"This extraordinary account of a mass poisoning phenomenon in early 20th-century Hungary explores why women kill through the lens of neglect, abuse and the desperate need to escape."
Relating how a midwife in the Hungarian village of Nagyrév offered women the answer to their troubles (arsenic, so they could be rid of the cause of their suffering — their husbands), journalist Hope Reese’s The Women Are Not Fine is an immensely powerful account of impoverishment and desperation.
A chance encounter in a Budapest bar left the author with the women of Nagyrév on her mind, wondering: “Why did they do what they did? How did these murders spin out of control? How did these women get away with their crimes for two decades?” And the ultimate question: “What had it taken for these women to kill?”
As Reese points out, men are the perpetrators of 90% of partner violence, and the reasons men and women kill tend to be vastly different. Men generally murder partners as a form of punishment or control. In contrast, while some women kill for reasons of self-interest, such as financial gain, “the greatest motivator for women to kill is an impulse to survive”.
In the case of Reese’s account of the women of Nagyrev, who became referred to as “Angelmakers”, this potent book unpacks patriarchal structures, and class, through sharing transcripts of police reports, court documents and newspaper accounts, and through offering insights into what can happen when women are neglected and abused, and thrust into poverty with no means of escape.
Powerfully evocative and shot-through with humanity, The Women Are Not Fine remains astonishingly relevant in the present-day: “The women of Nagyrév lived in another time, under different conditions. Yet their stories – of poverty, isolation, lack of autonomy, abuse – will resonate with many women today.”
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
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Urgent, unforgettable, and absolutely unputdownable. It made me think deeply about women's struggles, and what drives a woman to kill. It's like true crime unfolding in real time, while also transporting you to different time and place.
This is an incredible story brought to life with remarkable insight, sensitivity, and a staggering amount of research. Reese has masterfully pieced together a narrative that reads like true crime unfolding in real time, while also transporting you to different time and place. Even though it’s set in Hungary at the turn of the last century, there’s something eerily familiar about the setting.
What struck me most was how vividly this book revealed the pressures that can drive women to kill in the fight for autonomy and safety.... Read Full Review
