The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage

Rating:
Summary: Bitch and whine
Review: All these essays are fairly interchangeable. All the women seem to be white professionals, all left-leaning academics/writers griping about their complicated lives. There's a sameness to all their narratives; even the one by Ellen Gilchrist, a writer I admire, is suprisingly flat. No humor, no variety, no lightness of touch anywhere--just the self-absorbed ruminations of spoiled, earnest women who've bought the line that they can,and deserve, to have it all.

Rating:
Summary: An honest, provocative book.
Review: An frank and sometimes amusing look at modern woman and her efforts to cope with work, relationships and motherhood. These women write with extreme honesty and no bitterness.

The world has changed dramatically from the Victorian "Angel in the House" that Virginia Woolf railed against. And the fifties version of the same epitomized by June Cleaver. But all is not nirvana in the new world and the 24 essayist in this book address these issues in thought-provoking prose. All are involved in some form of endeavor in the written world and all can express themselves extremely well in that medium.

No matter the age or the stage the reader is, these essays resonate. My child rearing days are past but the book brought so many of the issues of those years tumbling back into my memory. Even in these days of so-called equality, it is difficult to manage the demands of career, relationships and children. The women in this book have the advantage for the most part to be able to afford some form of support and/or help. It is daunting to consider how it is for the less educated, well-paid mother who must work for a living (often at low wages) and still face the same challenges.

Witty and thought provoking.




Rating:
Summary: You feel less alone when you read this book
Review: How you feel about this book depends on how old you are. I am 53 years old, long married with kids, and I felt that the mostly young women who wrote these essays were overanalyzing and protesting a bit too much. In the end, you just have to grab life and live it! Sadly, I realize that I am supposedly "out of the loop" and that the audience for this book is young women. However, I did enjoy the sense of community this book offers: you feel less alone when you read the intimate thoughts of other women, grappling with issues you may be dealing with. Another thing that bothered me was that most of the contributors are writers. This almost guarantees an over zealous examination of every nuance of feeling. I think young women would benefit from the perspective of older women, from every walk of life, who have lived through what they are living now. I have experienced many of the supposed inequities in the dating, marrying, conceiving, birthing, child care, career and housework issues in my life, but I truly believe that that's the way men and women are wired and nothing will change it. I have not regretted one ounce of effort and sacrifice I have put into raising my children and keeping my home. Au contraire, it has enriched my life beyond compare and I feel graced for all I have endured.

Rating:
Summary: Right on target!
Review: This collection of essays by extremely articulate and thoughtful women hits so many nails on the head they could have built a house by the end! Many express their anger with their partners, whom they see as not contributing enough. Some explore the frustrations and joys of motherhood. Others just explain feelings that have little to do with pairing up. But then they explore the source of their anger, frustration, and loneliness, and see that they must often look within. We hear about the frustration of trying to live the feminist ideal, and how some women consider just scrapping it. I don't have children, but I could relate personally to many of the essays, and certainly gained understanding from those by women whose experience was not like mine.

One criticism of the book is that the authors are just a bunch of whining by women who have it much better than most. That may be true, but this bunch of women sure does lay everything bare. And in so doing, maybe they help the rest of us understand ourselves a little better.

I think that after reading this book, you should pick up the male response, "The Bastard on the Couch." I'll be reviewing that in a minute.

Rating:
Summary: Funny, Articulate, Relatable
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book in its entirety--I read it cover to cover in about 3 hours. As the title states, the essays cover a variety of topics relevant to women, such as marriage, relationships, children, work, self-discovery, as well as exploring the ambivalence and/or anger felt in relation to life experiences and social expectations. The authors are all extremely gifted and the book as a whole has funny, sad, poignant and completely relatable moments--moments in which a specific, often previously unspoken or never-before-admitted, feeling is so accurately articulated that it's a bit unsettling to read it in print. A "conclusion" is never drawn, an "agenda" is not present.... It is simply a celebration of individual women's personal truths and an acceptance of the many different paths women choose for themselves. I truly believe that anyone who reads this will be able to identify with at least one of these viewpoints, though certainly not all, which is really an integral part of its value. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book - Brilliant - But Stupid and Sad as Well
Review: This is the tale of the modern woman. She doesn't need a man, she has a baby on her own, has sex with anyone she wants - male or female, discovers herself. The modern woman embraced the feminist movement and has the current day nightmare of non committal men, broken homes, juvenile delinquency, unhappiness and being alone, particularly after 'pretty' wears off post-40. This book embraces but also insults it all, depending upon how you read it. A real eye opener. Foolish girls - hear it in their own words...!!!

Rating:
Summary: Explains the high single and divorce rate
Review: with their difficulty finding love. The very high standards and expectations of these successful professional women, insisting on a relation with someone as successful and professional as themselves. Most are enamoured with the traditional idea of marriage, even though they are not at all the traditional woman. Could this be the root of the problem in their love lives?

Unlike most men, who have no problem loving and supporting a dutiful non-professional woman or housewife, as the roles are defined by tradition (unequal relationship), the women in this book have nothing but disdain for the reverse idea financially supporting and committing to a man only for the benefit of emotional comfort.

Here is where their disconnect lies. These women have traditional, high expectations of a man's role, when they themselves are not the traditional woman, and will not accept the standards and compromises that a traditional woman is expected to make in a relationship.

I found most of the essays self-indulgent and shallow. But I think this is how many "liberated" women actually think of relationships and dating. So it is a good read/listen to men who are mystified by want to understand American women.

Rating:
Summary: some good stories amoung these
Review: I am a single girl who is 24 and live with my boyfriend. I was initially attracted to this book because I started reading the stories about single woman, and i thought they were cute and interesting. As I have many of the same issues they did. As I dove deeper into the book, I realized it was only ok and I couldn't really identify with some of the women who were older and had kids. However I still thought it was interesting to see how different upper middle class view the world. Everyone has their own problems.

Rating:
Summary: excuse me when i explode
Review: It's a good topic talking about parentalship.

Rating:
Summary: Half of the women I've married are portrayed...
Review: This is an excellent book for women who seem to have "good quality" (if that means money)lives but lack the one thing that makes them happy; whatever that is. It is within the struggle to find that one thing that makes this book unique. The essays each woman brings are intriguing and their views sometimes outragiously humorous, albeit narrowly approached. I do like this book and would recomend it to any man that had the chance to read it. Other relationship based / womans books to read would be "Drivetime; Finding a way home" and "He's Just not that in to You."