Love & Virtue

I genuinely don't know how i feel about this so i'm putting it half way at 2.45 stars. I liked the writing, the characters were clear in my head, and i liked the message but i do have some issues.

a book about life in a Sydney university was the first red flag for me to not read this. I love Sydney but hate uni students from there. Not all but most.

I just feel like things were never answered. I love an open ending or authors leaving stuff up to the readers imagination when it's done right. This book talks about sensitive topics so not closing up loose ends when it comes to those topics.. it left me wondering but in a bad way. I can't explain it but stuff like that should be answered. Leaving a book trying to wonder what happened with every issue in this book is just tiring.

Again, i liked the writing and the message but the story was a bit eh.

Power dynamics, class consciousness and privilege, social and intellectual coming of age, and consent. Crucially, this story is told not from the fierce inflexible position of a woman whose actions begin to destabilise the entrenched misogyny and entitlement of wealthy USYD colleges, but through Michaela's pragmatic, empathetic and nuanced lens. Hers is a voice that considers and balances all the social, political, and personal pressures she is under. It's a voice that, when not added to the pyre, is taken from her.

Reid's writing is searingly intelligent. Humorous and cutting in her insightful portrayals of the reductive feminism on display in these institutions:

Eve signed up to represent Fairfax in drama, with a piece promisingly titled: What Women Want. Self-proclaimed feminist content usually fared well with the judges, who were looking for ‘diverse voices' and, being former college residents themselves, usually looked no further than recent Sydney private school graduates.”

‘I was so disappointed in her when I found out.' This was not something Eve had expressed to me. I admired how expertly she was manipulating her disappointment—fashioning it into a personal joke, which I would spoil if I treated it seriously, much less defended myself.

* I acknowledge others' point that comparisons to Rooney here are reductive, but I feel she is the gold standard for many in this space. Blame Meg Mason for invoking her on the inside cover!