An adaptation of Three Women makes four a crowd

FOR A WORK OF LITERARY NONFICTION TO thrill readers the way Lisa Taddeo's 2019 best seller Three Women has done, it must offer more than just rich subject matter.

- JUDY BERMAN

There has to be chemistry between the author and the story; readers have to feel her intimate understanding of its characters and ideas. Fittingly, given that Three Women is a triptych portrait of female desire in 21st century America, there's an element of seduction. Taddeo closes the deal by closing the space that separates herself from the women whose sex lives she chronicles. Their minds, hearts, and libidos speak so loudly, you might forget she's even there.

That such a feverish read was adapted into a steamy yet sad premium-cable drama is no surprise. Unfortunately, the series, despite having been created by Taddeo, breaks the book's sweaty spell. Like the text spun through a centrifuge, it pairs retellings of the women's stories with that of a fourth: the Taddeoesque journalist (Shailene Woodley's Gia) traveling to collect characters. Despite bold performances and sensitive directing that centers women's perspectives, its disjointed structure and flimsy frame narrative suggest the book might not have been so ripe for TV after all.