Book Review: Katie, Bar the Door

Katie, Bar the Door. Ruth Hull Chatlien, Amika Press, September 22, 2021, Paperback and eBook, 466 pages.

Review by Kelly Fumiko Weiss.

Katie, Bar the Door is a novel written by Ruth Hull Chatlien that follows the life of Katie Thompson and how her formative years impact her life's choices. After her father's death, Katie never lets herself grieve and internalizes the messages of her Baptist mother in ways that twist and distort who she was meant to be. The book is a journey to see how she hits rock bottom and then pulls herself up again, all while untangling the web of judgment she's told herself and has been told by others. Katie, Bar the Door does not shy away from any topic—whether it be disparate Christian viewpoints, sex crimes, and sexual identity, the role of women in relationships and marriage, or the bonds between parents and children. 

Some parts of this book are genuinely emotionally difficult to read. In extreme cases, the sexual exploitation can be jarring and triggering. But in most cases, it hurts to watch as Katie pushes away any good that she comes across because she cannot see the good in herself.

I will admit, the summary on the book jacket affected my reading of the book. It was so specific that I kept thinking about it as I was reading instead of letting myself really settle into what was a compelling, well-written, and emotionally honest journey. I appreciated that this book was not 100% anti-Christian or anti-religion. The layers of faith woven into the different characters became really flushed out, especially toward the end. I also appreciated how the author contextualized the prose more than the "disastrous choices about men" the jacket cover alluded to. Chatlien did a lovely job of not victim-blaming, diving deeply into the motivations behind the characters and the healing journey Katie ultimately embarks upon.

While the book tackles a wide range of difficult topics, it was quick to read and flowed at an easy pace. It was a fast 466 pages and had a satisfying ending. The full circle of love, loss, and forgiveness left me with a great deal of hope and heart-swell; after everything Katie endured, it could have just as easily been a cynical tale of repression. I truly appreciated the kindness of the last few chapters especially. 

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves family-driven fiction. However, I will say that some of the themes may be triggering. This book is not for the faint of heart. It will make you look inside yourself and ask some tough questions of the readers, how you may judge others, and your own capacity for healing and forgiveness. One can only hope that we can and will be as strong as Katie when truly difficult situations arise and that we will have the support she ultimately finds to help guide us through.

Book Review: The Ring

The Ring. Florence Osmund, Self-published, 2021, Paperback and E-Book, 323 pages.

Review by Kelly Fumiko Weiss.

The Ring is a novel written by Florence Osmund. It explores the very complicated relationships of Paige and Jessivel, two strangers who seemingly have nothing in common. The story unfolds as the perspective jumps back and forth between Paige, a very well-off, caring, hardworking person, and Jessivel, a poor, struggling, stubborn person. You wonder how their worlds will ever come together, and the answer is partly through circumstance and partly through sheer determination (mostly on Paige’s part). Through these events, these two women’s lives become intricately and forever tangled.

While the drama of what is happening in their lives propels the story forward, it is Paige’s strength and influence that grounds the story, and it is Jessivel’s personal growth that fulfills it. It is truly rewarding to see these two navigate situations that are completely foreign, life-changing, and altogether difficult for them, and knowing that they ultimately become the better for it. However, I had to ask myself things like, how much more can Paige possibly handle? Is she even human? How does she keep going? Interesting to note, Jessivel has it much worse off. But because Paige is the anchor for so many people—her mother, her other family members, her staff—it seems the weight is on her.

At the end of the book, Kayla, Jessivel’s daughter, asks a question that sums up what this book is about. She asks, “When did you become an adult, Mom?” It’s a great question for a child to ask, but I think it’s also one that adults ask themselves all the time. When does that happen? When does it sink in that you are in charge? And when do you learn that to succeed in life you need other people? In many ways, that’s the journey that most of the characters in this book are on, and thankfully those journeys come to very satisfying conclusions.

Without giving away all the family details of this book, I sense that The Ring is also about all the different ways we can relate to each other. What do those relationships mean? How do they shape us? How do our personal narratives define who we are and how we act? And how do we come to terms with putting those thoughts up to a mirror for who we want to be?

I enjoyed reading The Ring. It was fast-paced, complicated, filled with characters who all had very different vibes and hurdles to overcome. I loved the way the storylines intertwined, and I felt emotionally invested in their journeys. I wouldn’t mind if Osmund wrote another story about this family. Many more characters were referenced than we have yet to meet. I’d love to see how they all fold into the world Paige and Jessivel created for each other.

Book Review: Truth and Other Lies

Truth and Other Lies. Maggie Smith, Ten 16 Press, an imprint of Orange Hat Publishing, March 8 2022, Paperback and E-Book, 356 pages.

Review by Lisa Sherman.

Maggie Smith intertwines ambition, friendship, and family with the power of secrets and social media in her new novel Truth and Other Lies.

Truth and Other Lies tells the story of New York Journalist Megan Barnes. She loses her job, gets dumped by her boyfriend, and returns to her childhood home of Chicago where her overbearing mother is running for Congress. Not only does Megan disagree politically with her mother, she also finds that, as the child of a candidate, no news agency will hire her.

To let off steam, Megan attends a rally on a college campus where she protects Jocelyn Jones, a successful journalist Megan admires, from a physical confrontation. Grateful for Megan’s assistance, Jocelyn offers Megan the chance to work for her in PR to help promote Jocelyn’s upcoming book. Even though the job is not in journalism, Megan accepts the position because it promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will open doors for Megan in the future. When a tweet threatens Jocelyn’s career, Megan is tasked with finding out who is behind it. However, in the process she discovers things are not always what they seem, both with respect to Jocelyn or her own mother, and that secrets don’t remain secrets forever.

I very much enjoyed reading Truth and Other Lies by Maggie Smith. I was instantly pulled into the novel by the relatability of the main character, Megan, and her journey. Smith gradually peels back the layers of the story, revealing one secret after another, which kept me turning the pages as I tried to piece together the clues along with Megan.

In addition, I appreciated the depth of Smith’s characters. Smith’s characters have complicated histories that overlap and interweave as they navigate the complex worlds of politics, journalism, and social media. Smith does a masterful job exploring the interplay between these issues with wit and compassion all through the lens of a strong female protagonist. Smith’s descriptions of newsrooms, political rallies, and PR campaigns pop off the page and ring true.

Similarly, Smith does a wonderful job exploring the relationships between the female characters. Smith makes each of Megan’s relationships—with her best friend, her mother, and Jocelyn—unique and nuanced, showing readers what Megan learns from each.

I also really enjoyed Smith’s references to the city of Chicago and the outlying suburbs. Smith’s descriptions are spot on, and I felt as if I were exploring the various locations by Megan’s side.

Overall, I think Truth and Other Lies by Maggie Smith is an excellent book, and I am grateful I had the opportunity to read it. It is a quick read that is as entertaining as it is thoughtful. Fans of women’s fiction and anyone who is looking for a fun story with heart will enjoy this novel.  

Book Review: The Sweetness of Venus: A History of the Clitoris

The Sweetness of Venus: A History of the Clitoris. Sarah Chadwick, Wild Pansy Press, February 14 2021, Paperback and E-Book, 253 pages.

Review by Julie S. Halpern.

Women’s health, particularly gynecology and female sexuality, has been the domain of male doctors and scientists throughout history. From ancient physicians and scholars such as Galen (whose theories were regarded as the gold standard for over a thousand years!) to Freud, women’s bodies have been diminished, feared, and pathologized.

The clitoris may be the least understood and most maligned organ in the human body. Missing or poorly represented in most paintings, sculptures, and medical illustrations of women throughout the centuries, Sarah Chadwick asserts that the clitoris deserves respect and understanding. It needs to be seen as its unique and very important self rather than an inferior, inverted, or lesser version of the male penis.

Ms. Chadwick, a British-born educator now living in Chicago, was frustrated with the lack of realistic sex education material for her young daughter. In response, Chadwick has written an extensively researched book, balancing the false narratives of entrenched male attitudes with lighthearted humor. Refreshingly free of feminist buzzwords and political posturing, Ms. Chadwick’s warmth and light touch reveal her dedication to women’s freedom and enjoyment of their bodies. Drawing on primary medical sources and illustrations (ranging from the ridiculously laughable to the disturbingly graphic), Chadwick details various tortuous remedies and cures for real or imagined maladies ranging from hydrotherapy to actual genital mutilation.

Throughout the years, literature of all types offers cautionary tales of the “trouble” a sexually aroused woman can create. Emma Bovary, Anna Karenina, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Hester Prynne, and countless other heroines of the Romantic and Victorian eras exemplify the societal fears of the times. Soon to follow were scientific “discoveries” fabricated by male doctors, claiming that female sexual need or pleasure was in fact a serious mental disease, referred to as “hysteria,” a term still frequently used to describe a woman suffering from stress or trauma.

In the most delightfully scathing portion of the book, Ms. Chadwick channels and “interviews” several iconic and notorious female authors by inviting them to tea. Aphra Behn, Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot, George Sand, and even Jane Austen gleefully weigh in with their views of unbridled sexual enjoyment, set against the hypocrisy, paranoia, and often total cluelessness of their eras.

In the mid-twentieth century, researchers such as Alfred Kinsey, William Masters, Virginia Johnson, and Shere Hite and creators such as Georgia O’Keeffe and the Guerrilla Girls finally crack through centuries of ignorance and misunderstanding. The female body, particularly the clitoris, has at last come into her own. But even today, myths and fear, sometimes masquerading as religious doctrine, flourish, with the intent to subdue and frighten women. From masturbation to pornography, the still male-dominated scientific community is begrudgingly coming to accept the necessity for women to understand their bodies and embrace their sexuality.

Sarah Chadwick, an articulate and compassionate spokeswoman for a new generation of women, is to be commended for her exceptional research, kindness, and candor. May The Sweetness of Venus mark the beginning of a healthy (and hysteria-free) era for women.