Hot flashes, a foggy brain, trouble sleeping, jarring mood swings, the urge to howl at the moon . . . all totally normal signs of perimenopause, right? Unfortunately for the overworked, underappreciated heroine of Sam Beckbessinger’s Femme Feral, not so much. Many thanks to Penguin Books for the free copy to review.
Never one to complain about adding more items to her never-ending to-do list via The System (at least not aloud), Ellie suddenly finds herself less willing to swallow her fury after a run-in with a bicyclist, an old woman, and said old woman’s scruffy Maltese. Understandable, really, but even more so when work becomes even more demanding and less rewarding, and stress at home refuses to let up. As her symptoms escalate, her doctor assures her that this is just part of getting older, but Ellie isn’t so sure. After all, is it really normal to find bloodstains on one’s clothing on such a regular basis or to lose so much time?
Although the amped-up speed and strength are definite plusses, especially when it comes to squelching the efforts of difficult coworkers and discouraging the stalker harassing her daughter, they also come at high costs: namely, being hunted while grappling with the existential crisis of what she’s becoming.
From the author of Manage Your Money Like a Fucking Grownup comes this candid glimpse into not just the nature of change and how women’s health concerns are treated (or sometimes brushed aside altogether), but of true female rage. Beckbessinger’s approach at humanizing the protagonist through first-person narration even as she begins to have urges that most women who read this will find simultaneously foreign and familiar is bold and raw, humorous and a little heartbreaking. The sometimes chaotic, sometimes deeply reflective manner in which Ellie describes what she’s going through and what got her to this point in her story speaks to the complexity of the different phases and roles that women encounter—and sometimes must simply endure with little to no outside support.
Even the title of the book hints at a multilayered exploration; Femme Feral isn’t just a story about a woman’s changing body or a supernatural evolution. The link to that age-old character—the femme fatale—hints at a level of inherent blame or assumption. Werewolves are creatures of the night, a more frightening version of the majestic wolf or even man’s best friend. Conversely, with so many contradictory views of women still circulating among the general public, Ellie then embodies those conflicting perceptions: nurturer and protector, dedicated professional, unpredictable force with a horrifyingly short temper . . . and claws to back it up. Similarly, many of the other characters display their own dual natures, resulting in a deliciously complex cast that the audience can relate to, but may find it difficult to condemn for any one dark word or deed.
For readers who want their views challenged, their funny bones tickled by wry wit, and their nerves rattled just enough to get a kind of thrill out of the experience, this provocative book is a must-read.
