Cover Image: Three Women

Three Women

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Member Reviews

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo follows the lives of three women over the course of multiple years. Amazingly, the author embedded herself in the lives and communities of the women that she studied and wrote about. Lina, Maggie, and Sloane are brave women who voluntarily opened their lives up for judgment and observation. I'm hoping there's a follow-up in the process of being written.

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An intense work of non-fiction that took me by surprise. THREE WOMEN is unflinching, raw, and hard to put down. It certainly doesn't read like a work of non-fiction, it is closer to a fabulous piece of literary fiction as the characters are very nuanced and we can see right into their souls. Based on the lives of three ordinary American women, Taddeo focuses on their desires, both sexual and non. But the sexual desires drive the heart of the book. It is certainly the most steamy work of non-fiction I have ever read, and that took me a bit by surprise, but it makes the book real and jump right off the page.

You will fall for these women, and cry for them and rage for them. They are all very different, but share many same threads. The narrative that Taddeo builds up can sometimes feel operatic, but it always makes sense and will often take your breath away. I cannot recommend this work enough. As a woman, you will relate to these desires in ways you may have never seen on the page before. And as men, you will have insights into the mind and heart of women in unique and groudbreaking ways. This is a book for the ages.

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Easily one of the best books of 2019. This nonfiction book is gripping, heartwrenching, and reads like a literary fiction novel - by the end you will feel like you know Maggie, Sloane, and Lina personally and you will be rooting for them. Their stories pull you in and teach you a deeper level of empathy for all other humans. Lisa Taddeo did her homework and her writing feels like it authentically captured the lives of the three women without twisting or creating anything for drama, it's all real. This book is important for our society and everyone should read it, easy 5 stars.

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I was so drawn into this book detailing real women’s stories of their relationship to desire. I identified with many aspects of it, and was curious and intrigued by the rest.

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Three Women is the heartwrenching nonfiction book written by author and journalist Lisa Taddeo. Taddeo followed three specific women and their lives over 10 years through texts, notes, and in-depth conversations. This intimate collaboration allowed her to share their stories in a vivid, honest and excruciatingly detailed manner.

Three Women was not always easy to read but it is a book that will stick with me forever. The stories are raw and it is amazing to me that Taddeo was able to write this book in the third person because her word choices and the stories she shared were so deeply personal.

I found myself lost in this book while reading it. I initially thought these stories would be a peek into the sex lives of three American women but it was so much more than that. Taddeo shared the desires and sometimes haunting true narratives of these three individuals.

While all their experiences and lives were very different, they all centered around one common theme, power. Who had it, who didn't and the outcomes because of it. Many of the choices these women make, whether you agree with them or not, came from a lack of power as well as being rooted in experiences sometimes years prior. As a reader, you don't have to understand or connect with something completely for it to move you and this book really drove that point home for me.

Taddeo is skilled at sharing these stories without being subjective or judgemental which is one of the reasons this book felt so compelling and personal. I highly recommend Three Women and I can't wait to see the response when it is released in July. Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for an advanced copy of this book.

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This heartwrenching nonfiction book tells the stories of three women who dare to pursue their desires and are met with a world that is ill-equipped to handle them. Each woman is authentic and keenly relatable. The writing is fierce, smart, and unapologetic. I couldn't put this book down.

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I've yet to experience a book like this. I don't think I'll ever experience another book like this.

"Three Women" is many things. It's a work of journalism, objective and overarching. It's a product of ten years and thousands of hours of notes, texts, and conversations. It's about the complexity of women's desire. It's about the lives of three women - Maggie, Lina, and Sloane.

Lisa Taddeo writes beautifully. "Three Women" is filled with lovely, piercing passages to strike the heart. Although this is a work of journalism, Taddeo knows her subjects so intimately it's as though she's writing from their own perspective. Although Taddeo's voice never enters the book, the POV is far from dry, distant. Taddeo's work is intimate without being subjective.

"Once you made a miniature replica of the Thinker for him - you molded it out of clay and baked it in a kiln - and he looked at you the way Greek gods looked at mortal girls and breathed into them celebrity. You became what he saw in you. There was a fall and you came down like Icarus. You thought it was because of the Fates and the Furies and the children and so for years you wandered the earth, not loving nature, not advancing in school, drinking upstairs in your parents' home. And now he is Teacher of the Year. And the Furies have spoken."

Absolutely riveting. A must read.

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First, let me say, that it is absolutely amazing that this is a true story. The author’s prose and word choices are beautiful, and the stories are so raw and intimate that it’s almost hard to believe that they are true—but they are! Author and journalist Lisa Taddeo followed three real-life women for eight years and gained incredible access to the most intimate moments of their lives. The result is three achingly real portraits of three women, their love lives, and their sex lives. Reading these stories, I felt like a voyeur, but in the best way. The stories were so personal and the writing was so gorgeous that I found myself lost in the book for hours on end. I loved it.

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What I expected to be a juicy peek into the sex lives of three woman turned out to be a fascinating look into humanity, trauma, bliss, sisterhood, and pain. Kudos to Taddeo for having the patience and empathy to tell these women’s stories in such a compassionate, detailed way.

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Interesting read, but for quite a while when I started reading, I was thinking to myself , “I thought this was supposed to be non-fiction “. Of course, I double checked online, and it was non fiction , but there is hardly a trace of the author’s own presence in the characterization of the three women's sex lives. Their individual situations were relatable while also turning out to be someone “other” than myself, I found this a little off putting at times, as we have to know every lurid detail, but I guess that’s also what keeps us reading until the end. I admire the author’s ability to stay hidden behind their stories.

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A deep-dive into the lives of three women's sex lives (and sometimes lack thereof). Though all of the stories are unique, they share one common denominator: power - who has it, who doesn't, and what it means. Whether the power comes from a position of authority or from being the one who cares less, the dynamic is the same. The stories in this book represent a microcosm of the patriarchy, and while it is a narrow view (all are straight, white women), it is one worth examining.

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I have no words for how I felt this book, but fantastic will have to do! I was intrigued by the concept from the beginning, but Lisa Taddeo's writing is compelling and mesmerizing. Three Women provides one of the deepest looks into the desires of the women with a frankness and intimacy that I've never read before. For the first time in a long time, I found myself unconcerned whether I was rooting for the main characters and simply found myself wanting to understand them. Taddeo's intimacy with the characters felt like she had invented themselves and it made me forget often that I was reading a non-fiction masterpiece. I will highly recommend this book going forward and can't wait to see how it is received by the world.

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I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. It was a fascinating, eye opening book that follows the lives of three women especially concerning their romantic lives and sexuality. It was fast paced and I found myself very invested in these women and their stories. One has had an affair with her high school teacher and is now at his trial. Another is having an affair with her high school flame. A third has a husband who prefers swinging, threesomes, and voyeurism. An interesting read. Thanks again for the chance to read it.

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The intertwined sexual choices make an interesting topic presented by a three independent narrative of each character's thoughts and life. It is interesting perspectives that are creating life journeys and life choices that are startling in revelation and repercussions.
The arrangement of words really enhance the story lines. The writing creates a vivid way of creating pictures of how the life these three woman endure.
The reading of these topics is hard but the writing makes it educational and understandable.

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Interesting examination of the way that women are socialized to view sex, and how that goes on to impact the rest of their lives. Taddeo did an excellent job giving each woman a unique voice and validating their experiences.

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Enjoyed the 3 different women,however I didn't understand the connection between them. Enjoyable...

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

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