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cartermon4's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny
Moderate: War, Violence, Rape, Colonisation, Grief, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Death
Minor: Murder
julianh's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, War, Antisemitism, Classism, and Racism
peggychecksitout's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Every now and then, you come across a writer who speaks to something in you—an instinctual, clarifying realisation that the writer has something to teach you, if you’ll have the patience to listen to the message and learn it by heart. Rebecca Solnit is such a writer for me. What the message is, I’m still learning, but reading her memoir has unlocked a little more of it for me.
Recollections of My Non-Existence isn’t a conventional memoir, it’s more of an essayistic exploration of how she found her voice as the writer she is today. She muses on the forces around her that shaped her—her experiences facing gendered violence and oppression, the different communities she has been involved in and drawn to, and her love of books and writing.
Solnit has a really engaging writing style: she’s funny, insightful, lyrical and impactful. She effortlessly weaves together narratives exploring the personal, the philosophical, the political and the historic, and she is so good at invoking a sense of time and place you really come away feeling like you’ve experienced a small slice of it.
I think the best non-fiction is that which leaves you with the world making a little more sense in a new way—a small piece of the puzzle that is the human experience clicks into place, and this book was definitely achieved that for me.
Though this is only my third book of hers in my reading journey through her ouevre, it has definitely cemented Solnit as a guiding light in my own journey to find my way as a person and as an aspiring writer.
Recollections of My Non-Existence isn’t a conventional memoir, it’s more of an essayistic exploration of how she found her voice as the writer she is today. She muses on the forces around her that shaped her—her experiences facing gendered violence and oppression, the different communities she has been involved in and drawn to, and her love of books and writing.
Solnit has a really engaging writing style: she’s funny, insightful, lyrical and impactful. She effortlessly weaves together narratives exploring the personal, the philosophical, the political and the historic, and she is so good at invoking a sense of time and place you really come away feeling like you’ve experienced a small slice of it.
I think the best non-fiction is that which leaves you with the world making a little more sense in a new way—a small piece of the puzzle that is the human experience clicks into place, and this book was definitely achieved that for me.
Though this is only my third book of hers in my reading journey through her ouevre, it has definitely cemented Solnit as a guiding light in my own journey to find my way as a person and as an aspiring writer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Mental illness, Racism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Stalking, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent and Racism
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