Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo came out to what seemed like universal praise and as such, it was hard to get into the book with the right level of expectation. It was also marketed as the book on female sexuality, which is perhaps why it felt like such a disappointment. In reality, the book follows three women and their sex lives. And that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with that being the focus of the story, but if you come in expecting more, you will feel frustrated.

This is a work of nonfiction, though it’s easy to forget that as Taddeo tells these stories less as a journalist and more as a novelist. She spent eight years talking and interviewing the women featured, as well as their friends and families. In some cases, she even moved to the town and lived as a resident to get to know their lives better. What that does is make the stories feel very personal – like she was present when the events happened rather than someone who heard it second-hand. Some of the stories are quite powerful too – although they are quite different, there are some common underlying themes in all of them.

It is worth noting some of the criticism Three Women has received. Some reviewers have pointed to the disparity of power between author and subject, with some critics going as far as to say Taddeo exploited and replicated the women’s trauma for literary fame and monetary gain. Similarly, the retelling of these women’s experiences as “non-fiction as fiction” can be read as gratuitous and self-indulgent, a means to support her storyline. However, when we reflect on the reality of many women’s sexual experiences, they are indeed bleak, abusive and devoid of female pleasure. Thus, Taddeo might be correct in her portrayal of female sexuality but defining it by the experience of three women alone is inaccurate not only for women across the globe but also to these women whose stories she so “carefully” researched.

Ultimately, the reader should go into this book knowing that although the marketing of it would have you think that Three Women the defining book on female sexuality, it is actually an interesting collection of stories about different experiences of sexuality, and all that it represents for the three women involved.

★★★☆☆