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a_novel_femme's review
4.0
sedgwicks seminal text which really helps usher in queer theory (alongside judy b. and david halberstam) is perhaps most useful and deserving of at least 3/5 stars by virtue of her introduction alone, where she writes of the various axiomatics that she feels are imperative to queer theory. she points out, among other things, that the study of gender is not the same as the study of sex (or sexuality), that if there is to be a binary set up, it should be between sex and sexuality, and not sex and gander, that the notion of a completely biological explanation for sexuality is problematic if comforting, and a variety of other points that i am now blanking on, seeing as how im running on three hours of sleep and one-and-a-half beers.
the rest of her chapters are written in true sedgwick style, where her prose is so effusive and beautiful yet seems to lose track of the subject time and again. her analysis of henry james is particularly well done (although this is perhaps because i really like james as an author). this is what bumps it up to 4/5 stars for me -- there is something about sedgwicks prose that is luminous and completely frustrating at the same time, which lends itself to a peculiarly rewarding experience.
the rest of her chapters are written in true sedgwick style, where her prose is so effusive and beautiful yet seems to lose track of the subject time and again. her analysis of henry james is particularly well done (although this is perhaps because i really like james as an author). this is what bumps it up to 4/5 stars for me -- there is something about sedgwicks prose that is luminous and completely frustrating at the same time, which lends itself to a peculiarly rewarding experience.
adammm's review
3.0
In Epistemology of the Closet I encountered the same the issue I always have when reading old queer theory: it has been cited so many times that its interventions are no longer novel. Like, I've seen this book cited in virtually every work of queer theory/studies I've ever read. Pushing past binarism, as well as her treatment of the closet and minoritizing/universalizing views of homosexuality, was really quite brilliant in the early 90s, but 30 years later it's... kinda nothing special. I'll definitely be citing this book in my own scholarship, but I don't know how much I'll engage with it beyond that. (Famous last words, I'm sure...)
miss_hva's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
I think the first two chapters (including the introduction) are really the most helpful if you’re not in literary studies. You get the general gist of Sedgwick’s thesis this way.
yulyakrasii's review
4.0
надзвичайно складно читається, за це зняла зірочку. треба постійно гуглити слова, але !! книга чудова в плані змісту, влучні насичені думки, треба читати повільно та вдумливо (інакше не вийде в принципі)
arha's review against another edition
Excellent, insightful writing, but dense and the library wanted it back. Very focused on cultural narratives and not on actual experiences — which is appropriate, as a work of literary criticism, but exhausting for me personally. Also I haven't read all the books being analyzed so I can really only fully appreciate the introductory material.
scrow1022's review against another edition
4.0
Picked this up just for the chapter on Billy Budd. I've read what I'm likely to from this (1/3 of introduction, first and second chapters). Challenging and interesting and one to keep on the shelves, possibly to return to for more later.