Inspired by real events in an isolated community, Canadian writer Miriam Toews centered “Women Talking” on eight Mennonite women meeting to decide how to address the rampant sexual assaults happening in their isolated community.
The 240-page book forces readers to understand the fears the women face as they come to terms knowing their male friends, neighbors and relatives drugged and raped them. It’s told in the form of meeting minutes taken by the community’s only school teacher, August Epp, who has a lifelong love of one of the women, Ona.
Toews made a conscious decision not to include any acts of violence in her novel.
“It was important to me. I didn’t want to reenact these crimes, the rapes,” she told NPR.
Image of Canadian author Miriam Toews, who wrote “Women Talking.” The novel was published in 2018 and made into a film in 2022.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.
Although no graphic depictions of sexual assault are included, “Talking Women” addresses the physical and emotional scars the women bear. Among the most noticeable are Greta’s painfully large dentures from having her teeth knocked out for crying during her rape. The others have marks from being detained.
“Women Talking” has several different covers since its original run. Some publicize Toews, while others highlight the bonds between women.
Photos courtesy of Amazon.
The women finally come to the decision to leave with all children under 15. They coordinate a plan to subdue the men who stand in their way and depart in buggies.
In the same NPR interview, Toews explained the optimism of the ending.
“And in the end, of course, that document, the minutes are irrelevant to the women — they can’t read them, they have far more important things to do. The implication is that the women will go on to write their own story,” she said.
Toews’ seventh novel received positive praise from critics and was nominated for three awards. It was a finalist for the Governor General’s Awards, the Trillium Book Award, and long listed for the International Dublin Literary Award.
American actress Frances McDormand read the book in 2019 and immediately bought the rights and began work to adapt it for the screen. She partnered with producer Dede Gardner to begin the work.
Movie poster for “Women Talking” with quotes and ratings from critics. The film was positioned as a small, arthouse Oscar contender for the 2023 awards.
Then, actress turned writer/director Sarah Polley joined the team. Polley had expressed an interest in being part of the project after McDormand and Gardner had already reached out to her agent, which Polley believes means it was meant to be.
McDormand was joined on screen by Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jesse Buckley, Judith Ivey, Emily Mitchell, August Winter, according to the “Women Talking” IMDB webpage.
“Women Talking” movie premiere in November 2022. Screenwriter and director Sarah Polley is surrounded by actresses Rooney Mara (left) and Claire Foy (right).
Photo courtesy of Variety.
Polley, as the screenwriter and director, told Vanity Fair in 2022 that the film isn’t for one type of audience.
“This movie is about a place to speak about things and a place to move forward together on a kind of common ground, and to hear each other and to be able to shift and change,” she said. “This isn’t for one group of people. It’s for everybody.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated “Women Talking” for two Oscars: Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. The film won for screenplay with Polley accepting the Academy Award.
Sarah Polley, who both wrote the screenplay and directed “Women Talking,” holding her Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The photo was taken at the Academy Awards in April 2023.
Photo courtesy of Academy Awards Press Room.
In part, Polley acknowledged the import of the film’s message:
“Miriam Toews wrote an essential novel about a radical democracy in which people who don’t agree on every single issue managed to sit together in a room and carve out a way forward together free of violence. They do so not just by talking but also by listening.”
Both the book and film versions of “Women Talking” are available on Amazon.