Discussing the book... Spoilers

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skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
No problem! Yeah, I totally agree with you. And something I’m not enjoying is the really predictable, tired gender stereotypes. For a ‘progressive’ novel (see the dedication to Sandra Bland, the Mitch McConnell quote, etc.) exploring humanity and the way the two genders interact, it sure clings pretty hard to gender stereotypes straight out of old TV sitcoms.

I love Steve’s writing. I love Owen’s writing. But this novel is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. These two can spin a yarn—I want to keep reading and see where it goes—but the politics is getting in the way of the story. And that’s coming from someone who, largely, agrees with the Kings politically.
Couldn't have said it better myself. It was a great story when they forgot to shove cliche'd stereotypes and ABC (simplistic) politics into the mix. And the end? REALLY not a fan. It's still men making the decisions, or women making their choices around men. Bleh. I liked Mr. King's bits quite a lot (pretty easy to pick out)--those are when the engine driving the machine work well. Things slow down when the tired, privileged-liberalism tropes are trotted out. Neither people or situations are as easy as "Woman good. Man bad."
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Impossible. Politics and its repercussions always affect the world. How on earth can you build a character with depth unless s/he has some kind of opinion? If a story is set in the real world, there is no avoiding it. Considering how women are seen by a great many male politicians and how this book deals with women, it is pertinent.
I agree. Politics is part of life. In this novel, though, I found the political POV simplistic and very 'trope-ish'. I could care less about the Trump jabs--a famous person is ripe for the picking no matter what party. It's the take on sexual politics that bothered me. Very paternalistic and stereotype liberal. It felt squicky to me.
 

lowman

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2015
438
2,154
50
Finished the book today.enjoyed it very much.wasn't sure of it at first with so many characters to keep up with but it was good.well done.even liked the ending. I would recommend this one to a by one who hasn't read it yet
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
I struggled, struggled, struggled with this one, which is something I rarely do with SK stories. Literally took me 8 months to finish because I couldn't stay engaged long enough to read more than 5 or 10 pages at a clip. Then I wouldn't pick up the book again for weeks. I basically forced myself to read the last 200 pages this week so I could finish it. It is an interesting concept and I liked the character of Eve, but nothing else in the story really grabbed me and made me want to read it at big clips.

Not really sure why I couldn't get into it but it seemed like it dragged along for a good part of the book. It's not a bad book but I was relieved when it was done and I didn't have to feel like a bad SK fan for not finishing it after such a long time.
 

Baby Blue

Resident Wise Ass
Aug 16, 2017
874
6,937
Seattle, WA
I struggled, struggled, struggled with this one, which is something I rarely do with SK stories. Literally took me 6 months to finish because I couldn't stay engaged long enough to read more than 5 or 10 pages at a clip. Then I wouldn't pick up the book again for weeks. I basically forced myself to read the last 200 pages this week so I could finish it. It is an interesting concept and I liked the character of Eve, but nothing else in the story really grabbed me and made me want to read it at big clips.

Not really sure why I couldn't get into it but it seemed like it dragged along for a good part of the book. It's not a bad book but I was relieved when it was done and I didn't have to feel like a bad SK fan for not finishing it after such a long time.
You are not alone.
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I struggled, struggled, struggled with this one, which is something I rarely do with SK stories. Literally took me 8 months to finish because I couldn't stay engaged long enough to read more than 5 or 10 pages at a clip. Then I wouldn't pick up the book again for weeks. I basically forced myself to read the last 200 pages this week so I could finish it. It is an interesting concept and I liked the character of Eve, but nothing else in the story really grabbed me and made me want to read it at big clips.

Not really sure why I couldn't get into it but it seemed like it dragged along for a good part of the book. It's not a bad book but I was relieved when it was done and I didn't have to feel like a bad SK fan for not finishing it after such a long time.
You are not alone.
I must admit that it's hard for me to continue reading this one as well - first time that has ever happened. Lisey's Story was tricky at first but eventually I did get into it. (Was hoping it would be the same with this one, but so far that hasn't happened).
 

rockerchick

Bella Donna
Aug 21, 2009
356
1,497
What I liked best about Sleeping Beauties is that they mentioned my favorite novel, Atonement. My older sister and I both trained as nurses. There was also a girl named Cecilia in high school who stole my potential BF. Like Briony, I also had submissions rejected, but I learned from it and didn't let it stop me from writing.
 

urrutiap

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2009
324
1,017
I just finished reading the last 100 pages and Sleeping Beauties is decent.Not the best book ever but a good book by papa Stephen and Owen. Evie sort of reminded me of the bad guy character from Storm of the Century and whatever else. the battle of the sexes such as the women in the prison some of them being anti men got a bit annoying at times.
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
I just finished reading the last 100 pages and Sleeping Beauties is decent.Not the best book ever but a good book by papa Stephen and Owen. Evie sort of reminded me of the bad guy character from Storm of the Century and whatever else. the battle of the sexes such as the women in the prison some of them being anti men got a bit annoying at times.
Yeah, the battle of the sexes got to be a bit boring after a while. I felt it was a decent story, but not the best.
 

urrutiap

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2009
324
1,017
I got a little confused in the middle and at the end of the book. Was Molly or Mary the young gal who had a thing for Jared?
 
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Reactor

Well-Known Member
Aug 10, 2009
80
49
Szirmabesenyo, Hungary
Since I've finished the book, a question wuz buggin' me: could Evie Black's plan work? Could women rebuild society an' create a civilized world on their own, wit' their bodies still stuck in the world left behind?
The answer is a definite "no", an' I can tell you, why.

- First of all, Our Place wuz BARELY suitable for life. As I wrote before, there wuz a reason why Our Place was so desolated and ruined: without men, who maintain man-jobs, civilization will fall apart. We're not talkin' 'bout luxury things here, like Internet...no, we're talkin' severe handicaps. Tiffany died, because there were no ambulance cars, no hospitals, no doctors, an' no medicines at all. Seein' the description how the women sustained their life in Our Place, it wuz clear that they went back to the caveman-lifestyle, hunting, collecting, scavanging. They had no choice - farming machinery was out of gear, just like fuel, there'z no way they could plant crops, spray them, harvest them to ensure fresh food for every day (including winter). Sure, they can collect handfuls of wild berries, or hunt down wild animalz, but needless to say, to a growing community - especially for a whole society - this would become insufficient after a while. Not to mention that these women came from a civilized world, where they could grab all nutrients from the food they purchase. Once they're sent back to the jungle, without modern food, malnutritional diseases would soon appear, an' kill off many women.

- Secondly, you might say that women could learn how to manufacture medicine, how to build factories & maintain them, and such, since we've already seen attempts in the book, and some of them was successful. But don't forget: the time at Our Place passes MUCH MUCH faster than in the real world, and the human brain cannot really learn new thingz faster. Which means, by the time they learn the necessary skills to refine fuel, build machinery, produce medicine, utilize plants and facilities for power and water, they'd be possibly dead. This is the second biggest problem, which makes Our Place unexceedingly hostile: the time limit!

- Thirdly, there are tons of jobs, which require men - I mentioned farming, but ore mining and such are also considered to be man-jobs. It's highly improbable that women would go down to toil in mines, spend long months above the Arctic Circle in unbearable cold to dig up oil, or build up facilities wit' nothing more than their two hands (cranes, excavators, pile drivers etc. are all out of order). Not even Robinson Crusoe wuz omnipotent enough for such job, and he wuz a man.

- And last, but not least, what Evie did was essentially a genocide, if she would succeed, human population of Earth would eventually die out, as she herself said. It is interesting how she sees herself & all women superior to men, yet, she planned to kill the entire population - sure, not wit' bombs an' weapons, but the result would be the same. So much for "men are violent and evil, and deserve to die out", she basically attempted to do the same, an' in this aspect, Evie is no better than evil and murderous men. Her claims are also very controversial, and reminds me of the dialogue of Sartorious and Aster Phoenix from Yugioh GX: Sartorious said that the Light is not evil at all, and the power of Light will make people forget about hatred, war, and need, so it'll create a peaceful society. What he didn't tell is that people will become brainless, emotionless drones. What he said wuz not about peace - it wuz about absolute power. And most likely, the scenario Evie planned would result in a very same world.
 
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