2.5
The Ally
ByPublisher Description
In this unexpectedly hilarious social novel, a misguided thirty-something tries to beat his girlfriend at her own game: becoming the ultimate feminist.
When he first meets Najwa at a lecture by Siri Hustvedt—whom he’s never read—our hero discovers a whole new world of feminist thought. Determined to impress her, he sets out sincerely on his journey to allyship. His mother confides in him about the dreams she had to sacrifice because of the patriarchy, and he laments the violence and oppression women face. But he can’t help but notice that they’re going about their activism the wrong way…
So our hero does what any good ally should: he gathers the worst of the macho men in town and begins a campaign to provoke the feminists. By “putting them in their place” with this phallic club—pelting demonstrators with raw eggs, posting obscene, threatening manifestos—he’s convinced he can make women understand, and get them to fight harder for the cause.
Following him as his plan spectacularly fails, The Ally mixes humor, clever storytelling, and hard-core feminist theory to lampoon the macho superiority complex and our modern gender wars.
When he first meets Najwa at a lecture by Siri Hustvedt—whom he’s never read—our hero discovers a whole new world of feminist thought. Determined to impress her, he sets out sincerely on his journey to allyship. His mother confides in him about the dreams she had to sacrifice because of the patriarchy, and he laments the violence and oppression women face. But he can’t help but notice that they’re going about their activism the wrong way…
So our hero does what any good ally should: he gathers the worst of the macho men in town and begins a campaign to provoke the feminists. By “putting them in their place” with this phallic club—pelting demonstrators with raw eggs, posting obscene, threatening manifestos—he’s convinced he can make women understand, and get them to fight harder for the cause.
Following him as his plan spectacularly fails, The Ally mixes humor, clever storytelling, and hard-core feminist theory to lampoon the macho superiority complex and our modern gender wars.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Ally Reviews
2.5
“This book is a masterpiece! So well-constructed and thought provoking; awakened my feminine rage all over again (in a gr8 way). Only marked off part of a star because I feel the end could have been fleshed out a tiny bit more. Would recommend this to any feminist buzzkill. 💕”“I finished this book ten days ago and I thought I would eventually have thoughts? But I don't think I do. This reminded me of Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte - but more Spanish in sensibility. This man decides that the only way that feminism is going to happen is if women get mad, so he decides to make women mad. And that's the plot. It's most definitely a satire, and it's not TERRIBLE, per say (not boring!) but I felt like it didn't really make me thing or laugh.”
“I found 1 other review in English, of the English translation and it pretty much nailed my thoughts exactly... the only difference was that that reviewer was able to push through to the end. I'm giving up. The narrator is unlikable and juvenile, but it seems he only knows people of the same caliber be they male or female. The writing is base. If the author was trying to do something clever about feminism... well, it didn't work. Or maybe it was lost in translation? Either way... 2023 is too precious and short to waste on this.”
“Great stuff -very comparable to “Fight Club”. crass, crude and a great slap to the face of men who continue to believe they know all the answers.”
About Iván Repila
Iván Repila worked in advertising, graphic design, and publishing before turning to writing with his highly acclaimed debut novel, Despicable Comedy. His second novel, The Boy Who Stole Attila’s Horse, was his first to appear in English. Repila’s work is celebrated in his homeland of Spain and praised for its originality and depth, and has been translated into more than fifteen languages.
Mara Faye Lethem is an award-winning translator of contemporary Catalan and Spanish prose, and the author of A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small. Her recent translations include books by Patricio Pron, Max Besora, Javier Calvo, Marta Orriols, Toni Sala, Alicia Kopf, and Irene Solà. She is currently translating the collected short stories of Pere Calders.
Mara Faye Lethem is an award-winning translator of contemporary Catalan and Spanish prose, and the author of A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small. Her recent translations include books by Patricio Pron, Max Besora, Javier Calvo, Marta Orriols, Toni Sala, Alicia Kopf, and Irene Solà. She is currently translating the collected short stories of Pere Calders.
Other books by Iván Repila
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