This Advance Reader Copy of the book is courtesy of NetGalley and the book’s publishers. I am not receiving any financial or additional benefit from either group for posting this review other than the opportunity to read this book before it’s released publicly.
FYI: Some book links may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you click through them and purchase an item. This has no influence on my book reviews and this disclaimer serves to comply with the FTC’s disclosure rules.
tl;dr Review:
A unique take on feminism, the party culture surrounding colleges, and the sexual assaults that take place on their campuses.
Full Review:
This fiction novel tackles everything from feminism and its inherent flaws, to sexual assualt, to the “frat bro” culture and more that take place across this country on every college campus. I related to every emotional and mental twist and turn that the book took because I’ve been there – I’ve been that feminist torn with the idea of what the line is and where it’s drawn in terms of sex.
Some of my best friends (including the man that introduced me to my husband) are fraternity brothers and I spent many a night crashed on one of their sofas.
Granted, this fraternity was known for its scholarly excellence and prided itself of only accepting true gentlemen while the fraternity in the book was pretty much the exact opposite. Still though, I know how the protagonist felt because I’ve been that “sister” to a house before. I’ve been that friend to guys who treated me like I was one of the brothers.
I also know the emotional, physical, and mental anguish caused by sexual assault, both personally and from hearing about it from friends. This review, and honestly this book as well, isn’t in any way trying to make light or downplay that issue.
I feel as though I can’t really describe this book accurately because it’s so nuanced and unique that I don’t want to say too much and give too much away.
Here’s how the publisher described it:
A smart, dark, and take-no-prisoners look at rape culture and the extremes to which ideology can go, The Red Word is a campus novel like no other. As her sophomore year begins, Karen enters into the back-to-school revelry—particularly at a fraternity called GBC. When she wakes up one morning on the lawn of Raghurst, a house of radical feminists, she gets a crash course in the state of feminist activism on campus.
GBC is notorious, she learns, nicknamed “Gang Bang Central” and a prominent contributor to a list of date rapists compiled by female students. Despite continuing to party there and dating one of the brothers, Karen is equally seduced by the intellectual stimulation and indomitable spirit of the Raghurst women, who surprise her by wanting her as a housemate and recruiting her into the upper-level class of a charismatic feminist mythology scholar they all adore.
As Karen finds herself caught between two increasingly polarized camps, ringleader housemate Dyann believes she has hit on the perfect way to expose and bring down the fraternity as a symbol of rape culture—but the war between the houses will exact a terrible price.
The nuances and side thoughts within this book are so well done that I am going to have to read it a second time to look at the story line with new eyes and take it in again now knowing how it ends.
The best I can say about the book is that it was nothing like I thought it would be and yet it was everything I could have hoped for.
That’s why I am giving it 5 out of 5 thumbs up.
