Review: Polemic social realism
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 16, 2013
Polemic social realism, not to be confused with socialist realism, situates this gritty account of futuristic separationist-feminists battling an extremist kind of male `moral majority'.  Combining a narrative style reminiscent of `Dragnet' (the 1960's TV series) and an in-your-face `Hamburger Hill'-style scenario on the frontline of an imaginary, future time when women have been stripped of their rights, `Whores...' packs a mean punch. However, a new Margaret Atwood's, `The Handmaid's Tale', it is not. It would make a great movie script or TV series (x-rated for violence) and is not for the faint of heart.Transitions from scene-to-scene and interview-to-interview are well managed, though the characters, mostly women, sometimes possess male characteristics. The reactions and points of view of the characters are reminiscent of Vietnam war films and it is somewhat unbelievable that these people would spend so much time lecturing each other about their politics.Crisp, clear prose dominate the dialogues and sparse descriptive passages.  It took me about 50% of the book to realize what rankled me while I read. Long, intensely ideological dialogues (diatribes) take place in a kind of vacuum. The politics and the practices of these characters are together, but do people really act like that in war. I do not know but I have my doubts. There is very little non-cerebral dialogue and scarce setting to situate the reader.Combined with the rough narrative style, the overall picture lacks a surroundings to be a highly successful novel, but needs only camera directions and location notes to win as a movie script. Though expertly devised and cogently argued, this dystopian novel aches for visual freedom to carry the day. Marshall MacLuhan's, `The Medium is the Massage' seems apt here. `Whores: not intended to be a factual account of the gender war' needs to massage the eye while passing messages to the brain (and spend less time on one-sided arguments). It would brilliantly suit the silver screen.