Maybe the author included them as contrasting figures, evidence of a better world to come, but they muddy the story’s focus. Charming and wise, knowing and witty, Meg Wolitzer delivers a novel about power and influence, ego and loyalty, womanhood and ambition. Millennial Cory is at least more sensitive–more evolved–than baby boomer Emmet. On Greer Kadetsky’s first weekend at Ryland Collegea mediocre school she’s attending because her parents were too feckless to fill out Yale’s financial aid formshe gets groped at a frat party. Editions for The Female Persuasion: 1594488401 (Hardcover published in 2018), 0399573232 (Paperback published in 2019), (Kindle Edition published in 2018. Greer’s boyfriend Cory, whose career falls apart after a family tragedy, and Faith’s benefactor, the fabulously wealthy Emmet Shrader, who is reminiscent of former Steinem paramour Mort Zuckerman, don’t resonate like the women in the book. A decade in the life of a smart, earnest young woman trying to make her way in the world. The Female Persuasion: A Novel Paperback by Meg Wolitzer (Author) 5,982 ratings Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction See all formats and editions Kindle 11.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook 0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover 9.11 46 Used from 1.50 5 New from 5.99 2 Collectible from 12. As befits a work with female in the title, the male protagonists are secondary.

The novel rambles too much and has too many main characters. They offer welcome relief from the novel’s facile politics–eye-catching seashells on long stretches of deserted beach. Sharp observations about status anxiety, social pretensions and upper-middle-class sexual mores are Wolitzer specialities. The feminist paragon Faith has the furthest to fall, and she tumbles off her pedestal in two ways, embracing distasteful compromises and railing against her protégé when Greer calls her out for them. But her slacker-ish mother turns out to be reliable and wise when called upon. Greer seethes after her pothead parents don’t fill out her Yale financial-aid form correctly, thus consigning her to non-Ivy exile. In this era of call-outs and take-downs, Wolitzer reinforces a more old-fashioned concept: no one is perfect.

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer