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thunderhead's review against another edition
3.0
I hadn’t read Sontag since completing my undergrad degree in 2006, and certainly hadn’t read any of her fiction work. I found myself 50/50 split with these short stories, some I could really get into whereas others just didn’t grab me at all. Inevitably there is a strong philosophical exploration feel to these stories.
book_isk's review against another edition
2.0
bitch this took me years to read.
absolutely no thank you.
stick to camp milady.
absolutely no thank you.
stick to camp milady.
daveroche's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
The first and last stories made the book for me. I was lukewarm on all the stories in between.
chickadee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
Rating right down the middle; some stories are worth the time and others aren't. Highlights: Pilgrimage, The Dummy, Debriefing. Lowlights: Project for a Trip to China, Unguided Tour, Baby.
Both the foreword to this book and all of its press coverage take pains to note that Sontag was not a dedicated short story writer. This should be taken as a word of caution by lovers of the form. It is apparent that Sontag used short stories as a last resort to explore narratives and concepts she couldn't wrangle into essays, books, or plays.
Some stories felt cumbersome, overly expansive in scope, and clumsily experimental. Others, particularly those that bear some marks of autobiography, are more successful, perhaps because closer to the heart.
There are some frustrating attempts at cultural criticism and satire, where potentially rich topics are touched on but not fully examined. Project for a Trip to China's narrator regards China through an Orientalist lens, rebuking it as a land of backwards tradition but lusting after it as an opportunity for adventure and self-actualization. Sontag leaves this lens un-interrogated, laying out the framework for a potential dismantlement of colonialist thought and desire, but stopping short.
This collection happened to be my first encounter with Sontag and it's clear that I'll need to look elsewhere to experience her at her best. However, she shone through in some beautiful images and punchy lines and is most impactful when she is most introspective. Would recommend for those willing to cherry pick the best pieces and for those who are already fond of Sontag's other work and curious about her take on the short story.
Both the foreword to this book and all of its press coverage take pains to note that Sontag was not a dedicated short story writer. This should be taken as a word of caution by lovers of the form. It is apparent that Sontag used short stories as a last resort to explore narratives and concepts she couldn't wrangle into essays, books, or plays.
Some stories felt cumbersome, overly expansive in scope, and clumsily experimental. Others, particularly those that bear some marks of autobiography, are more successful, perhaps because closer to the heart.
There are some frustrating attempts at cultural criticism and satire, where potentially rich topics are touched on but not fully examined. Project for a Trip to China's narrator regards China through an Orientalist lens, rebuking it as a land of backwards tradition but lusting after it as an opportunity for adventure and self-actualization. Sontag leaves this lens un-interrogated, laying out the framework for a potential dismantlement of colonialist thought and desire, but stopping short.
This collection happened to be my first encounter with Sontag and it's clear that I'll need to look elsewhere to experience her at her best. However, she shone through in some beautiful images and punchy lines and is most impactful when she is most introspective. Would recommend for those willing to cherry pick the best pieces and for those who are already fond of Sontag's other work and curious about her take on the short story.
maddierice's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
nhusain14's review against another edition
3.0
Some of these stories were hit or miss for me, but much of her writing, as specific characters, stood out for its affection or humor. Sontag is very effective, in at least a few of these stories, at amplifying emotions at the end of a story about human relationships, like a crescendo of sorts. Some other lines that struck me for their brevity or memorableness or laugh out loud humor:
-- "A boyfriend had to be not just a best friend but taller, and only Peter qualified."
-- "When I was nine, which I did consider childhood, I’d lived for months of grief and suspense in Les Miserables. (It was the chapter in which Fantine was obliged to sell her hair that made a conscious socialist of me.)"
-- "Travel as accumulation. The colonialism of the soul, any soul, however well-intentioned. However chaste, however bent on being good."
-- "I saw you and thought, If I cannot say I love you I am lost. But I didn’t. Instead I am going to write a letter. The weakest move."
-- "A boyfriend had to be not just a best friend but taller, and only Peter qualified."
-- "When I was nine, which I did consider childhood, I’d lived for months of grief and suspense in Les Miserables. (It was the chapter in which Fantine was obliged to sell her hair that made a conscious socialist of me.)"
-- "Travel as accumulation. The colonialism of the soul, any soul, however well-intentioned. However chaste, however bent on being good."
-- "I saw you and thought, If I cannot say I love you I am lost. But I didn’t. Instead I am going to write a letter. The weakest move."
ahc's review against another edition
5.0
"Now I take a deeper breath. Readying myself, ready, faltering. My longing is pithed. It lies at hand, in words.
Turn up the halogen lamp. there's not enough light in this room.
Love, please go on writing. Your letters will always reach me. you can write me in your real, your littlest script. I will hold it to the light. I will magnify it with my love."
This is my first time reading Sontag and I'm absolutely blown away. I don't think I've ever read a better essay collection. Sontag writes about things without saying them outright, if that makes sense. She is able to speak to universal experience by writing through immensely personal stories. Her stories are at the same time visceral and logical; everyday and intimate; detached and feverish. This is borderline incoherent but I feel like I'm in a trance from her writing.
What I'm confused about is how little mention is made of Sontag in the "best American writers" discussions. Maybe I'm late to the game, but I first heard of Sontag through the Met Gala's "Camp" theme a few years back. And after briefly combing through articles on the Beat Generation, best American authors, authors that best highlight the American experience, I didn't see her name on any list. Which is quite striking to me because she traverses the American experience much better, in my opinion, than the "On the Road" observations of Kerouac.
Anyway, if you're reading this review, you need to read this book immediately.
Turn up the halogen lamp. there's not enough light in this room.
Love, please go on writing. Your letters will always reach me. you can write me in your real, your littlest script. I will hold it to the light. I will magnify it with my love."
This is my first time reading Sontag and I'm absolutely blown away. I don't think I've ever read a better essay collection. Sontag writes about things without saying them outright, if that makes sense. She is able to speak to universal experience by writing through immensely personal stories. Her stories are at the same time visceral and logical; everyday and intimate; detached and feverish. This is borderline incoherent but I feel like I'm in a trance from her writing.
What I'm confused about is how little mention is made of Sontag in the "best American writers" discussions. Maybe I'm late to the game, but I first heard of Sontag through the Met Gala's "Camp" theme a few years back. And after briefly combing through articles on the Beat Generation, best American authors, authors that best highlight the American experience, I didn't see her name on any list. Which is quite striking to me because she traverses the American experience much better, in my opinion, than the "On the Road" observations of Kerouac.
Anyway, if you're reading this review, you need to read this book immediately.
kirinmccrory's review
2.0
I just couldn't finish this. I liked a lot of the prose and I found the first few "stories" somewhat interesting, but it just felt like slogging through someone's notes on what to eventually write about--slightly incoherent, somewhat interesting, hard to concentrate on.
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