Friday, April 17, 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

This is a book review for Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. The scheduled publication date for this book is May 12, 2015.

Where women are created for the pleasure of men, beauty is the first duty of every girl. In Louise O'Neill's world of Only Every Yours women are no longer born naturally, girls (called "eves") are raised in Schools and trained in the arts of pleasing men until they come of age. Freida and Isabel are best friends. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year, they expect to be selected as companions--wives to powerful men. All they have to do is ensure they stay in the top ten beautiful girls in their year. The alternatives--life as a concubine, or a chastity (teaching endless generations of girls)--are too horrible to contemplate. But as the intensity of final year takes hold, the pressure to be perfect mounts. Isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty--her only asset--in peril. And then into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. Freida must fight for her future--even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known.

Wow, the world that Louise O'Neill creates puts even The Handmaid's Tale to shame. It was scary and creep and so disturbing. Freida lives in a world where women are appreciated for beauty and nothing else. These women are created in labs. They are then are raised in schools and taught how to please a man. They are raised to be either a companion or a concubine  A companion is the wife of a "Inheritant" and her only duty is to give birth to sons until the age of 40, at which point she has a "termination date" so her beauty is always preserved. A concubine lives with many other women and never has children, but is there solely for the sexual pleasure of men. The girls in the school all have eating disorders because they are told repeatedly that "fat woman must be obsolete." These girls are so mean to each other. They put each other down if they are too fat and they put each other down if they are too skinny  These women are told repeatedly that men didn't like women who cried, men didn't like women who were angry or showed emotion of any kind, men don't like women who are academic, etc.


I felt equal parts frustrated and sad for Frieda. She would make these decisions that would make me want to scream at her. But I could also relate to her. I don't live in the kind of world Frieda does (thank goodness) and yet, I think all the same ugly things about myself that Frieda does. It's sad. Towards the end, when she was striving so hard to become a companion I could feel her desperation so strongly. The ending left me just as frustrated as the entire book. It is not the kind of book that leads to a satisfying resolution, much like The Handmaid's Tale. But this is a book that you need to read. This book will stay with me for a very long time.

Here are a few quotes from the book: 

"I should leave, but just for a moment I want to stay in here. I want to hide, fold into the shadows and become invisible so no one can look at me anymore."

"I have a theory that she views her need for food as her only flaw."

"I massage my thighs violently, wanting to tear strips off them as I feel the skin dimpling underneath my fingers. The room is inky black and I am glad. I am glad. I don't want the others to see me, to see how wrong I am."

"I stare at myself in my mirrors, seeing how less beautiful I am in comparison, how less perfect, less, less, less I am."

Buy/Borrow/Skip: Buy!!!

15 comments :

  1. I LOVED this one and totally agree that it's a must read.

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  2. GAH YESYESYESYESYES!!! I am so glad you felt its impact! You are very right, it is NOT one of those books that is going to wrap up nicely, and leave you with some kind of great hope. But it will stay with you. I read it a LONG time ago, and it is still with me. Louise O'Neill is just amazing. AMAZING. Great review :)
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Thank you so much Shannon! I am so glad you agree! I actually read this a while ago too, but was waiting until closer to publication to publish my review. I am still feeling the impact!

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  3. I'm really keen to read this one now especially if it puts The Handmaiden's Tale to shame! Great review.

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    1. Oh yes Cleo, please do! The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favorite books, but this one is ALMOST as good. :)

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  4. I always find these novels to be a conundrum - and ironic - if I may add. It shows the worst kind of objectification and at the same time an underlying lesson on how the society continue to perceive women as sexual objects.

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    1. Very true Joy. Even though these are fictional worlds, I always find some grain of truth to them.

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  5. I am almost certain you had reviewed this book already! Perhaps this is a distinct sense of déjà vu? Ha ha!

    Still, I really really enjoy stories that flesh out societal ideals and structures, and this one looks like a good one! Great review :)

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    1. Bahahaha Claudia. I did do a post once talking about the first chapter and a teaser. Maybe that is what you are thinking of? I did read this a while ago, but was waiting until closer to the publication date to submit the review. It is a book that stays with you though.

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    2. That's what it was! A teaser! :D

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  6. Hmm, I have yet to read The Handmaid's Tale (must be the only blogger in the world who did not read it -- bouuuhoooho) but I will someday! And ditto for this one! Great review!

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    1. Lola, I just read The Handmaid's Tale for the first time last year. You should definitely read it!

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  7. I've heard amazing things about this book, but for some reason it wasn't really on my radar until I read this review. It sounds like a really powerful book, and I need to read it!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. Nicole, I hope you are able to get to it soon! It has actually been a while since I have read it but it has stayed with me. It is a must read.

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