Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

This powerful and thought provoking work is a product of eight years of journalistic endeavor into the desires and sexual narratives that shape women’s lives. This book is based on the experiences of three different women, Maggie, who is deeply in love with and seduced by her high school English teacher, Lina, a woman in a passionless marriage with a husband who won’t kiss her, fulfilling her needs through an intense affair, and Sloane, whose husband enjoys watching her have sex with other men. These women all come from very different backgrounds and experiences, but what makes them similar is that they have desires and are punished for acting upon them. 

One aspect of this book that I personally felt was very compelling was that it explored not only the ways in which men treat women, but also the treatment of women by other women, societies and communities and how this impacts upon their psychological scars and interacts with their abilities to realize their desires. Taddeo’s hope for the book’s effect is that it may lead others to “register the heat and sting of female want so that men and other women might more easily comprehend before they condemn”.

The stories of these three women are so enthralling that it reads like a fiction novel, leaving me awestruck when I carefully considered that the events I was reading had actually happened and affected real lives. Despite some quirky phrases and language, this is a beautifully written collective. It exposes wider narratives of sexual and gender inequality through the lens of raw and intimate accounts of female desire. I highly recommend this book; I couldn’t put it down, happy reading!

Reviewed by Emma

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