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Women Talking

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Women Talking

By: Miriam Toews
Narrated by: Matthew Edison
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About this listen

Between 2005 and 2009, in a remote religious Mennonite colony, over a hundred girls and women were knocked unconscious and raped, often repeatedly, by what many thought were ghosts or demons, as a punishment for their sins. As the women tentatively began to share the details of the attacks - waking up sore and bleeding and not understanding why - their stories were chalked up to 'wild female imagination.'

Women Talking is an imagined response to these real events. Eight women, all illiterate, without any knowledge of the world outside their colony and unable even to speak the language of the country they live in, meet secretly in a hayloft with the intention of making a decision about how to protect themselves and their daughters from future harm. They have two days to make a plan, while the men of the colony are away in the city attempting to raise enough money to bail out the rapists (not ghosts as it turns out but local men) and bring them home.

©2018 Miriam Toews (P)2018 Penguin Random House Canada Ltd Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Thriller & Suspense Fiction Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant
Not sure how to put it into words, just a few minutes after finishing it. An experience!

incredible experience.

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This is a moral/philosophical dilemma brought to life through dialogue and some narration but somehow is it alive, funny and utterly compelling. Feminist writing at its best, using the metaphor of a world strange to most to help us see our own struggles for freedom and safety.

I really, really rate this book in content and style

Masterful story telling

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I have listened to this book in a single day. It is beautifully imagined, and well narrated. The subject matter is truly awful (made much worse by knowing it’s inspired by true life events), yet the author managed to bring a real warmth and strength to the characters that offsets this, making it a thought provoking and rewarding listen.

Riveting

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Sarah Paulley’s crafts this story into one of the most beautiful films of 2022, drawing from the most poignant lines of this book, and captures the essence of each character. She has made a beautiful work of art, inspired by this book.

THE FILM IS A MUST-WATCH

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This is a profound and deeply moving story, made more so by being based in truth and spending its time examining truth.
It is also real, and funny in places. The characters and the interplay between them is disturbingly accurate!
I may have finished this book, but it’s so thought provoking that I know it’ll be a long time until it’s finished with me.

Talking and listening

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