Can’t believe this won awards in 2000, not 1960

Don’t waste your money/credits on this book!!! You’ll find yourself checking the original publishing date for the print version, sure that it’s in the middle of the 20th century, only to discover that it’s in the 21st century. Why? Because the main character puts up with behaviour towards her (by a number of men, while not putting up with it by other men, and by certain women who’ve swallowed the myth that they aren’t worth as much as are men) that hasn’t been okay since the 1960s/1970s.

And, **SPOILER ALERT**, despite being an academically and professionally accomplished 30-year-old, she becomes the embodiment of a woman from decades before, who allows the charms and inappropriately sexually aggressive actions of a man override his repeated, blatantly boorish, selfish, and (a number of times) massively sexist behaviour towards her. (Two examples of his boorish, selfish behaviour are the time she was the patiently-waiting driver whose parking spot he swooped into [and then ignored her protest honking], and the time she was the reaching-for-the-last-available-item grocery shopper whose anticipated purchase he snagged from in front of her outstretched hand, by quickly walking up and reaching over her head [and then replied to her immediate protest with a statement that he did nothing wrong].) On their first date (that she only agreed to because he stared into her eyes and grabbed and caressed her hands inappropriately), he refuses to apologize for any of his bad behaviour towards her. Instead, he tells her that he won’t admit any of what he did was wrong, but, to make her happy, he’ll concede that she was upset by his behaviour, so he’s sorry she was upset (!). Immediately after saying to herself how not okay that is, she again succumbs to his amazing gaze and sexuality, and decides to become his girlfriend. She remains his girlfriend through the rest of the book. (And she’s a psychologist!)

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