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justineodashs's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
3.25
She’s a fabulous writer but for all her feminist musings I’d love any information at all about why she signed a letter in support of Roman Polanski in 2009
litteraturisten's review against another edition
3.0
some of the essays in this book are real gems, especially if you are interested in feminism, literature or art, but as a whole the book feels a bit long. however, it is still well written and worth reading!
gentlemanjack's review
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This book contains essays which explore and reflect on society through feminist philosophy and psychoanalysis. It covers various topics, from family to a career in literature, from true crime to discussing literature's impact on culture.
The author presents difficult questions regarding morality and the meaning of life that challenge the status quo of the establishment. And intricately examines the confines and restrictions of our modern-day society as a product of past cultures, theories and experiences, with an emphasis on the inherited nature of thoughts and beliefs.
Many of the essays are brief but a great starter for discussions and to improve critical-thinking skills, some of the material may be challenging to readers.
One thing I did not enjoy was that some essays did not flow in the larger sense of the book and felt out of place.
The author presents difficult questions regarding morality and the meaning of life that challenge the status quo of the establishment. And intricately examines the confines and restrictions of our modern-day society as a product of past cultures, theories and experiences, with an emphasis on the inherited nature of thoughts and beliefs.
Many of the essays are brief but a great starter for discussions and to improve critical-thinking skills, some of the material may be challenging to readers.
One thing I did not enjoy was that some essays did not flow in the larger sense of the book and felt out of place.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
rieviolet's review against another edition
I started the book without knowing much about it, except that it's a collection of essays. I enjoyed some chapters more focused on the author's family history, on literature and translation, but a lot of them were just so hard to get through. Some of the topics were just not interesting to me personally (art and psychoanalysis), some others were too much specialized for a layperson like me (philosophy and science), and some were just on subjects that I do not enjoy reading about because they usually end up rubbing me the wrong way (parenthood and pregnancy). I tried my best but I'm not keen to keep on reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Sexism, Racism, Xenophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Islamophobia, Blood, Murder, Mental illness, Transphobia, Medical content, Classism, Antisemitism, and Cannibalism
Minor: Cancer, Slavery, Suicide, Ableism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, War, Excrement, Pedophilia, Animal death, Child abuse, Rape, Child death, Confinement, and Sexual violence
tiurina's review against another edition
2.0
a promising beginning and an extremely disappointing end.
some of the first essays in the book touched me deeply and i was so excited to continue reading this book. in the middle, i sometimes felt dull and unrelatable, but still enjoyed her writing style. the end ruined everything. it was incredibly boring and I found the final essays to have a big lack of references.
good ideas on various topics with a nice feminist touch, but a bad realization.
some of the first essays in the book touched me deeply and i was so excited to continue reading this book. in the middle, i sometimes felt dull and unrelatable, but still enjoyed her writing style. the end ruined everything. it was incredibly boring and I found the final essays to have a big lack of references.
good ideas on various topics with a nice feminist touch, but a bad realization.