by Lisa Taddeo
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English
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Simon & Schuster Audio
Kindle
$13.99
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$10.58
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$17.71
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Number one New York Times best seller Number one Sunday Times best seller Number one Indie Next pick Named a Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post NPR The Atlantic New York Public Library Vanity Fair PBS Time Economist Entertainment Weekly Financial Times Shelf Awareness Guardian Sunday Times BBC Esquire Good Housekeeping Elle Real Simple And more than 20 additional outlets “Staggeringly intimate...Taddeo spent eight years reporting this groundbreaking book.” ( Entertainment Weekly ) “A breathtaking and important book.... What a fine thing it is to be enthralled by another writer’s sentences. To be stunned by her intellect and heart.” (Cheryl Strayed) “Extraordinary....
This is a nonfiction literary masterpiece.... I can't remember the last time a book affected me as profoundly as Three Women .” (Elizabeth Gilbert) “A revolutionary look at women's desire, this feat of journalism reveals three women who are carnal, brave, and beautifully flawed.” ( People , Book of the Week) A riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women, based on nearly a decade of reporting. Lina, a young mother in suburban Indiana whose marriage has lost its passion, reconnects with an old flame through social media and embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming.
Maggie, a 17-year-old high school student in North Dakota, allegedly engages in a relationship with her married English teacher; the ensuing criminal trial turns their quiet community upside down. Sloane, a successful restaurant owner in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women. Hailed as “a dazzling achievement” ( Los Angeles Times ) and “a riveting page-turner that explores desire, heartbreak, and infatuation in all its messy, complicated nuance” ( The Washington Post ), Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women has captivated audiences, booksellers, and critics - and topped best seller lists - worldwide.
Based on eight years of immersive research, it is “an astonishing work of literary reportage” ( The Atlantic ) that introduces us to three unforgettable women - and one remarkable writer - whose experiences remind us that we are not alone.
In "Three Women," Lisa Taddeo takes readers on an emotional journey through the lives of Sloane, Lina, and Maggie. Through her immersive storytelling, Taddeo presents an unflinchingly honest depiction of personal desires, societal expectations, and the quest for fulfillment. Capturing the raw essence of human emotion, this nonfiction narrative sheds light on the intricacies of female longing, weaving together the complexities of life, love, and vulnerability amidst societal constraints.
The book explores the intimate intricate desires experienced by diverse women. It delves into how societal norms influence personal relationships and choices. The narrative underscores the complex intersections of vulnerability power and identity.
Three Women is a meticulous exploration into the lives of three distinct women offering an intimate look at their desires and emotional struggles. Through a journalist's lens Lisa Taddeo captures the essence of women's secret lives revealing realities often hidden from the public eye. This profound work delves into the lives of Lina a housewife yearning for a passionate escape Sloane a successful restaurateur with an enigmatic marriage and Maggie a young woman entangled in a controversial relationship.
Each narrative unravels the personal and societal complexities they face. The book provides a window into the myriad ways women grapple with love longing and self-worth weaving a narrative tapestry rich with emotional depth. Taddeo's immersive writing style brings authenticity to her subjects making their stories deeply relatable.
Ultimately Three Women reflects on overarching themes of desire and empowerment meticulously portraying the inner lives of women who navigate a society that often attempts to suppress their voices. Taddeo's work invites readers to engage with the raw experiences and hidden emotions of ordinary lives.
Lisa Taddeo's writing possesses a unique blend of journalistic precision and storytelling intimacy allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in the complexities of her subjects' lives The book offers a fresh perspective by diving into the emotional landscapes of its subjects capturing moments often ignored or misunderstood in mainstream narratives about women's experiences By focusing intensely on the personal Three Women elevates the importance of individual stories making them universal touchstones for anyone who has ever experienced the nuanced dance between desire and restraint.
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Based on 18990 ratings
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.