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The Wrong Kind of Woman
"A glorious debut filled with characters grasping to find a place to belong in a world on the edge of change." --Carol Rifka Brunt,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
"McCraw Crow deftly navigates the campus and national politics of the '70s in a way that remains timely and pressing today. A powerful, thought-provoking debut." --Amy Meyerson, Nationally bestselling author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays
A powerful exploration of what a woman can be when what she should be is no longer an option
In late 1970, Oliver Desmarais drops dead in his front yard while hanging Christmas lights. In the year that follows, his widow, Virginia, struggles to find her place on the campus of the elite New Hampshire men's college where Oliver was a professor. While Virginia had always shared her husband's prejudices against the four outspoken, never-married women on the faculty--dubbed the Gang of Four by their male counterparts--she now finds herself depending on them, even joining their work to bring the women's movement to Clarendon College.
Soon, though, reports of violent protests across the country reach this sleepy New England town, stirring tensions between the fraternal establishment of Clarendon and those calling for change. As authorities attempt to tamp down "radical elements," Virginia must decide whether she's willing to put herself and her family at risk for a cause that had never felt like her own.
Told through alternating perspectives, The Wrong Kind of Woman is an engrossing story about finding the strength to forge new paths, beautifully woven against the rapid changes of the early '70s.
"McCraw Crow deftly navigates the campus and national politics of the '70s in a way that remains timely and pressing today. A powerful, thought-provoking debut." --Amy Meyerson, Nationally bestselling author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays
A powerful exploration of what a woman can be when what she should be is no longer an option
In late 1970, Oliver Desmarais drops dead in his front yard while hanging Christmas lights. In the year that follows, his widow, Virginia, struggles to find her place on the campus of the elite New Hampshire men's college where Oliver was a professor. While Virginia had always shared her husband's prejudices against the four outspoken, never-married women on the faculty--dubbed the Gang of Four by their male counterparts--she now finds herself depending on them, even joining their work to bring the women's movement to Clarendon College.
Soon, though, reports of violent protests across the country reach this sleepy New England town, stirring tensions between the fraternal establishment of Clarendon and those calling for change. As authorities attempt to tamp down "radical elements," Virginia must decide whether she's willing to put herself and her family at risk for a cause that had never felt like her own.
Told through alternating perspectives, The Wrong Kind of Woman is an engrossing story about finding the strength to forge new paths, beautifully woven against the rapid changes of the early '70s.
313 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2020
69 people are currently reading
2897 people want to read
About the author
Sarah McCraw Crow
2 books123 followersSarah McCraw Crow is the author of the novel THE WRONG KIND OF WOMAN (MIRA Books/HarperCollins).
Sarah McCraw Crow grew up in Virginia but has lived most of her adult life in New Hampshire. When it comes to fiction writing (and reading), Sarah is obsessed with women's lives and the drama of family life. She also loves the Seventies.
Sarah's a graduate of Dartmouth College, Stanford University, and Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she lives with her family on an old farm in New Hampshire.
The Wrong Kind of Woman is her first novel. Find Sarah on Instagram: @sarahmccrawcrow https://www.instagram.com/sarahmccraw....
Sarah McCraw Crow grew up in Virginia but has lived most of her adult life in New Hampshire. When it comes to fiction writing (and reading), Sarah is obsessed with women's lives and the drama of family life. She also loves the Seventies.
Sarah's a graduate of Dartmouth College, Stanford University, and Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she lives with her family on an old farm in New Hampshire.
The Wrong Kind of Woman is her first novel. Find Sarah on Instagram: @sarahmccrawcrow https://www.instagram.com/sarahmccraw....
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
September 3, 2020
2.5 stars, rounded up
I was drawn to this story as I have a soft spot for the late 60s/early 70s and I was looking for a bit of a trip down memory lane. And parts did resonate, both good and bad - not just NOW and Our Bodies, Ourselves but the misogyny of professors and frat boys alike.
The book takes forever to get going. It begins when Oliver, a professor at a conservative New England college, drops dead of an aneurysm. While Oliver was alive, his wife, Virginia, seemed to live totally in her husband’s shadow, mirroring his opinions on everything and everyone. Sam, a student at the college, was a friend of Oliver’s. Both are lost souls, still looking for their own identity.
The writing was very disjointed with lots of flipping back and forth between the different characters. Virginia makes friends with the only four female professors at the college. She gets involved in the beginnings of the women’s movement on campus. Meanwhile, Sam discovers a nearby commune and is drawn to it. But both plot lines seemed shallow and I would have liked more deep thought from both of them. Virginia’s daughter, Rebecca, was the one character that resonated. Her grief over the loss of her father, coupled with her growing up in turbulent times, felt real.
And unfortunately, the writing wasn’t anything special. There was no beautiful phrasing to make up for the other shortcomings.
My thanks to netgalley and Harlequin for an advance copy of this book.
I was drawn to this story as I have a soft spot for the late 60s/early 70s and I was looking for a bit of a trip down memory lane. And parts did resonate, both good and bad - not just NOW and Our Bodies, Ourselves but the misogyny of professors and frat boys alike.
The book takes forever to get going. It begins when Oliver, a professor at a conservative New England college, drops dead of an aneurysm. While Oliver was alive, his wife, Virginia, seemed to live totally in her husband’s shadow, mirroring his opinions on everything and everyone. Sam, a student at the college, was a friend of Oliver’s. Both are lost souls, still looking for their own identity.
The writing was very disjointed with lots of flipping back and forth between the different characters. Virginia makes friends with the only four female professors at the college. She gets involved in the beginnings of the women’s movement on campus. Meanwhile, Sam discovers a nearby commune and is drawn to it. But both plot lines seemed shallow and I would have liked more deep thought from both of them. Virginia’s daughter, Rebecca, was the one character that resonated. Her grief over the loss of her father, coupled with her growing up in turbulent times, felt real.
And unfortunately, the writing wasn’t anything special. There was no beautiful phrasing to make up for the other shortcomings.
My thanks to netgalley and Harlequin for an advance copy of this book.
July 15, 2020
When Virginia Desmarais’ husband drops dead, catapulting her into widowhood and single motherhood, she finds solace and new purpose in an unexpected place: a group of four outspoken, unmarried women on the faculty at the college where her husband worked. Virginia’s husband had prejudices against these women, but now that she is getting to know them herself, she realizes that they have a lot to teach her about being a woman in the toxic patriarchy of the early 1970s. Although this book takes place almost half a century ago (OMG...), THE WRONG KIND OF WOMAN is still blisteringly relevant today. I love how Virginia’s character represents the tension between society’s expectations of women and a woman’s own growth and ambition. Sarah McCraw Crow’s storytelling is beautifully compelling—I devoured this book in just a couple days—and though Virginia is, of course, devastated by the loss of her husband, it’s so fascinating to see all the ways she’s able to open herself up to new experiences without his presence in her life. I enjoyed how this book is not just Virginia’s journey toward figuring out the kind of woman she wants to be, but it also chronicles her struggles to be a good mother to her daughter, who is also grieving and, at thirteen years old, undergoing some social changes of her own. There were so many passages in this novel that I wanted to highlight for how much they resonate with women’s experiences today. It’s sad that, fifty years later, women can still relate to the issues that Virginia and her friends face, but it’s also a powerful reminder that we must continue to fight for change. THE WRONG KIND OF WOMAN is out October 6—and it’s an empathetic, insightful, and thought-provoking novel that should definitely be on your TBR list.
November 15, 2020
Virginia Desmarais’ world is altered when her husband dies of a heart attack while stringing Christmas lights. It shocks Virginia and her daughter, Rebecca as they helplessly watch him collapsing on the front lawn. Virginia has devoted most of her life to raising her thirteen-year-old daughter while supporting her husband's career as a college professor. Virginia must embark on a new chapter in her life while she seeks employment to support her family. It is a tough transition since few worthwhile jobs are available to women in the 1970’s.
Virginia also becomes reacquainted with four women that were on the faculty with her husband at the college. This group was built on long-standing friendships and they include her into their social world. Virginia appreciates their friendships along with their philosophical ideas for a women’s movement at the college. At the same time, Rebecca is having difficulty accepting life without her father and how her mother is giving her less attention. Tensions in both the town and at the college begin to rise when protests for change build around the country.
The Wrong Kind Of Woman is a debut novel by Sarah McCraw Crow. This book is about a woman faced with unexpected change and trying to forge a new path for herself. This was a thought-provoking book and I look forward to future works from this author.
Virginia also becomes reacquainted with four women that were on the faculty with her husband at the college. This group was built on long-standing friendships and they include her into their social world. Virginia appreciates their friendships along with their philosophical ideas for a women’s movement at the college. At the same time, Rebecca is having difficulty accepting life without her father and how her mother is giving her less attention. Tensions in both the town and at the college begin to rise when protests for change build around the country.
The Wrong Kind Of Woman is a debut novel by Sarah McCraw Crow. This book is about a woman faced with unexpected change and trying to forge a new path for herself. This was a thought-provoking book and I look forward to future works from this author.
June 19, 2020
This book is beautifully written. The differing viewpoints helped the reader see how the events, choices, and reactions of the book impacted each character. As a woman, I still feel like lesser than my male counterparts. I think we have a lot to learn from this book.
As a native New Englander, I can appreciate the rich details of this book, picturing Clarendon as the seasons changed, imagining my small Connecticut campus where I attended school.
I hope this book receives the attention it deserves. I will be sure to pass along the good word!
As a native New Englander, I can appreciate the rich details of this book, picturing Clarendon as the seasons changed, imagining my small Connecticut campus where I attended school.
I hope this book receives the attention it deserves. I will be sure to pass along the good word!
July 28, 2020
4.5 overall
A decisive and intelligent novel that follows the evolving lives of three interwoven characters during a shifting period in American history. Politics, gender roles, women’s rights, and coed education are just some of the topics touched on.
What’s truly wonderful about this novel, though, is the way the author writes these characters. They are all lovingly written and humanized; their stories are raw and vulnerable. You can feel how the world changing around them affects them emotionally. It was beautiful and so refreshing.
A decisive and intelligent novel that follows the evolving lives of three interwoven characters during a shifting period in American history. Politics, gender roles, women’s rights, and coed education are just some of the topics touched on.
What’s truly wonderful about this novel, though, is the way the author writes these characters. They are all lovingly written and humanized; their stories are raw and vulnerable. You can feel how the world changing around them affects them emotionally. It was beautiful and so refreshing.
November 19, 2020
Virginia watches as her husband collapses in the front yard while stringing Christmas lights, and her life is changed forever.
With her husband gone, Virginia must find a job to support both herself and her daughter, no easy task in the 1970s when available jobs for women tended to be more mundane than magnificent. She also must create a new life for herself, where she is no longer a wife. Again, no easy task
The seventies was ripe for change and violence, and Virginia finds herself forced to see a new reality and make decisions she previously was unprepared for.
What's fascinating to me is that this story takes place over fifty years ago, and in many respects, not much has changed. Kudos to Sarah McCraw Crow on this outstanding debut.
With her husband gone, Virginia must find a job to support both herself and her daughter, no easy task in the 1970s when available jobs for women tended to be more mundane than magnificent. She also must create a new life for herself, where she is no longer a wife. Again, no easy task
The seventies was ripe for change and violence, and Virginia finds herself forced to see a new reality and make decisions she previously was unprepared for.
What's fascinating to me is that this story takes place over fifty years ago, and in many respects, not much has changed. Kudos to Sarah McCraw Crow on this outstanding debut.
October 6, 2020
Sarah McCraw Crow’s novel transports the reader to the 1970’s at a fictional college similar to Dartmouth. The era is turbulent, both culturally and politically, much like America today. The parallels between now and then are uncanny: a sharply divided nation experiencing a tsunami of discord. Some people push for change. Others resist, fearing that change would bring on the destruction of norms they hold dear, both sides viewing the other as the enemy. Against this backdrop, the author introduces us to three main characters: Virginia, Rebecca and Sam. The book weaves together their stories.
The novel opens with a bang: “Oliver died the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the air heavy with snow that hadn’t fallen yet. His last words to Virginia were, “Tacks, Ginny. Do we have any tacks?”
Oliver’s sudden death catapults his widow, Virginia, into a life she didn’t expect and for which she didn’t prepare. Prior to meeting him, she’d finished all but her dissertation. She doesn’t complete the work for her Ph.D. Instead, after marrying Oliver, a college professor, she devotes her life to supporting his career and raising their daughter, Rebecca. When he dies, she’s forced to look for a job. She soon becomes acutely aware of systemic gender inequality in the workplace.
Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old had enjoyed a warm, companiable relationship with her father. His death shatters her world. Rebecca’s response to this shock is a naïve exploration of drinking and boys. That leads her into dangerous territory and also reveals the “boys will be boys” mindset of the times.
Sam, one of Oliver’s favorite students, is greatly affected by his mentor’s passing. He wonders about his sexuality and constantly analyzes his feelings for Oliver. He winds up involved with an exchange student who is part of a protest movement that employs violence to gain the attention of the people they view as oppressors. Little by little, he’s lured into plan that derails his life.
Via the interwoven stories of these three characters McCraw Crow touches on many topics, including gender inequality in the workplace, violence as a form of protest, white privilege, sexuality, the draft, the war in Viet Nam and women’s healthcare.
Crow’s crisp prose sparkles on the page. The dialogue she writes sounds authentic for the time. Her characters are well drawn and memorable. I read the novel several weeks ago—Virginia, Sam and Rebecca are still bumping around in my mind. As I was reading, I felt invested in them. At different times in the story, as each one contemplated a reckless action, I found myself thinking, “No. Yikes. Back away.”
She does a great job with setting, squarely placing the reader in a privileged, idyllic college town that is experiencing great strife. I thoroughly enjoyed her somewhat disguised mention of my favorite landmarks in Hanover, New Hampshire.
The plot moves along well, touching on many issues, but in a way that feels germane and not superimposed or didactic. Crow captures the zeitgeist of the 1970’s, zeitgeist remarkably like what we are living through now, which makes this book so very relevant and a wonderful book to read, especially right now.
The novel opens with a bang: “Oliver died the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the air heavy with snow that hadn’t fallen yet. His last words to Virginia were, “Tacks, Ginny. Do we have any tacks?”
Oliver’s sudden death catapults his widow, Virginia, into a life she didn’t expect and for which she didn’t prepare. Prior to meeting him, she’d finished all but her dissertation. She doesn’t complete the work for her Ph.D. Instead, after marrying Oliver, a college professor, she devotes her life to supporting his career and raising their daughter, Rebecca. When he dies, she’s forced to look for a job. She soon becomes acutely aware of systemic gender inequality in the workplace.
Rebecca, a thirteen-year-old had enjoyed a warm, companiable relationship with her father. His death shatters her world. Rebecca’s response to this shock is a naïve exploration of drinking and boys. That leads her into dangerous territory and also reveals the “boys will be boys” mindset of the times.
Sam, one of Oliver’s favorite students, is greatly affected by his mentor’s passing. He wonders about his sexuality and constantly analyzes his feelings for Oliver. He winds up involved with an exchange student who is part of a protest movement that employs violence to gain the attention of the people they view as oppressors. Little by little, he’s lured into plan that derails his life.
Via the interwoven stories of these three characters McCraw Crow touches on many topics, including gender inequality in the workplace, violence as a form of protest, white privilege, sexuality, the draft, the war in Viet Nam and women’s healthcare.
Crow’s crisp prose sparkles on the page. The dialogue she writes sounds authentic for the time. Her characters are well drawn and memorable. I read the novel several weeks ago—Virginia, Sam and Rebecca are still bumping around in my mind. As I was reading, I felt invested in them. At different times in the story, as each one contemplated a reckless action, I found myself thinking, “No. Yikes. Back away.”
She does a great job with setting, squarely placing the reader in a privileged, idyllic college town that is experiencing great strife. I thoroughly enjoyed her somewhat disguised mention of my favorite landmarks in Hanover, New Hampshire.
The plot moves along well, touching on many issues, but in a way that feels germane and not superimposed or didactic. Crow captures the zeitgeist of the 1970’s, zeitgeist remarkably like what we are living through now, which makes this book so very relevant and a wonderful book to read, especially right now.
October 9, 2020
The Wrong Kind of Woman by Sarah McCraw Crow is a very subtly written novel about a woman discovering her worth, her abilities and her ambitions.
In 1970 Virginia is the happily married wife and mother of a 13 year old daughter when her college professor husband literally drops dead of an aneurysm. On her own for the first time in her life she slowly discovers her own voice and the power behind it.
This author has the uncanny talent of writing scenes that may seem quiet or non eventful but there are nuances to every word. There is one piece of dialogue that really hit home with me. Virginia is talking to the Dean of the college about her friend losing tenure and is making valid points on her behalf when the Dean just smiles at her calls her "dear" and says its was nice talking to her but he has a meeting. I felt the condescending attitude dripping from his mouth and remembered so many times a male boss treated me with the same inconsequential thoughtlessness as though I was an annoying fly buzzing around his head.
As Virginia starts to realize she is not content with the status quo of how she and other women are being treated at this college we also see how her husband's death affects her daughter. There was such truth to her pain, loss and rebellion. The other women in this story also have their own journey during the turbulent 1970s and the power of the women's movement is given the credence it deserves even now.
There is much that is taken for granted with the rights we have now but we stand on the shoulders of so many who fought not just the public fights but the quiet ones at home and with each win we progressed to a better place. This thought provoking novel is just one story but it is one that matters and will linger with you long after the last page is read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
In 1970 Virginia is the happily married wife and mother of a 13 year old daughter when her college professor husband literally drops dead of an aneurysm. On her own for the first time in her life she slowly discovers her own voice and the power behind it.
This author has the uncanny talent of writing scenes that may seem quiet or non eventful but there are nuances to every word. There is one piece of dialogue that really hit home with me. Virginia is talking to the Dean of the college about her friend losing tenure and is making valid points on her behalf when the Dean just smiles at her calls her "dear" and says its was nice talking to her but he has a meeting. I felt the condescending attitude dripping from his mouth and remembered so many times a male boss treated me with the same inconsequential thoughtlessness as though I was an annoying fly buzzing around his head.
As Virginia starts to realize she is not content with the status quo of how she and other women are being treated at this college we also see how her husband's death affects her daughter. There was such truth to her pain, loss and rebellion. The other women in this story also have their own journey during the turbulent 1970s and the power of the women's movement is given the credence it deserves even now.
There is much that is taken for granted with the rights we have now but we stand on the shoulders of so many who fought not just the public fights but the quiet ones at home and with each win we progressed to a better place. This thought provoking novel is just one story but it is one that matters and will linger with you long after the last page is read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.
August 9, 2020
This is an excellent book, immediately drawing you in to the family dynamics of devotion, upheaval, and loss. The unexpected new relationships formed from pivotal family tragedy, draw you to want to continue to see what is next. The personalities are woven together like a well-sewn quilt; warm and intricate.
Changes in this calm, New England college-town life of academia and the true social unrest of the 70s, brings this family, and this group of women along a journey of discovery and strength. Moving. Thought-provoking. Powerful.
Changes in this calm, New England college-town life of academia and the true social unrest of the 70s, brings this family, and this group of women along a journey of discovery and strength. Moving. Thought-provoking. Powerful.
October 13, 2020
The Wrong Kind of Woman by Sarah McCraw Crow
I take the tasks of a novel to be: entertain me, divert me, make me think and to impress me with novelistic / artistic technique. (I obviously ask a lot of a novel!) The novel should be saying something, making a statement. This novel delivers for me on all of my requirements and I expect that it will linger with me for quite awhile. I can hardly ask more.
Set in the semi-distant past of 1970 – 50 years ago and in the dwindling past, The Wrong Kind of Woman manages a note-perfect simulation of that time while being equally about our (equally disturbing) time.
The more I think about Crow’s fictionalized past, the more it seems germane to the present. All of the themes and subplots could be transposed to 2020 without loss in translation. This is no mean feat for a novelist – using the past as a lens for our miasmic contemporary trouble. (Applause here!)
I am given a lot to reflect on here beyond current events. Her characters walk, talk, live and breathe. They confront and either overcome or fail to their failings and circumstances and things are resolved (or not) without recourse to convention. We see characters growing together, apart and acting like human beings. They betray each other, surprise each other, are confused and / or confounded but continue inevitably onward.
Most remarkably, the story-telling is subtly expert. As a reader I am often totally absorbed into the action. (It’s that suspension of disbelief and immersion in the text that I look for and seldom find). I found myself wondering about the characters’ fates and hoping for outcomes that they have earned. I am pulled through the text in the sense of a page-turner. The voice of the novelist never intrudes and the details of 1970 are as I remember. Most of all, the use of interior monologue (giving me the internal voices of the characters) is unobtrusive and masterful throughout. This technique gives me the “wow’ I seek from a writer.
My requirements as a novel reader are very well met by The Wrong Kind of Woman, and then some. Hats off to Sarah McCraw Crow on her first novel. I am anxious see what she gives us next.
I take the tasks of a novel to be: entertain me, divert me, make me think and to impress me with novelistic / artistic technique. (I obviously ask a lot of a novel!) The novel should be saying something, making a statement. This novel delivers for me on all of my requirements and I expect that it will linger with me for quite awhile. I can hardly ask more.
Set in the semi-distant past of 1970 – 50 years ago and in the dwindling past, The Wrong Kind of Woman manages a note-perfect simulation of that time while being equally about our (equally disturbing) time.
The more I think about Crow’s fictionalized past, the more it seems germane to the present. All of the themes and subplots could be transposed to 2020 without loss in translation. This is no mean feat for a novelist – using the past as a lens for our miasmic contemporary trouble. (Applause here!)
I am given a lot to reflect on here beyond current events. Her characters walk, talk, live and breathe. They confront and either overcome or fail to their failings and circumstances and things are resolved (or not) without recourse to convention. We see characters growing together, apart and acting like human beings. They betray each other, surprise each other, are confused and / or confounded but continue inevitably onward.
Most remarkably, the story-telling is subtly expert. As a reader I am often totally absorbed into the action. (It’s that suspension of disbelief and immersion in the text that I look for and seldom find). I found myself wondering about the characters’ fates and hoping for outcomes that they have earned. I am pulled through the text in the sense of a page-turner. The voice of the novelist never intrudes and the details of 1970 are as I remember. Most of all, the use of interior monologue (giving me the internal voices of the characters) is unobtrusive and masterful throughout. This technique gives me the “wow’ I seek from a writer.
My requirements as a novel reader are very well met by The Wrong Kind of Woman, and then some. Hats off to Sarah McCraw Crow on her first novel. I am anxious see what she gives us next.
October 31, 2020
I started kindergarten in 1970 so The Wrong Kind of Woman brought me back to my childhood years. I can still recall the turmoil and angst of the seventies, which makes this novel quite timely in light of current events in the U.S. Sarah McCraw Crow did an excellent job of evoking the time period with subtle details of clothing, music, and societal attitudes. The story is a poignant peek into the beginnings of the women's movement as seen from 3 distinct perspectives: recently-widowed Ginny, an "ordinary" woman who's struggling to figure out where she fits into a world that is rapidly changing; Sam, a young man and college student who is desperate for acceptance; and Rebecca, Ginny's adolescent daughter who is caught between the old ways of society and the promise of something new.
September 14, 2020
This is a time period that is rich for exploration in fiction. I was a little girl at the time this novel was set, and Sarah McCraw Crow gets all the details of the era just right, from pantyhose to a "stewardess haircut." The details of the small college and frat life ring true. No spoilers, but I did not see the dramatic ending coming, and Crow really built up to it with great suspense and pacing.
This novel is beautifully written and Virginia is a believable, sympathetic character.
This novel is beautifully written and Virginia is a believable, sympathetic character.
September 10, 2020
I had a surprisingly reflective reaction to this touching novel about a professor's widow, her teenage daughter, and the young male college student whose life intersects with the professor, and later with them. I was a teenager around the time that this story set in the early 70s unfolds, and my Mother, although older than mom Virginia ("from Virginia"), was very much struggling to find her place with the new feminism, and how to pivot from a stay at home wife/mother to a student and a job outside the home. The music mentioned in the book is the music I grew up on. The war is the one I heard daily about as my Mother worked with various anti-war groups in our small Ohio town, and even hosted a couple journalists from Japan needing lodging while they reported on Kent State. There is also a "Brett Kavanaugh" incident. Along with the disparagement of professional women (in "The Wrong Kind of Women," the female professors are called the "Gang of Four" by the male faculty) it's a reality that links all of our generations of women together. I'm so glad that I got to read Crow's impressive debut.
October 19, 2020
A book set in the 1970's.
Virginia has lost her husband to an aneurism. She's widowed and alone. Many have offered comfort in their own blind ways. She's trying to rediscover herself and wants to finish her Ph.D. Of course, considering the era. Virginia was considered "the wrong kind of woman". For trying to better herself and most of all because she has a daughter.
She finds the comfort in a group at her college where her husband used to work. Getting to know these women, she starts to realize all about what her husband used to tell her about them. These women taught her about the toxicness that surrounds being a woman in the 70's. It's amazing how some of these issues are prevalent in today's society.
I really enjoyed this story and how much it teaches you, especially being a woman. Even though Virginia lost her husband. The story teaches you resilience, determination, and motivation. All while raising a child. Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and Mira Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Virginia has lost her husband to an aneurism. She's widowed and alone. Many have offered comfort in their own blind ways. She's trying to rediscover herself and wants to finish her Ph.D. Of course, considering the era. Virginia was considered "the wrong kind of woman". For trying to better herself and most of all because she has a daughter.
She finds the comfort in a group at her college where her husband used to work. Getting to know these women, she starts to realize all about what her husband used to tell her about them. These women taught her about the toxicness that surrounds being a woman in the 70's. It's amazing how some of these issues are prevalent in today's society.
I really enjoyed this story and how much it teaches you, especially being a woman. Even though Virginia lost her husband. The story teaches you resilience, determination, and motivation. All while raising a child. Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and Mira Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 17, 2020
An immersive, character-driven story with plenty of heart, The Wrong Kind of Woman weaves together slice of life drama and 1970s campus activism to create a rich tapestry depicting the beauty of transformation achieved through struggle. The characters are drawn with depth and nuance, especially Virginia, with whom I empathized and connected deeply. Her personal journeys through loss and reclamation parallel with the growing pains of Clarendon College in a masterful way that brilliantly embodies the feminist slogan "the personal is political." Themes of belonging, self-discovery, community, and reckoning all rise to the surface of this moving debut.
If you're searching for an exemplary work of historical fiction set in the seventies, women's fiction with an empowering and triumphant energy, or simply enjoy complex and realistic characters, this is a must-read.
If you're searching for an exemplary work of historical fiction set in the seventies, women's fiction with an empowering and triumphant energy, or simply enjoy complex and realistic characters, this is a must-read.
November 2, 2020
Sarah McCraw Crow’s debut novel opens in November 1970 with the sudden death of college professor Oliver Desmarais. We follow his widow, his teenaged daughter, and a former student as their intertwining paths create unexpected frictions on a traditional New England college campus (based on Dartmouth College).
I was particularly moved by Crow’s crystalline prose: she manages to capture the details of the era—the women’s liberation movement, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War—in such a way that the past comes alive again. We can feel its heartbeat in the complexity of our world today, in all of our heady confusion and hope.
I was particularly moved by Crow’s crystalline prose: she manages to capture the details of the era—the women’s liberation movement, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War—in such a way that the past comes alive again. We can feel its heartbeat in the complexity of our world today, in all of our heady confusion and hope.
November 2, 2020
Sarah McCraw Crow’s debut novel opens in November 1970 with the sudden death of college professor Oliver Desmarais. We follow his widow, his teenaged daughter, and a former student as their intertwining paths create unexpected frictions on a traditional New England college campus (based on Dartmouth College).
I was particularly moved by Crow’s crystalline prose: she manages to capture the details of the era—the women’s liberation movement, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War—in such a way that the past comes alive again. We can feel its heartbeat in the complexity of our world today, in all of our heady confusion and hope.
I was particularly moved by Crow’s crystalline prose: she manages to capture the details of the era—the women’s liberation movement, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War—in such a way that the past comes alive again. We can feel its heartbeat in the complexity of our world today, in all of our heady confusion and hope.
July 28, 2020
I tried really hard to come up with a reason to give this book 2 stars and I just couldn’t. This is an aimless, plotless mess. Literally nothing happens. So scattershot that I would forget a character two pages after their introduction. So boring. There is a beginning and then just rambling from the main characters for the remainder. There was no real conflict and definitely no climax. I won’t say I hated it I just feel blech about this book. My recommendation is pass. Hard pass.
October 21, 2020
This is a gorgeous book!
October 28, 2020
Great read. The characters are grappling with grief and change during an interesting time period in American history with the Vietnam war and the beginning of the women's movement. Looking forward to the next book from this author.
November 23, 2020
Compelling portrait of unexpected changes in a time of social upheaval.
November 20, 2020
In 1970, the lives of Virginia and Rebecca Desmaris are irrevocably changed when Oliver, Virginia’s husband and Revecca’s father dies from a burst aneurysm. In his year of early feminism and radical,violence, Clarendon College, an all.male school has what now reads like an archaic traditions. There are 4 women on the faculty who become Virginia’s support as she navigates the world as a widow, Rebecca struggles with the loss of,her father and her friends going in different directions. Sam, a student and admirer of a Oliver finds himself caught up in radicalism because of a woman he likes. The author captures the period brilliantly and while it feels strange to classify a book about an era I lived through it really is history.
October 14, 2020
This is beautifully written, with great, believable characters and a finely drawn sense of place (a college campus and the world of academia in the 1970s). The novel tells important Truths about marriage, and about what things were like for women in 1971--and still are.
October 8, 2020
This was interesting! Full review to come!
August 17, 2020
I enjoyed this novel that was assigned to me for Booklist. Look for my review there, coming soon!
January 14, 2021
A brilliantly feminist work, this had me gripped even though my reading has been very distracted of late. Sarah McCraw Crow sets this in the middle of the Nixon era, in an America torn by conflicting ideas, and at war with any country that called itself ‘communist.’
More than the politics, I loved the way Crow gives us three differing voices - that of a woman who finds herself adrift after her husband dies suddenly, a teenager who copes with grief, loss, and pain in her messy ways, and a teenage guy who finds himself doing all the wrong things for a woman he thinks he loves, while trying to understand his sexuality.
Lots of themes, but the overarching one was the feminist arc.
More than the politics, I loved the way Crow gives us three differing voices - that of a woman who finds herself adrift after her husband dies suddenly, a teenager who copes with grief, loss, and pain in her messy ways, and a teenage guy who finds himself doing all the wrong things for a woman he thinks he loves, while trying to understand his sexuality.
Lots of themes, but the overarching one was the feminist arc.
September 3, 2020
A valiant effort. I get what Sarah McCraw Crow was saying. And the prose is wonderful.
But the telling of the story falls a bit flat. It could have used more confidence, more daring, more conviction. The author takes us to the edge of the abyss, but no further - as if to show us what might have happened had she allowed it.
But the telling of the story falls a bit flat. It could have used more confidence, more daring, more conviction. The author takes us to the edge of the abyss, but no further - as if to show us what might have happened had she allowed it.
October 20, 2020
Sarah McCraw Crow's novel The Wrong Kind of Woman, set in the 1970s, opens with Virginia's husband Oliver dying of an aneurysm in front of their thirteen year-old daughter Rebecca. Oliver was a history professor at Clarendon, an all-boy's college in New Hampshire.
Virginia is devastated by Oliver's premature death, as is Rebecca, who adored her father. Virginia taught an art history class at the college, so in addition to dealing with the emotional loss of her husband, she has to deal with the financial loss of his income.
We also meet Sam, a student at Clarendon who was in the faculty/student jazz band with Oliver. He admired Oliver and enjoyed his friendship as he didn't fit in with the other young men at school. After Sam ends up partnering with Jerry, a Vietnam vet, on a project, Jerry brings Sam to the commune where he is staying.
Sam is enchanted by Elodie, a young woman from the commune. Elodie wants to see change in society, perhaps by any means necessary. She is planning something, will Sam get himself involved to win her affection?
The most interesting character to me is Louise, a professor in the history department. She was the only female tenured professor at the college, one of only four women professors. They were called the Gang of Four, and following Oliver's death, Louise invited Virginia to join them for an evening out.
It was an eye-opening experience for Virginia. Although Oliver didn't like Louise, he found her too pushy, Virginia liked these women, especially Louise. They spoke of their difficult experiences at the college, and their desire to make Clarendon a coed institution.
I would have liked to have seen more of Louise and the other female professors. I found their stories so intriguing, and the scene where they invited two women to speak at the college was very strong. It reminded me of the FX miniseries Mrs. America, which I enjoyed immensely. There are even a few mentions of Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug, who were prominently featured in that series.
Virginia has her consciousness raised by economic necessity; she needed to get a better paying job for herself and Rebecca. She was close to getting her PhD, and Louise convinces her that she can do it, and they will help her in any way they can.
There are many 1970s touchstones in this novel for those of us who remember that era. Who else spent their Friday nights watching The Brady Bunch followed by The Partridge Family? And we all remember Tim Conway trying to make Harvery Korman laugh in The Carol Burnett Show skits.
The Wrong Kind of Woman mines some of the same territory as Jennifer Weiner's wonderful 2018 novel, Mrs. Everything, taking the macroview of women's lives in the 1970s through the microview of the women in these novels, allowing the reader to see the tumultous times through these women's eyes.
Thanks to MIRA Books for putting me on Sarah McCraw Crow's book tour.
Virginia is devastated by Oliver's premature death, as is Rebecca, who adored her father. Virginia taught an art history class at the college, so in addition to dealing with the emotional loss of her husband, she has to deal with the financial loss of his income.
We also meet Sam, a student at Clarendon who was in the faculty/student jazz band with Oliver. He admired Oliver and enjoyed his friendship as he didn't fit in with the other young men at school. After Sam ends up partnering with Jerry, a Vietnam vet, on a project, Jerry brings Sam to the commune where he is staying.
Sam is enchanted by Elodie, a young woman from the commune. Elodie wants to see change in society, perhaps by any means necessary. She is planning something, will Sam get himself involved to win her affection?
The most interesting character to me is Louise, a professor in the history department. She was the only female tenured professor at the college, one of only four women professors. They were called the Gang of Four, and following Oliver's death, Louise invited Virginia to join them for an evening out.
It was an eye-opening experience for Virginia. Although Oliver didn't like Louise, he found her too pushy, Virginia liked these women, especially Louise. They spoke of their difficult experiences at the college, and their desire to make Clarendon a coed institution.
I would have liked to have seen more of Louise and the other female professors. I found their stories so intriguing, and the scene where they invited two women to speak at the college was very strong. It reminded me of the FX miniseries Mrs. America, which I enjoyed immensely. There are even a few mentions of Shirley Chisholm and Bella Abzug, who were prominently featured in that series.
Virginia has her consciousness raised by economic necessity; she needed to get a better paying job for herself and Rebecca. She was close to getting her PhD, and Louise convinces her that she can do it, and they will help her in any way they can.
There are many 1970s touchstones in this novel for those of us who remember that era. Who else spent their Friday nights watching The Brady Bunch followed by The Partridge Family? And we all remember Tim Conway trying to make Harvery Korman laugh in The Carol Burnett Show skits.
The Wrong Kind of Woman mines some of the same territory as Jennifer Weiner's wonderful 2018 novel, Mrs. Everything, taking the macroview of women's lives in the 1970s through the microview of the women in these novels, allowing the reader to see the tumultous times through these women's eyes.
Thanks to MIRA Books for putting me on Sarah McCraw Crow's book tour.
October 24, 2020
Just before Christmas in 1970, Oliver Desmarais dies suddenly leaving his wife Virginia and daughter Rebecca to mourn and rebuild their lives. Virginia, not knowing where she fits anymore after losing her job, embarks on new friendships with four interesting women from the college her husband worked for. These women are forward thinkers, trying to make a change in a male dominated world. With political unrest, social injustice, and women’s rights, can Virginia be the role model she needs to be for her daughter and help the women make the change that the world so desperately needs?
This was a powerful novel of self discovery. The reader gets to witness the 1970’s through the eyes of not only Virginia, but also her daughter Rebecca and Sam, a student of Oliver’s. Three different people all emerging to becoming something from the loss they suffered. This story also has many similarities to the changes we are all facing today amidst the pandemic and the world we now live in. Thank you so much to the author Sara McCraw Crow, HarperCollins Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was riveting! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.
This was a powerful novel of self discovery. The reader gets to witness the 1970’s through the eyes of not only Virginia, but also her daughter Rebecca and Sam, a student of Oliver’s. Three different people all emerging to becoming something from the loss they suffered. This story also has many similarities to the changes we are all facing today amidst the pandemic and the world we now live in. Thank you so much to the author Sara McCraw Crow, HarperCollins Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was riveting! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.
October 18, 2020
know I am submitting this review after its publication date. Honestly, if I had read it earlier, I don't know that I would have appreciated it as much. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently passed away. She had so much impact on women's lives in terms of financial independence, education and employment. This book touches on all of these topics, in indirect ways.
Virginia's husband, a faculty member at a male only college in New Hampshire passes away. She is an intelligent woman, with an advanced degree herself, but has not completed her dissertation. After becoming a widow, she is befriended by the "Gang of Four," women faculty at the above-mentioned college. While she begrudgingly becomes their friend, it is through them that she learns what she needs to do for herself, her daughter, and staking her place in her community.
I absolutely loved this moved. It moved along slowly, but that's okay. It gave me plenty of time to really think about what was going on in the book and how it related to women's rights today.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Virginia's husband, a faculty member at a male only college in New Hampshire passes away. She is an intelligent woman, with an advanced degree herself, but has not completed her dissertation. After becoming a widow, she is befriended by the "Gang of Four," women faculty at the above-mentioned college. While she begrudgingly becomes their friend, it is through them that she learns what she needs to do for herself, her daughter, and staking her place in her community.
I absolutely loved this moved. It moved along slowly, but that's okay. It gave me plenty of time to really think about what was going on in the book and how it related to women's rights today.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Trade Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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