things in their sex lives, but the general theme is that they’re not 100% happy with them. One is having an affair with their high school sweetheart, one is a self-proclaimed submissive who has sex with other men that her husband chooses, and another is dealing with the aftermath of a relationship with her teacher when she was in high school.

The writing itself is engaging and entertaining, and the subject matter is something that is new, honest, and worth reporting on. I was never bored reading it. It gives the reader the same interest one might get if they were hearing some hot gossip about one of their friends. You’ll almost always be interested if someone says, “did you hear what x did last night?” Lina and Sloane specifically fit this. You’re basically hearing their gossip in a more stylized package. Maggie’s story is more depressing and sad, but is still compelling, though not in the same way as Lina or Sloane.

The description calls it the “deepest nonfiction portrait of desire we’ve ever seen,” and, to be sure, this book is about desire. Sex is one of the prime drives of humanity, and, in some circles, the least talked about. So to pull back the curtain on these three women’s lives does prove that desire drives their lives too. And it’s a good thing it is being written about. The problem I have with this book is actually best described by another person who wrote a review on Goodreads that I agree with, so I will shamelessly quote them here: “[Taddeo] fails to build a compelling argument about what, collectively, these case studies really tell us about “female desire.” I found this book’s lack of a clear thesis profoundly frustrating, and, for what it’s worth, I’m not even convinced that “female desire” is the most interesting undercurrent in this book.” This reviewer goes on to mention themes like exploitation, manipulation, and disappointment as themes that are more prevalent than female desire.

That pretty much sums up my feeling on it. Without some argument about female desire, why it’s the connection between these stories, or what it means, or something, this book feels more like someone sharing some gossip than someone making a point that makes me think about female desire in some way other than “it exists.”

3/5 for me. Maybe 2.5/5

Sixers fans look away. This book is Markelle Fultz: had all the tools to be something great, but didn’t get there.

Read Claire’s review here.