The Society of Shame

When Kathleen Held returns home from a trip one day to find her garage on fire, her running-for-office husband with his pants down, and a young woman laying on the lawn with her dress up she thinks things could not get any worse. But Kathleen’s troubles are just beginning because all of the news outlets and social media sites are using a picture of her standing in front of her house with a giant period stain on the back of her pants. Society of Shame by Jane Roper uses this absurd but realistic situation to explore popular culture’s obsession with fame and infamy as Kathleen unwillingly finds herself at the center of a hashtag movement. Roper treads a fine line between satire and ridiculousness, but overall produces a funny and very show more current novel about motherhood, growing older, feminism, and finding yourself at any age. show less

Funny, emotionally resonant, ridiculous (in the best, most over-the-top ways), but most of all razor sharp in its treatment of social media and cancel culture—this book is many things, but all those threads are skillfully woven together to create a satire with an emotionally complex heroine. There are so many things to love about this book, including watching the main character progress and change in ways both satisfying and infuriating. But I really was in awe of how the author clearly has a microscope to the whims of social media discourse. At times I had to catch myself and ask—wait did that really happen or is it just something made up for this book? What makes it all come together for me is the author’s compassionate eye to show more her characters, the feeling that even in a social media world gone mad she is standing right beside you, equally aghast, yet also able to glean the humor from it because really—what else can you do? show less

Thank you to NetGalley for this clever and witty novel. The satirical prose had me laughing many times.

Kathleen (Kat) comes home to find her garage on fire and her husband in the precarious position of trying to douse the flames with his pants at his ankles and another woman in the background. Her taxi driver manages to capture it all on his phone and Kat’s life is never the same. To her horror, one of the pictures show her from behind with dried blood on her pants. Shortly thereafter, a new hashtag is born - #yeswebleed. Kat leans into her new role as a perimenopausal warrior alongside her 12-year-old daughter in the “Yes We Bleed” movement.

There are many aspects of today’s social media world portrayed in this book, the good, show more the bad and the ugly. Social media can be damaging to one’s psyche and it can elevate others to fame. This book shines a light on all of it. It’s the first book I’ve ever read that has a focus on menstruation and it’s done in a unique, mostly hilarious, way. show less

I’m not going to rate this book because I don’t think I would be fair. It was a great book, but I hated it. The main character was the most insufferable woman, a terrible mother, and just very very selfish. The satire is heavy and much appreciated. However, it was a satirization of what I loathe about the Internet, what I try desperately to avoid, and I just read an entire book of it. So it was great, but I hated it.

This was a joy to read, as I giggled my way through it!

When Kathleen arrived home early from a trip, she discovered her garage was on fire and her taxi driver told her he would save her one eyed dog. Her husband the politician ran out with a fire extinguisher and another woman with her panties. A picture was taken of this threesome and the most embarrassing part was Kathleen, being perimenopausal, had a bad period that bled through. This gathered so much attention, that a feminist movement took charge proclaiming Yes We Bleed!!

As we watch Kathleen become Kat and become the spokesperson for this cause, her 12 year old daughter is truly the one who is all about supporting it.

Don’t miss out on this hilarious, realistic book that show more highlights the bond of mother/daughter relationships!

#YesWeBleed #UmYeahNo show less

This book started out strong, very strong. In fact, it was on fire (pun intended). But about halfway through, the book lagged, lagged very badly. The protagonist, Kathleen, or “Kat,” as she has rebranded herself, becomes annoying. Painfully annoying, in fact. The book becomes highly repetitive with Kat doing the same boring and insane things over and over again. She becomes totally self-absorbed and repulsive. I liked her at the beginning, but by this point, I could no longer stand her. She morphed from being a wallflower to a dyed in the wool liberal feminist, promoting any and every leftist cause, like social justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, climate change, woman’s rights, etc., speaking on nationwide platforms and events, show more receiving Woman of the Year awards, yet at the same time, committing so many faux pas and being caught in inconsistent behavior and comments. She became repulsive.

While she was hobnobbing around the country making speeches and appearing on nationwide television and radio programs, she totally ignored her daughter as she was so self-absorbed in her own celebrity. I felt her behavior changed so much, her character become completely inconsistent.

The ending was also an issue. It was neither believable nor realistic. It tied us all the loose ends in a single short chapter. I give the book two stars only because the first half was so good. If that had not been the case, it would have been overrated at one star. Overall, the book is really not worth the time it takes to read it. show less

This book was compared to Lessons in Chemistry in the description -- it is so far from that magnificent novel, I feel disillusioned by the comparison.
This book tries to make menstruation an activist issue when a politician's wife catches her husband in an affair, but the scandal is her menstruation stain captured in a photo as she confronts her cheating husband. Kathleen is mortified by the photo and its publication, and the ensuing publicity and movement called #YesWeBleed. Kathleen is also trying to navigate the difficult issues with her daughter Aggie.
I suffered through this book-it had so much promise but I didn't like it, and didn't laugh at all. A struggle all the way through.