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Because They Were Women: The Montreal Massacre
Fourteen young university students, murdered because they were women, are memorialized in this definitive account of a tragic day that forced a reckoning with violence against women in our culture. Each of the victims of what became known as the "Montreal Massacre" are remembered, their lives cut short on December 6, 1989, when a man entered their school and systematically shot every young woman he encountered, motivated by a misogyny with roots that go far beyond one man and one day.
248 pages, Paperback
Published November 10, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 19, 2021
Author and journalist Josee Boileau recounts the heart wrenching, tragic day when fourteen university students were murdered because they were women. This day forced a reckoning with violence against women.
We are told of the victims of the "Montreal Massacre" when on Dec 6, 1989 their lives come to an end when a man enters the school and systematically shoots every young woman he encounters.
This book provides information on the shooting, background on the feminism movement before and after the shooting, and most importantly background on each of the fourteen victims.
The cowardly misogynist murderer is barely mentioned. Bravo to Josee Boileau for that!
An important part of Canadian history, this book is a must read!
We are told of the victims of the "Montreal Massacre" when on Dec 6, 1989 their lives come to an end when a man enters the school and systematically shoots every young woman he encounters.
This book provides information on the shooting, background on the feminism movement before and after the shooting, and most importantly background on each of the fourteen victims.
The cowardly misogynist murderer is barely mentioned. Bravo to Josee Boileau for that!
An important part of Canadian history, this book is a must read!
December 2, 2020
ARC received via the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't know very much about the massacre at École Polytechnique de Montréal before reading this, and now, having read it, I'm slightly mad that the few things I did know were wrong. I'd always been fed the 'lone gunman with mental health issues' line, and yet, with even the smallest bit of context, it's clearly a mass femicide. I can't help but view the public image of this attack as the work of anyone other than a raging misogynist as further continuation of violence against women; if we don't name it, then we can pretend it doesn't happen. It does.
In this relatively short book, Boileau outlines the events of the massacre itself, giving just enough detail that the horrors of what happened are made clear but not dwelt on in a morbid fashion, and then goes back to give some context of the women's rights movement in Quebec in the preceding 30 or so years. Again, I didn't realise how quickly the feminist movement was galvanised in the late '60s to the late '70s, and how fast (and late!) changes happened to give women some of the rights men had always taken for granted. With this historical context, the motives of the shooter become undeniable. I did find that this section was a little dry, and an awful lot of it seemed to consist of lists - lists of women 'firsts', lists of how the Polytechnique femicide was commemorated in successive years, lists of laws passed - but I suppose there was a lot of information to pack in, and this was as good a way as any to do it. I would also have liked more focus on the issues that specifically face indigenous women, as they seemed to take a back seat, only really appearing in asides here and there about specific laws passed.
Sometimes the writing seemed quite detached in these sections, probably because of the volume of information conveyed, and I would have appreciated a bit more depth and analysis of some of the things presented as fact. There's also a real clanger when Boileau states that intimate partner violence perpetrated by women against men is never in the form of coercive control or sustained emotional or physical abuse, but rather takes the form of them lashing out in heightened emotional states; this is simply untrue. Those of us in the UK might remember the case of Alex Skeel, who was systematically and nearly fatally abused by his girlfriend over the course of a year. I don't think Boileau does her argument any favours by claiming that women are not capable of this sort of abuse; it certainly seems true that women perpetrate it less often, but it's not an impossibility.
The second half of the book, by far the strongest half, consists of chapters about each of the women who were killed in the femicide. These chapters were really sensitively written and had a real warmth about them; it felt like Boileau really respected and admired the women she was writing about. Conversely, she spends hardly any time on the perpetrator of the femicide, which I think was the right call. The women are allowed to exist as fully fledged human beings before they encountered him on that day, and he's barely even an aside in their narratives. He doesn't loom large over the book. He's just one misogynist who had access to a gun, and there's nothing particularly interesting about him, whereas the women are all enormously accomplished, and frankly you could fill a book with all that they achieved in their short lives. This part of the book reminded me a little of The Five, Hallie Rubenhold's book about the victims of Jack the Ripper, and it's a direction I'd like to see much more writing about true crime take. The victims are too often reduced to nothing but the day they were killed, becoming dehumanised, and Boileau refutes that entirely and effectively.
This is a book I would recommend to those with an interest in understanding the history of violence against women, and it serves as a respectful, informative tribute to the 14 women who were killed in its name.
I didn't know very much about the massacre at École Polytechnique de Montréal before reading this, and now, having read it, I'm slightly mad that the few things I did know were wrong. I'd always been fed the 'lone gunman with mental health issues' line, and yet, with even the smallest bit of context, it's clearly a mass femicide. I can't help but view the public image of this attack as the work of anyone other than a raging misogynist as further continuation of violence against women; if we don't name it, then we can pretend it doesn't happen. It does.
In this relatively short book, Boileau outlines the events of the massacre itself, giving just enough detail that the horrors of what happened are made clear but not dwelt on in a morbid fashion, and then goes back to give some context of the women's rights movement in Quebec in the preceding 30 or so years. Again, I didn't realise how quickly the feminist movement was galvanised in the late '60s to the late '70s, and how fast (and late!) changes happened to give women some of the rights men had always taken for granted. With this historical context, the motives of the shooter become undeniable. I did find that this section was a little dry, and an awful lot of it seemed to consist of lists - lists of women 'firsts', lists of how the Polytechnique femicide was commemorated in successive years, lists of laws passed - but I suppose there was a lot of information to pack in, and this was as good a way as any to do it. I would also have liked more focus on the issues that specifically face indigenous women, as they seemed to take a back seat, only really appearing in asides here and there about specific laws passed.
Sometimes the writing seemed quite detached in these sections, probably because of the volume of information conveyed, and I would have appreciated a bit more depth and analysis of some of the things presented as fact. There's also a real clanger when Boileau states that intimate partner violence perpetrated by women against men is never in the form of coercive control or sustained emotional or physical abuse, but rather takes the form of them lashing out in heightened emotional states; this is simply untrue. Those of us in the UK might remember the case of Alex Skeel, who was systematically and nearly fatally abused by his girlfriend over the course of a year. I don't think Boileau does her argument any favours by claiming that women are not capable of this sort of abuse; it certainly seems true that women perpetrate it less often, but it's not an impossibility.
The second half of the book, by far the strongest half, consists of chapters about each of the women who were killed in the femicide. These chapters were really sensitively written and had a real warmth about them; it felt like Boileau really respected and admired the women she was writing about. Conversely, she spends hardly any time on the perpetrator of the femicide, which I think was the right call. The women are allowed to exist as fully fledged human beings before they encountered him on that day, and he's barely even an aside in their narratives. He doesn't loom large over the book. He's just one misogynist who had access to a gun, and there's nothing particularly interesting about him, whereas the women are all enormously accomplished, and frankly you could fill a book with all that they achieved in their short lives. This part of the book reminded me a little of The Five, Hallie Rubenhold's book about the victims of Jack the Ripper, and it's a direction I'd like to see much more writing about true crime take. The victims are too often reduced to nothing but the day they were killed, becoming dehumanised, and Boileau refutes that entirely and effectively.
This is a book I would recommend to those with an interest in understanding the history of violence against women, and it serves as a respectful, informative tribute to the 14 women who were killed in its name.
November 23, 2020
Being the second rating of this book and giving it 4 stars instantly drops the books overall rating. It pains me to do so because I think this book deserves to be read more than it has been so far.
This was a unique book on a school shooting. It focuses very little on the shooting itself and the terrorist that performed it. Instead it discusses the feminist movement in Quebec and how it was impacted by this, while also really focusing in on the victims of this tragedy.
I live in Montréal and this shooting has always been something you just know existed. Montreal has been the victim of at least 3 school shootings but this was by far the most harrowing, but it’s also the least talked about because it’s quite old. This happened 31 years ago on December 6th, which is older than me. I am glad this book will bring back the memory of that day and use it to educate people on the dangers of violence against women.
I think this book is well worth a read, written simply but is informative. I will admit the feminism stuff was a bit dry for me, but it’s laid out and presented well. It’s a short book, but the pacing didn’t feel off and I like the amount of time spent on each of the three sections (the shooting, feminism, and the girls).
I don’t really have a lot to say about this one. The title really says it all. They died “because they were women”, and the book is all about that.
This was a unique book on a school shooting. It focuses very little on the shooting itself and the terrorist that performed it. Instead it discusses the feminist movement in Quebec and how it was impacted by this, while also really focusing in on the victims of this tragedy.
I live in Montréal and this shooting has always been something you just know existed. Montreal has been the victim of at least 3 school shootings but this was by far the most harrowing, but it’s also the least talked about because it’s quite old. This happened 31 years ago on December 6th, which is older than me. I am glad this book will bring back the memory of that day and use it to educate people on the dangers of violence against women.
I think this book is well worth a read, written simply but is informative. I will admit the feminism stuff was a bit dry for me, but it’s laid out and presented well. It’s a short book, but the pacing didn’t feel off and I like the amount of time spent on each of the three sections (the shooting, feminism, and the girls).
I don’t really have a lot to say about this one. The title really says it all. They died “because they were women”, and the book is all about that.
November 10, 2020
Canada's first mass femicide took place on December 6th, 1989 when an Anti-Feminist gunman named Marc Lépine rampaged through the halls and classrooms of École Polytechnique de Montréal.
This cowardly "man" separated the men from the women and opened fire, killing fourteen and wounding several others. He was not "man enough" nor "woman enough" to face up to the consequences of his actions and took his own life.
Journalist and author, JOSÉE BOILEAU has written the only book to ever examine this crime and it's aftermath.
Not only does this book discuss the day of the Massacre, it also details the political and societal norms facing women in 1989.
By outlining the massacre and the changes that came about as a result, the author gives this important event the respect it is due.
The murdered women, many of whom did not specifically self-identify as "feminists," have been honored with a Day of Remembrance that is still celebrated today - over three decades later.
In my opinion, it is about time that an accurate historical accounting of this hate crime has been written. This book needs to be incorporated into every high-school History and Civics curriculum Canada-wide. This MUST be required reading. It is fitting that BECAUSE THEY WERE WOMEN is being released the day before November 11th, which is Remembrance Day here in Canada. Even though Remembrance Day is a day to honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice during their military service, the fourteen mass murder victims were unwitting pawns in a war they were unaware they were involved in. WE MUST REMEMBER THESE WOMEN.
In 1905, George Santayana, a philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
We CANNOT allow these women to be forgotten. With the writing of this book, Josée Boileau has ensured that their memories will live on.
I rate BECAUSE THEY WERE WOMEN as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I highly recommend this book to every single Canadian, male and female. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.
With the 31st Anniversary of the shooting rapidly approaching, I will definitely be giving copies of this book to all of my local women's shelters for their libraries.
*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***
To learn more about this mass shooting, and to watch video from the night of the massacre, as well as to see photographs of the fourteen victims, visit my blog at
https://bit.ly/BecauseWomen
This cowardly "man" separated the men from the women and opened fire, killing fourteen and wounding several others. He was not "man enough" nor "woman enough" to face up to the consequences of his actions and took his own life.
Journalist and author, JOSÉE BOILEAU has written the only book to ever examine this crime and it's aftermath.
Not only does this book discuss the day of the Massacre, it also details the political and societal norms facing women in 1989.
By outlining the massacre and the changes that came about as a result, the author gives this important event the respect it is due.
The murdered women, many of whom did not specifically self-identify as "feminists," have been honored with a Day of Remembrance that is still celebrated today - over three decades later.
In my opinion, it is about time that an accurate historical accounting of this hate crime has been written. This book needs to be incorporated into every high-school History and Civics curriculum Canada-wide. This MUST be required reading. It is fitting that BECAUSE THEY WERE WOMEN is being released the day before November 11th, which is Remembrance Day here in Canada. Even though Remembrance Day is a day to honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice during their military service, the fourteen mass murder victims were unwitting pawns in a war they were unaware they were involved in. WE MUST REMEMBER THESE WOMEN.
In 1905, George Santayana, a philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
We CANNOT allow these women to be forgotten. With the writing of this book, Josée Boileau has ensured that their memories will live on.
I rate BECAUSE THEY WERE WOMEN as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and I highly recommend this book to every single Canadian, male and female. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know.
With the 31st Anniversary of the shooting rapidly approaching, I will definitely be giving copies of this book to all of my local women's shelters for their libraries.
*** Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book. ***
To learn more about this mass shooting, and to watch video from the night of the massacre, as well as to see photographs of the fourteen victims, visit my blog at
https://bit.ly/BecauseWomen
December 29, 2020
Very powerful book that covers the shooting at Ecole Polytechnic. I enjoyed how this book not only provided information on the shooting, but also provided background on the feminism movement leading up to and following the shooting, and provided background on each of the 14 women who lost their lives. It was a easy but heavy read and I would encourage everyone (especially Canadians) to read it as this is an important piece of our history.
January 30, 2021
I was 18 and in my first semester of university when the Montreal massacre occured. I've never gotten over it. Because they were women by Josee Boileau situations the massacre in Quebec history and works with the family and friends of the 14 women to show them as people with hopes and dreams not just victims. I cried at the photos and stories and wonder again what we lost with the deaths of these 14 women.
February 17, 2024
A very sad book that tells the true story of 14 women that were killed at their university, just "because they were women". The book focuses on the victims (their past and families) and the events that led to the shootings (feminism and its history in Canada), rather than the shootings and the killer.
July 16, 2022
Une lecture nécessaire.
June 15, 2023
very presumptuous and fictionalizes the dead women’s reactions/ emotions/ words
i wouldn’t recommend
i wouldn’t recommend
October 26, 2023
Informative without being sensationalist
May 2, 2024
Absolutely heartbreaking.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews