Do you think the novel would have benefited from a greater female presence?

Stephanie Elizabeth · Post by **Stephanie Elizabeth** » 04 Oct 2019, 08:32

While I have been really enjoying the book, I do believe the book could have benefitted from a greater female presence. I think by possibly making Sarah's character have more of a role, it could have added more perspective.

shaz1994 · Post by **shaz1994** » 04 Oct 2019, 16:00

I think the historical setting of the story serves as an excuse to have fewer female characters but I still feel that it would benefit from more female characters. If there were more strong female characters it would lose its historical aspect.

Amina Yusuf · Post by **Amina Yusuf** » 05 Oct 2019, 01:33

I think Sarah played her part well in the book. In fact, she is to me the leader of the pack so to speak. Jamie and Jacko followed her lead in the Malayan jungle. The other female characters are also felt. Carna and Monique are the pillars supporting the main characters. I think the role given to each female character is appropriate.

BookPower9 · Post by **BookPower9** » 05 Oct 2019, 05:47

That would make more interesting if the story comprise the function of women characters. And as we all know, even movies perhaps doesn't make more attractive if there were no participation of the women. Aside from the book tells they have skills that make the mission more possible to execute.

Falconcrest · Post by **Falconcrest** » 05 Oct 2019, 06:09

History does have it's female heroines let's not forget Cleopatra she has always stood out. I have not read this book yet though I get a strong feeling that the author didn't intentionally include a female heroin because it was not part of his overall theme.

Brendan Donaghy · Post by **Brendan Donaghy** » 05 Oct 2019, 06:55

Juliet+1 wrote: ↑02 Oct 2019, 21:37 I think the novel would be much better with a greater female presence, because that's reality. And not all the women have to be young and adventurous. How about a middle-aged anthropologist like Margaret Mead wandering about the jungle? There's plenty of room for a more even treatment when creating minor characters.

Primatologist Jane Goodall would be another one who would fit the bill.

Lil_bro · Post by **Lil_bro** » 05 Oct 2019, 13:35

Overall, Sarah's presence is sufficiently convincing and memorable. Besides, it is the personality that leaves an impression, not only the gender which the protagonist belongs to.

Akpome1 · Post by **Akpome1** » 06 Oct 2019, 05:49

I don't think so. It is possible that Sarah actually has the skill of tracking in reality. If you look at all the characters very closely, you would see that they were carefully chosen. They all played their roles very well. This means that Sarah was not just put there just because she is a woman. She was put there because of her exceptional skills. Do you realize that she found her husband in the process?

OliviaLouise · Post by **OliviaLouise** » 06 Oct 2019, 07:51

Definitely. Women still struggle to get representation in contemporary literature. Especially in genres like action and adventure. Writing a strong female character is not enough: we need more with central roles!

Phikim · Post by **Phikim** » 06 Oct 2019, 12:11

I think it's a matter of the context in the story. We see so much of crime, conflicts among other vices. In this kind of environment, expect less female play. Naturally, they never endure such. So inclusion of them would have less impact. Sarah might have been aggressive but that doesn't mean that any other female presence or inclusion will mean the same.

Sarah admissibility has done a fantastic job in tracking but that doesn't qualify the presence of other female characters. Let inclusion be for the vibrant and aggressive characters. By this,I don't mean to be gender insensitive.

lauren3cats · Post by **lauren3cats** » 06 Oct 2019, 19:16

The lack of a real strong female presence didn’t bother me so much because of the time period the book is set in. I always think strong female characters add a lot to a book but I didn’t feel like there was a hole in the book in this case.

DorcasToo · Post by **DorcasToo** » 07 Oct 2019, 02:08

I think Sarah does a great job of representing the females. But definitely, more feminity would add in some spark.

Bhaskins · Post by **Bhaskins** » 08 Oct 2019, 05:29

Lindsey Klaus wrote: ↑02 Oct 2019, 17:33 While female empowerment does not seem to be a theme of the story, I think almost anything based in history could use a stronger female presence. Though I don't feel that the author is intentionally leaving them out or anything like that. Women have been heavily present in adventures throughout history, but unfortunately their roles have often been dismissed, painted over, or forgotten. I think it's important we don't continue that trend. That being said, while I haven't read the whole story, I don't get the impression the author is sexist or anything like that.

Yes! I agree with this. It doesn’t feel intional, but I think we as a society need to be a bit more intentional about including women!

Ruba Abu Ali · Post by **Ruba Abu Ali** » 08 Oct 2019, 06:14

Hester3 wrote: ↑03 Oct 2019, 02:39 Given the time period of the book along with the setting, a greater female presence would not have been realistic. I think the author did a fantastic job with his female characters. Given how young Sarah is, her character is remarkable but more strong female characters would have diminished Sarah's role.

I share the same opinion. I didn't feel the female presence was dismissed or overpowered, and I don't think Sarah's role should've been done any other way.