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341st out of 679 books
—
1,367 voters
Small Changes
by
Marge Piercy
Small Changes is the explosive novel of women struggling to make their places in a man's world. Set against the early days of the feminist movement, it tells of two women and the choices they must make.
Intelligent, sensual Miriam Berg trades her doctorate for marriage and security, only to find herself hungry for a life of her own but terrified of losing her husband Shy,...more
Intelligent, sensual Miriam Berg trades her doctorate for marriage and security, only to find herself hungry for a life of her own but terrified of losing her husband Shy,...more
Paperback, 562 pages
Published
1997
by Fawcett Columbine
(first published 1973)
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Almost ten years ago I discovered the author Marge Piercy when I read her novel He, She, and It. As I do with any author whose book I really, really love, I ran right out and bought every other book of hers I could get my hands on, including Small Changes, which the cover blurb promised showcased two women and the changes they make in their lives.
::: First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage :::
The first character we meet is Beth, a recent high school student who is apparently getting married to her...more
::: First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage :::
The first character we meet is Beth, a recent high school student who is apparently getting married to her...more
An epic 542 page tome that tells the respective stories of two women coming of age and finding themselves in the beginning and middle of the feminist movement Ugly duckling turned Jewish seductress Miriam torn between two men she loves equally, passionately, and differently. Timid Beth who marries the man she believes she loves and decides to escape the lie she's folded into. And happily the twain shall meet, and have adventures and friendship in Boston, discovering and re-discovering their selv...more
Meh. I got to know the characters--it was a long book--and felt at loose ends when it ended, but not for long. I'm not sure if this just wasn't one of Marge Piercy's more stellar books or if Marge Piercy is just not that stellar to me. To this end, I'll choose another one to read--some of her sentences were amazing and kept me coming back for more. Unfortunately, they were few and far between. Glad I checked this one out from the library.
I must have read this book when I was in college or not long after I graduated. Honestly, I remember just enough about it (after reading other reviews)to know that I read it, but not enough to remember how much I did or did not like it. I'm going to give it three stars and leave it at that.
When I read this in the early 70s, I thought it was one of the best depictions of 60s alternative life I'd read. I read the whole thing in a couple of days.
I actually returned this book to the library without finishing it. I got about halfway through. I had really liked Woman on the Edge of Time by the same author, but found this dragged. Lots of details about Beth and Miriam's love lives and yes, they are not accepting the traditional roles. But I really don't care about the details. Maybe it's me.
So horrifyingly bad, it almost made me want to renounce feminism--just awful!
Oct 05, 2009
Lauren
added it
I read this so long ago I can barely rmember it. Should I reread?
view all 3 comments
Jul 14, 2010
Linda Kennedy
added it
My second favorite.
This was a somewhat predictable yet somewhat unpredictable book because none of the women ended up precisely where I thought they would at the end of the story. A tale of the poor options offered to women sometimes and the poor choices they sometimes make but with the end result being that given the choices they haveto change things, they sometimes choose well and sometimes not. What I liked was that this really reflected the unpredicatability of it all very well.
I kept reading this book because the quality of the writing was good but the characters' constant nattering about relationships drove me crazy. It was interesting to see how their interactions changed over time, but I wasn't that engaged with most of the people to begin with. The novel felt like a giant math problem without resolution. Disappointing as I had heard good things about this book.
Wow- what a timeless novel about the challenges of being a woman. I felt as if I identified with each female character! Beautifully written!
I felt like I was sludging through this book the whole time. A lot of the dialogue seemed like words that didn't mean anything. Pretty much all the male characters are dicks. There were a lot of things that seemed outrageous to me, which made me realize how much I take for granted that feminism has done. I really wanted to like it more than I did.
This was the first Marge Piercy I read some 30 years ago and I was hooked. When I get excited by an author, I tend to read everything I can find by her until I'm sated and that's what I did with Piercy. I do have a couple of her books on my shelf that I haven't read, Vida being one of them. Her poetry rocks too.
powerful stuff...I read it about the same time as I read
John Sayles' 'Union Dues.' I thought the characters in this
novel maybe knew the characters in the other novel...
John Sayles' 'Union Dues.' I thought the characters in this
novel maybe knew the characters in the other novel...
My first Marge Piercy. Loved it, and loved that one of the women was a mathematician.
Must read.
Jun 16, 2013
Emily
marked it as to-read
Jun 12, 2013
Donna Melton
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Jun 05, 2013
Carolyn
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May 31, 2013
Chris
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May 24, 2013
Pink
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