ERA All The Way!

Have you recently found yourself feeling the urge to read a good feminist diatribe? How about a good fifteenth-century French feminist diatribe?

Me neither. But I was assigned one. And my god it was worth reading.

A work that echoes the rhetoric skill of Plato and St. Augustine, but with the passion of Gloria Steinem, The Book of the City of Ladies is the story of the humble Christine (de Pizan) who while reading the great ancient authors' tirades against women is visited by Lady Reason, Lady Rectitude, and Lady Justice. These representatives of God answer questions like, "Why do men say that women make marriage miserable?" and "Is it true what men say that women like to be raped?" Yes, folks, she hits it home on all the tough subjects. From relating the story of the Amazons to Dido and Cleopatra, she sets the foundation of the City of Ladies one strong woman at a time. With her eloquent marriage advice (If you have a good husband, thank God; if you have a bad husband, pray to God) and noble goal of enlightening men while inspiring women, Christine de Pizan has really created a work of philosophic hilarity, brilliance, and balls.

I give it six stars out of five.