those_who_wander's Book Journey

It has nothing to do with the idea of us becoming dogs, and everything to do with the fact of us being girls.

Heart wrenching, enchanting, and a biting commentary, The Hounding had me hooked from the first page. Girls and women are so frequently forced into a box defined by men-but The Hounding explores what happens to those who don’t conform. What I liked First the simple narrative choice of having several perspectives-but none of them the girl’s was sheer brilliance. This is a story about men’s perception of women, and how they are persecuted because of it. Both the characters that we were in the heads off and the Mansfield sisters themselves were exceptional. Each of them to say something about how women are seen. Thomas is a love-struck fool, but brave and kind, nonetheless; he has no interest in girls until he wants one. Joseph Mansfield, well-meaning, good intentioned, yet unable to save the girls he loves because he didn’t listen to them. Pete Darling, the epidemy of an insecure power-hungry man, who hates any woman who doesn’t like him, and even those that do if they threaten to have any independence. Robin, poor gentle Robin is our example of how the patriarchy hurts men, by forcing them too into a box of violence. My heart broke for him. Temprance, our single women’s perspective, shows how women are so frequently and easily ignored, or brushed over. Then there’s the Mansfield’s themselves-Anne, Elizebth, Hester, Grace and Mary. Each of them beautifully unique and independent, all of them defying something about what women “should be” according to men. They are tightly woven together and always look out for each other. What I didn’t like There’s no denying that this is slowly paced, although I wouldn’t necessarily consider that a bad thing. It takes a bit for the story to get started, and for things to actually get going. I personally didn’t mind it, though I could easily see how that would turn some people off. I also wish there was a little more meat to it. Don’t get me wrong, it makes amazing points about being a woman and how women are perceived, I just wished those points were developed further, as at times they felt kind surface level. Overview The Hounding is a brilliant look at how girls are perceived by our society and what happens when they deviate from that unachievable perfect perception. The characters really shine through, although the pacing drags in some places. Would I recommend? If you like slower, literary books with strong characters than yes. The speculative fiction elements are used as a metaphor beautifully, exploring what happens to girls who don’t fit the male standard.