Women Talking

by Miriam Toews · 2018

In a remote Mennonite colony, more than a hundred women and girls have endured nightly assaults they were told were the work of demons. When eight of the survivors finally gather in a hayloft, they confront the horror with a fierce, urgent purpose: to decide how to protect themselves and their daughters and to hold their community accountable. Over two days, these illiterate women—cut off from the outside world and unable to speak the dominant language— wrestle with questions of free will, collective responsibility, and forgiveness, debating whether to stay, leave, or fight back. Miriam Toews weaves a powerful, imagined response to real events, offering a haunting yet hopeful exploration of resilience, solidarity, and the moral choices that shape a society.