Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Recollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir by Rebecca Solnit

6 reviews

tianamannell's review

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

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. 

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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

novelyon's review

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexism

Minor: Stalking

hazelgirl21's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Death of parent and Racism

violetends's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Read this for my bookclub. There are so many things about this book that left me without words. Even though it is an autobiographical work that also looks at history and the social contexts of her experiences, Solnit writes as if it were poetry. And with such incredible precision! Especially the chapters about misogyny, sexual violence and feminism were outstanding. It is very important to say though that these are particularly graphic. I found them difficult to read at times, nevertheless I consider them thoroughly enriching. 

This book is just something else and I have not read another work that compares. It is difficult on an emotional level, but so much worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

buntatamilis's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual violence

Minor: Classism, Stalking, and Misogyny