Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Woman Is Lost After Her Older BF Gives Her A Misogynist Book To Read, Posts Update 8 Years Later
If you enjoy reading, chances are you’ve come across your fair share of bad books. It can be a book that you pick yourself or something someone recommends to you. Sometimes, a recommendation is so off that you start looking at the person who suggested it differently.
That’s exactly what happened to today’s OP. Her boyfriend suggested a book he loved, but on the second page, she started doubting his judgment – the book was overly sexist and misogynistic. Let’s just say that after this recommendation, their relationship didn’t last very long.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:
Sometimes a recommended book is so bad, you start looking at the person who made the suggestion in a whole different light
Image credits: lookstudio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
A man gifted his girlfriend a book he loved for her to read while she was spending time away
Image credits: GunnarLong2000 / Reddit (not the actual photo)
It was a book called “A Spell for Chameleon,” and it terrified the woman from its first pages
Image credits: Aaaand_Dead / Reddit (not the actual photo)
The storyline of the book wasn’t scary, but what terrified her was how sexist, misogynistic, and poorly written it was
Image credits: lazychickbum
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
She couldn’t believe that her educated and respectful boyfriend liked such a book
Image credits: Rhamely / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
When she asked him about it, he explained that he’d read it over a decade earlier and hadn’t remembered the details of its sexism, which calmed her down a bit
Image credits: lazychickbum
Image credits: teksomolika / Freepik (not the actual photo)
8 years later, the woman posted an update about it – turns out the relationship wasn’t a good fit and they broke up around a month after the original post
Image credits: lazychickbum
Now, she is happily married to someone, who likely doesn’t idealize sexist books
The OP met her boyfriend, who was 12 years older, while they were each studying for their master’s degree. At first, they were friends, then slowly they became more than that, and before the woman left the state for a summer internship, they were a couple.
Before the original poster left for the internship, the boyfriend gave her a book. It was “A Spell for Chameleon” by Piers Anthony. This book is a fantasy novel published in 1977 and is the first book of the “Xanth.” In 1978, it won the best novel of the year at the August Derleth Awards.
The OP would full-heartedly disagree with such an award. In her eyes, this book is an abomination. Her disgust with it started two pages in, as she thought the writing was ridiculous, especially when it was about women.
She tried explaining her doubts to her boyfriend, but he made a deal that if she read it, he would read the Harry Potter books she loved so much. So, she agreed and gave “A Spell for Chameleon” a second chance.
Yet, she still hated it. In fact, she called it one of the most sexist and misogynistic texts she had ever read. Overall, the book was poorly written – with spoon-fed, obvious symbolism; fantasy creatures and concepts that add nothing to the plot; an unlikeable protagonist; and so on.
Despite the award for best novel from over 40 years ago, the original poster isn’t the only one who sees this book as an atrocity. There are quite a few like-minded people in the Goodreads review section. Here, this one calls out the same literary sins as the OP did – poor writing, sexism, and misogyny. Even the author Jason Heller once described this book as “the sad, misogynistic fantasy of Xanth.” Doesn’t sound appealing, does it?
Image credits: Timur Weber / Pexels (not the actual photo)
That’s why the OP kept wondering how she should break the news to her boyfriend that she couldn’t stand this book – and even his promise to read Harry Potter was not going to help it. She didn’t want to upset him, as apparently it was a work he enjoyed, which she couldn’t wrap her head around.
This man was respectful, educated, and identified as a feminist, but loved such a book. She didn’t want to hurt him but wanted him to understand why the book was problematic.
Both the OP and people in the comments wondered if it had been a while since the man had read the book and therefore maybe he didn’t remember its sexism. After all, the human brain is wired to forget certain things that it consumes, to “save space.” And it turned out to be true for this case – it had been at least a decade since he had read the book and he wasn’t able to remember the small details, which calmed the woman down.
But the story doesn’t end here. 8 years later, the OP posted another update, explaining how the story ended. Naturally, since so much time has passed, she is in a whole chapter of her life – happily married, but not to the guy mentioned before.
That relationship crumbled after around a month after the post appeared on Reddit. She received an opportunity to live and study abroad, and since it was clear he didn’t want anything too serious, she called the relationship off. And then suddenly he wanted it to work – he kept contacting her for over a year after the breakup, viewed her profile on LinkedIn, and so on.
As the woman said – online folks’ intuition about him not being the right fit for her came true. Thankfully, she dodged a bullet in time. Writing an update gave her a chance to take a trip down memory lane, helping her to appreciate just how valuable the happy relationship she has now is.
Have you read “A Spell for Chameleon”? What were your thoughts on it?
People in the comments shared their experiences with the same book –how they read it during childhood and didn’t notice how bad it was until they read it as adults
Poll Question
Thanks! Check out the results:
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
What do you think ?
arthbach 1 month ago
Piers Antony has sold many books, and has won many awards, but his writing is incredibly formulaic, misogynistic and sexist. When he started writing, his views would not have been considered too unusual, but he has spectacularly failed to keep abreast of a changing understanding of women's place in society. My suggestion is to avoid his books. If you read them in the past, and enjoyed them, keep hold of the memory. If you haven't read them, don't you will not enjoy.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 month ago
I grew up reading Piers Anthony. I have every single Xanth book (up to Well-Tempered Clavicle), every Phaze/Apprentice Adept book in that series, and every book in the Incarnations of Immortality series. I especially loved Harpy Thyme. But they ARE cringy if re-read now - yes, they've got some fairly misogynistic attitudes and themes that are typical for when they were written - disgusting attitudes/themes, but not surprising ones. It's the same with a lot of Heinlein's books (one of my favorite authors), especially the older ones. A lot of manly, chest-thumping men and buxom, giggly female characters. But that's how fantasy/sci-fi was written back then. I'm not excusing it - but we have to understand WHY it's that way. And if anyone's favorite book NOWADAYS is one of those books - perhaps it's good to raise an eyebrow.
JB 1 month ago
My favourite Heinlein book is Friday. Stranger in a strange land is epic but Friday focuses on a woman who is true to herself. Even when others try to treat her as lesser.
Load More Replies...
arthbach 1 month ago
Piers Antony has sold many books, and has won many awards, but his writing is incredibly formulaic, misogynistic and sexist. When he started writing, his views would not have been considered too unusual, but he has spectacularly failed to keep abreast of a changing understanding of women's place in society. My suggestion is to avoid his books. If you read them in the past, and enjoyed them, keep hold of the memory. If you haven't read them, don't you will not enjoy.
LakotaWolf (she/her) 1 month ago
I grew up reading Piers Anthony. I have every single Xanth book (up to Well-Tempered Clavicle), every Phaze/Apprentice Adept book in that series, and every book in the Incarnations of Immortality series. I especially loved Harpy Thyme. But they ARE cringy if re-read now - yes, they've got some fairly misogynistic attitudes and themes that are typical for when they were written - disgusting attitudes/themes, but not surprising ones. It's the same with a lot of Heinlein's books (one of my favorite authors), especially the older ones. A lot of manly, chest-thumping men and buxom, giggly female characters. But that's how fantasy/sci-fi was written back then. I'm not excusing it - but we have to understand WHY it's that way. And if anyone's favorite book NOWADAYS is one of those books - perhaps it's good to raise an eyebrow.
JB 1 month ago
My favourite Heinlein book is Friday. Stranger in a strange land is epic but Friday focuses on a woman who is true to herself. Even when others try to treat her as lesser.
Load More Replies... You May Like GF Is Flabbergasted After Jobless BF Insists He Gets Equity In Her Home Due To Housework He Does “Out Of Her Mind”: GF Expects BF To Pay For Her Kids And Her Ex’s Family To Take A Trip To Disney
Monika Pašukonytė
Shelly Fourer
Related on Bored Panda
14
32