"Marge Piercy is a raw, tough, willfull, magnificent novelist."
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Set against the early days of the mod... read full description
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
Set against the early days of the mod... read full description
reviews
May 20, 2011
Cyndy
rated it: 
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 ge More...
::: First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage :::
The first character we meet is Beth, a recent high school student who is apparently ge More...
Jun 13, 2010
Alexis
rated it: 
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...
Feb 04, 2012
Needleroozer
rated it:
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.
Oct 21, 2011
Sherri
rated it: 
The story of two women and their various friends trying to make sense of the world in the late '60's. The beginnngs of second wave feminism abound, as these women discover who they truly are in society. This book is still so relevant today.
Feb 26, 2011
Merry
rated it: 
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.
Mar 01, 2011
Patty
rated it: 
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.
Nov 26, 2011
Celeste
rated it:
So horrifyingly bad, it almost made me want to renounce feminism--just awful!
Mar 25, 2008
Dennis
rated it:
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.
Aug 30, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
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.
Apr 14, 2011
Monica
rated it:
Wow- what a timeless novel about the challenges of being a woman. I felt as if I identified with each female character! Beautifully written!
Sep 15, 2008
Shelley
rated it:
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.
Oct 05, 2008
Patricia
rated it:
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.
Sep 03, 2008
David
rated it:
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...
May 09, 2008
elisa
rated it:
seemed a realistic struggle with feminist ideals, which meant it was a bit disappointing because the women were alternately strong and weak. but that seemed true to life to me.
Dec 17, 2009
Emmi
rated it:
My first Marge Piercy. Loved it, and loved that one of the women was a mathematician.
Jan 26, 2012
Jan 23, 2012
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 18, 2012
