I couldn't put it down. I was particularly enraged for Maggie. I can't believe they allowed him to get off scott free!

This book was moving, and beautiful, and powerful and extremely well-written. It is decidedly about female sexual desire and I don't want to take that away from it. But it's also about female desire in general--a desire for happiness and met dreams and goals. A desire that keeps us all going each morning when we wake up and things aren't already exactly as we wish them to be. Taddeo writes, "It felt as though, with desire, nobody wanted anyone else, particularly a woman, to feel it." These are three women, like many of us, who have been given many opportunities to hate ourselves, give up, or be what life tells us to be even if that's not what we want. And in many ways these women have shirked those expectations. And at times these women have settled and let themselves be lost, like many of us. Sloane feels seen by her husband in a way she was never seen by her family or many of her friends or social-climbing circle. She is desired by him and she wholly desires him and to fulfill his desire for her completely, whatever that entails. Sometimes that lifestyle means she feels farther away from her true identity, and sometimes it feels as much a part of her as it is a part of her husband. She is burnt-out from trying to be perfect for herself and others and yet feels pride in her personality, figure, and accomplishments. Maggie is a child when she has her first relationship with an adult male and she is still a child when she has her second, with her teacher. A man who knows the intimacies of her secrets so well by the time he preys on her that he crafts himself to be her perfect fantasy and uses that power to continually string her up and cut her down. Then as a young woman she finds the strength to stand up for not only herself, but for any future girl who may be at risk from her former teacher. Even without winning her court case, even without justice being served to her personally, she put this man, her abuser, in such a spotlight that he is unlikely to have the opportunity to get that close to another child. Lina is told repeatedly by herself, her peers, and her husband that she is not worthy. Her husband was a safe choice to marry, but even after years of companionship he can't stomach the thought of kissing her, let alone more. She embarks on an affair with a former lover who she knows doesn't treat her right, but at least fulfills the desire she's always had in her. The real strength is in her power to advocate for what she wants. To divorce her husband. To know she is worthy of sex and desire. This woman leaves us confident her story is not over and she'll keep trying to find true fulfillment. The story is not inspiring because the women are perfect, it's inspiring because they're trying to leave their lives in a better place than when they entered them. A must-read that I will recommend to anyone.

I liked the book- it was a fast read. Not the top book of the year by any means. The writer is a really great user of words. She plants many descriptions so elegantly and you believe every word of it. The story was good but not blow me away good. So many things were left out — could’ve been elaborated on. And the ending was super disappointing. I gave 3 stars because the writing was so good. If someone spent 8 years with these three women— there could’ve been so much more. I like Maggie’s story the best. I felt she was the most interesting . The other two—-I couldn’t relate to that much.

I just finished reading Lisa Taddeo's Three Women. Rather depressing. Almost written in such a way as to warn women to stay clear of men altogether. I would have loved to read a book about Taddeo's mother. Now there was a fascinating woman! The women in Three Women were not representative of "women's desires" on a whole. These were not shocking or surprising stories, and the tales are as old as history. Or maybe I am. Or maybe I just lived through enough similar scenarios from all three stories. I am not without empathy for these three women, but Maggie should have moved across the country to start a new life. Sloane will be just fine - and who cares? And, Lina's story is so common as to be boring. In fact I started skipping paragraphs of Lina's story towards the end. But, what was great, was Taddeo's writing style. No question. In response to the reviews on the back of the jacket cover: Is it the handbook for today? No. Should all women read this so they can learn something or be shocked or find a lacking empathy? Entirely up to the reader, of course, but no. I would have rather seen these women find themselves and triumph over adversity, than to end this book thinking they're all still trudging along agonizing over their pasts. We do, sadly, agonize over our pasts, but how we live today is all that matters. My deepest, best wishes go out to these women. And, Lisa! Would love to learn about the woman your mother was - or even a fictional book about someone like her.

FULL REVIEW AT broodblog.com This book completely knocked me off my feet and took my breath away. It was the first time in a long time that a book captivated me both for the story, but also the writing. They were both thoroughly engrossing and punch to the gut good. Three Women is honestly and truly one of the best books I’ve read in my entire life and most certainly the best book I’ve read this year. There are rarely any books I would recommend you own a physical copy of, but this is one of them. It will forever be a book that I come back to time and time again. Overall, I found this book to be incredibly delicious. I savored every word. I loved how honest, raw, heart wrenching and relatable each of the characters were and how beautifully and honorably Taddeo wrote about them. While this books premise is on female desire, I also would add it’s more complex than that. It’s about the shame and guilt we feel for that desire. About how we clamor and beg and shape shift to embody that desire for not just our partners, but the outside world too. About the implications of rape, of corruption, of how harshly the world deals with victims of such things. About being mothers, daughters, wives, friends, and acquaintances but also dealing with our own shit. Ultimately it’s about being a woman, and how damn hard it is day in and day out, with or without sex.