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The Blondes (2012)

by Emily Schultz(Favorite Author)

3.28 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0385671059 (ISBN13: 9780385671057)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Doubleday Canada

review 1: This book was kind of unexpected for me. It was a lot more adult and literary than most things I've been reading lately. This book seemed to advertise itself as a cheesy science fiction about The Blonde Fury, a rabies-like disease affecting blonde women only and sparking a series of violent attacks by the infected. I honestly went into this novel expecting a zombie-apocalypse type read but was pleasantly surprised with the slow moving memoir fashion that it played out in. The Blondes focuses on Hazel Hayes' pregnancy throughout the pandemic of SHV or "the Blonde Fury." Her musings are an insightful commentary, mostly about women and image and the complex relationships that often exist between women (we've all had them - the weird "frenemy" types). Though much different tha... moren myself, and not particularly strong as a female character, I still found Hazel to be likeable and relatable and the narration style was eerily calm despite the novel's setting. I think this is what intrigued me and kept me reading. I know that the disease itself was not the focus of the novel, but I do wish the author had given us more details about the outbreak and allowed the reader to immerse his or herself deeper into the world she had created. However, overall it was a good read, a surprising page turner even.
review 2: This book has all the makings of a good feminist commentary: a pregnant protagonist who's writing a thesis on images of women in advertising, a plague that affects only blonde women, and an almost 100% female cast of characters. And yet, as far as I can see, it somehow fails to make any kind of deep statement about the treatment of women and their bodies in our society. Women are shunned and/or quarantined for appearing "hysterical," which you would think would be a ripe opportunity for satire, but actually in the context of the novel it's a fairly legitimate reaction so ... yeah. The story and characters are interesting enough and Schultz writes well enough to make it a decent (if quick) read, but skip it if you're looking for something meaningful. less

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