About the Book
"Arresting, deeply reported. . . . a patient reporter who embeds with her subjects long enough to write about their inner worlds with authority and nuance. . . . The Furies is deeply respectful of its subjects' autonomy, including their self-justifications and mistakes. Flock largely withholds judgment, and her work is richer and more troubling because of it." --Washington Post
Renowned journalist and author of The Heart is a Shifting Sea Elizabeth Flock investigates what few dare to confront, or even imagine: the role and necessity of female-led violence in response to systems built against women.
In The Furies, Elizabeth Flock examines how three real-life women have used violence to fight back, and how views of women who defend their lives are often distorted by their depictions in media and pop culture. These three immersive narratives follow Brittany Smith, a young woman from Stevenson, Alabama, who killed a man she said raped her but was denied the protection of the Stand-Your-Ground law; Angoori Dahariya, leader of a gang in Uttar Pradesh, India, dedicated to avenging victims of domestic abuse; and Cicek Mustafa Zibo, a fighter in a thousands-strong all-female militia that battled ISIS in Syria. Each woman chose to use lethal force to gain power, safety, and freedom when the institutions meant to protect them--government, police, courts--utterly failed to do so. Each woman has been criticized for their actions by those who believe that violence is never the answer.
Through Flock's propulsive prose and remarkable research on the ground--embedded with families, communities, and organizations in America, India, and Syria--The Furies examines, with exquisite nuance, whether the fight for women's safety is fully possible without force. Do these women's acts of vengeance help or hurt them, and ultimately, all women? Did they create lasting change in entrenched misogynistic and paternalistic systems? And ultimately, what would societies in which women have real power look like?
Across mythologies and throughout history, the stories of women's lives frequently end with their bodies as sites of violence. But there are also celebrated tales of women, real and fictional, who have fought back. The novelistic accounts of these three women provoke questions about how to achieve true gender equality, and offer profound insights in the quest for answers.
About the Author :
ELIZABETH FLOCK is an Emmy Award-winning journalist whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times, and The Atlantic, and on PBS NewsHour and Netflix, among other outlets. She is the host of Blind Plea, a podcast from Lemonada Media about criminalized survival. Her reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center, PEN America, and the International Women's Media Foundation. Her first book, The Heart Is a Shifting Sea, won a Nautilus Book Award for books that inspire and make a difference. She lives in Chicago.
Review :
"Sensitively reported. . . . There is a deep compassion in Flock's account." - The New Yorker
"Incisive. . . . In the hands of a less adept journalist, The Furies might read as a predictable, even formulaic feminist exposé. But Flock acknowledges the women's fallibilities as readily as she does their strengths. . . . Flock clears space for opposing truths, demonstrating how many women embody myriad, simultaneous contradictions to survive. . . . Though Brittany, Angoori, and Cicek ultimately fall prey to systemic patriarchal forces, Flock's work feels hopeful, even rebellious. Because, just as women confront similar challenges, so too can they stage analogous forms of resistance." - Los Angeles Review of Books
"Flock notes that the Furies of ancient Greek mythology, who tormented Orestes, were hideous and pitiless--the stuff of nightmares. Flock makes a compelling argument that women who stand up for them[1]selves are still seen in this same light....The women are drawn in shades of gray, and that is what makes The Furies so powerful. Brittany, Angoori and Cicek are not mythical figures, but ordinary, flawed humans who fight for their lives, their dignity and justice--despite the cost." - BookPage
"Three women pursue justice in this powerful account of what happens when institutions do not protect them. Journalist Flock (The Heart Is a Shifting Sea, 2018) brings the gripping stories of Brittany Smith, Angoori Dahariya, and Cicek Mustafa Zibo to life with vivid detail and in-depth research.... Her compelling narrative will resonate with those who seek to live in a more feminist, egalitarian society." - Booklist
"Intricately reported." - New York Times Book Review, "Editors' Choice"
"Readers of Chanel Miller's Know My Name and Jon Krakauer's Missoula will be familiar with the shocking ways police departments, medical centers and courts sometimes treat rape victims. The Furies adds to that conversation, demonstrating how the justice system seems completely stacked against people who aren't `ideal victims'.... a powerful reminder not only of the difference individuals can make in larger struggles for justice, but also of the limits of their success." - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"A captivating examination of violence and power.... Flock has a novelist's knack for creating suspense, her reporting is thorough, and her prose is moving....This one will stick with readers." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Flock fills each section of The Furies with heartrending moments. . . . A powerful reminder not only of the difference individuals can make in larger struggles for justice, but also of the limits of their success." - Waterbury Republican
"The Furies is a remarkable and important exploration--reported with deep rigor and care--of what justice looks like for women who have been stripped of power and are trying to reclaim it." - Rachel Aviv, author of Strangers to Ourselves
"The Furies is a glorious excavation of women's rage. But it is also a cautionary tale of how the world treats women who dare to fight back, to assert their rights, to scream into the dark void of endless discrimination and inequality. These three women will fill you with hope, despair, and yes, fury." - Rachel Louise Snyder, author of Women We Buried, Women We Burned and No Visible Bruises
"Women around the world are fighting back against their oppressors, and these powerful stories--conveyed with rigor and compassion--will leave readers fired up, furious and raring to join the cause." - Kirsten Miller, author of The Change
