Graffiti Girls

Graffiti Girls was trying to be a fun, empowering story of four 40-something women reclaiming their lives. Instead, it's a slightly pedestrian feminist manifesto, with little in the way of story or character.

Essentially, our four protagonists realise their lives are rubbish, identify the patriarchy as the source of a lot of the rubbishness (which is fair enough) and decide that the best way to retaliate is by... graffitiing questionable slogans on vaguely connected buildings. And, somehow, this lawbreaking reignites their friendship and gives them the courage to stand up for themselves in their relationships and workplaces.

The problem is, the patriarchy isn't the issue in most of the women's lives. The single mom with the teenage son who literally can't make a sandwich? Whose responsibility was it to teach him? The underappreciated librarian who badly needs a raise? Nothing was stopping her from applying for a better job (and, when she does apply, she's instantly promoted). Even with the woman whose husband seemed to be cheating, it appears that literally all that needed to happen was a single honest conversation, and suddenly they're madly in love again. And, in the end, their graffitiing accomplishes exactly nothing, other than making them all feel better about themselves.

There was some fun along the way, of course. I did appreciate the variety of the women's lives, and the book does certainly make some valid points about the ways society overlooks women of a certain age. It's definitely not a bad book; it's just not as clever as it could have been.

DNF
Pick up put down pick up put down on repeat until I finally accepted that this book and I were never going to be more than passing acquaintances. I tend to avoid books of this genre (maybe I need to lighten up a bit!), and it is only because it’s a ‘book club’ book that I gave it a go. Looking at all the positive reviews I am clearly in the minority, and I am definitely not the author’s target audience.
*For the reasons listed above, I haven’t rated this book.

A group of four women in their early 40s who have known each other since their schooldays are all in different situations with regards to partners, children, families etc. yet remain firm friends. In response to some chauvinistic behaviour from men in their hometown of Hamilton in Scotland, they decide that something has to be done and they start naming and shaming in graffiti on public buildings in the dead of night. Undetected, they not only become local celebrities but also embark on personal journeys of self-discovery as a result of their efforts.

Much to my surprise I really enjoyed this book. It is more “calendar girls” than “angry young women” on the rampage and their personal stories were well told and informative. Whilst the book is not particularly challenging in terms of providing an in-depth analysis of feminism (thank goodness!!), it does get the message across in an accessible way, using everyday examples of both men and society behaving badly in ways which denigrate women. Most of us could relate to one or other of the women in some way and their character and stories are well-developed. There is also some wit and humour in the telling.

Had I seen this book on a shelf in a bookshop I would not have picked it up. Both the title and the front cover design suggest a target audience a million miles away from where I am positioned in the demographics of the population – they suggest a much younger, rebellious group of feminists/activists. The reality is very different. The book is probably aimed at a much older age group of readers who do not necessarily see the systemic chauvinism built into the society in which they live, but who are open to being educated.

A solid 4* for a book which I think most people would enjoy.