Book Review: The Testaments

Collection Review: In the No and What Red Was

“…Over 45 years ago, Robert Blauner (1964: 425) wrote that using literature to teach sociology had become “a cliché to which most sensitive sociologists nod assent.” We are early in recognizing the full role and utility of podcasts, with Teaching Sociology relatively recently publishing the first podcast review (see Munasinghe 2020). Nevertheless, we may soon reach the same point of acquiescence referred to by Blauner and certainly recognize the continued relevance of literature as salient, so much so that the very same issue of Teaching Sociology also contains a review of Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments (Sumerau 2020). On the subject of rape and consent, What Red Was , a novel about a young protagonist in England whose friendship with a university mate, from a well-to-do background, leads her into deeper relationships with his family, draws out many relevant and interrelated themes around consent.…”