The Contemporary Woman by Michelle Guinness  

This reflection on womanhood has some fine moments but is ultimately a mixed offering

The Contemporary Woman                                                     
By Michelle Guinness
Hodder Faith
ISBN No: 9781529358322
Reviewed By: Moira Kleissner

I had read other books by Michelle Guinness which were autobiographical and enjoyed them, so looked forward to this book. The blurb gave the impression of perhaps being slightly different, examining from the Christian perspective, the role of women today and whether modern women can indeed “have it all”.
 
The preamble pulled me into what appeared to be an excellent discussion on Christian women today and how the role developed biblically, through history and within our society.  
 
The format looks at three views of women: The Hebrew Woman; The Christ-following Woman and The Contemporary Woman. However, although it starts as a good examination of the expectations of society and these women, it soon becomes obvious the author pigeon holes women into stereotypical types: manipulative, life-giving, assertive, silent, women of little-status, sexual, mothering, working and so on. Within each section she  examines some more contemporary women, although many aren’t very modern. The biographies of women such as Mary Slessor, Gladys Edwards, St Hilda and Amy Carmichael are hagiographies usually based on one source. 
 
Guinness interprets the life of women in the Bible, by back reading into their context some modern attitudes with supercilious comments that irritated me. However, in saying that, there were some excellent comments on the context and role of women in the early church and Paul’s attitude. There is much humour here too which keeps the style light.
 
The format is somewhat of a curate’s egg that often ends up in a scrambled ramble about her family. It means the book starts well and the final chapter is excellent but the middle is less engaging.
 
Guinness needs to make up her mind what the theme of her book is - and stick to it. Is it about how she as a woman grew up, went out to work and her experiences and how she coped; is it a study of women in the Bible and their relevance today; is it a critique of the role of women through history? Michelle Guinness herself says that she is like a grasshopper and certainly the structure and style of this book is very much in keeping with that self-penned portrait.
 

Moira Kleissner is a retired Primary Deputy Head, storyteller, trainer and minister’s wife