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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Solnit is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers.
challenging
funny
informative
fast-paced
I agree with the Author's views and her essay's were good but I think it was not as impactful as it has not gone into much depth.
accessible, intro to feminism essays and despite nothing new, it was still engaging. however where is the intersectionality and capitalism was mentioned on the second last page lol. Also what is going on with the ode to Virginia Woolf and Susan Sontag’s fractured relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment
Boy she would have loveddd the 2022 SC ruling…. not quite intersectional enough for me
3.25-3.5
I will admit I am just not a huge fan of essay collections. This was a very good collections of essays exploring gender equality, and the current culture of woman-ness (surrounding equality, rape, and being heard) in America. The art was amazing...in fact it was my favorite part of the book. Solnit is a great essay writer, essays just aren't my thing usually. Qq
I will admit I am just not a huge fan of essay collections. This was a very good collections of essays exploring gender equality, and the current culture of woman-ness (surrounding equality, rape, and being heard) in America. The art was amazing...in fact it was my favorite part of the book. Solnit is a great essay writer, essays just aren't my thing usually. Qq
Stellar. Five stars worth, in fact. All of these smart, provocative, and powerful essays held my attention, and some held me spellbound. I read the entire collection of seven essays in one sitting. I read numerous passages to my (patient) spouse, and know I will copy out quite a few, too. And I will read more of Solnit’s work.
The volume, though slim, is rich in ideas, in sentences that need to be reread and considered at length, and in lucid and incisive writing. The book has been called a touchstone of the feminist movement, but that seems too narrow a view, suggesting that it’s a book for women. This is a book for all of us. It’s not just about women’s rights; it’s about human rights.
The first essay begins with the way women are so often patronized — certainly not by all men but by many — no matter how intelligent, expert, or accomplished. Most of us have experienced this and I’m sure most men have witnessed it at one time or another. The various essays include depressing rape and murder stats, domestic abuse, femicide, and the myriad ways that male arrogance and privilege subjugate women in subtle and devastating ways.
But if all this sounds depressing, there is yet hope. Solnit traces the progress of the women’s movement — from silencings to slutwalks — and emphasizes that it’s a long road and not a particularly straight one. It requires all of our imaginative powers and an ability to think outside the box. One thing is for sure. The realizations born of the feminist movement are not going to be put back in the bag, the box, the bottle. Some things that couldn’t be said in the past are the accepted wisdom today.
And Solnit takes us beyond feminism to show that “There’s more that we need to be liberated from: maybe a system that prizes competition and ruthlessness and short-term thinking and rugged individualism, a system that serves environmental destruction and limitless consumption so well -- that arrangement you can call capitalism. It embodies the worst of machismo while it destroys what’s best on Earth.”
Solnit is an historian, feminist, activist, cultural critic, and one of our leading public intellectuals.
The volume, though slim, is rich in ideas, in sentences that need to be reread and considered at length, and in lucid and incisive writing. The book has been called a touchstone of the feminist movement, but that seems too narrow a view, suggesting that it’s a book for women. This is a book for all of us. It’s not just about women’s rights; it’s about human rights.
The first essay begins with the way women are so often patronized — certainly not by all men but by many — no matter how intelligent, expert, or accomplished. Most of us have experienced this and I’m sure most men have witnessed it at one time or another. The various essays include depressing rape and murder stats, domestic abuse, femicide, and the myriad ways that male arrogance and privilege subjugate women in subtle and devastating ways.
But if all this sounds depressing, there is yet hope. Solnit traces the progress of the women’s movement — from silencings to slutwalks — and emphasizes that it’s a long road and not a particularly straight one. It requires all of our imaginative powers and an ability to think outside the box. One thing is for sure. The realizations born of the feminist movement are not going to be put back in the bag, the box, the bottle. Some things that couldn’t be said in the past are the accepted wisdom today.
And Solnit takes us beyond feminism to show that “There’s more that we need to be liberated from: maybe a system that prizes competition and ruthlessness and short-term thinking and rugged individualism, a system that serves environmental destruction and limitless consumption so well -- that arrangement you can call capitalism. It embodies the worst of machismo while it destroys what’s best on Earth.”
Solnit is an historian, feminist, activist, cultural critic, and one of our leading public intellectuals.
informative
inspiring
reflective
I particularly loved the "Grandmother Spider" essay and "Pandora's Box and the Volunteer Police Force" essay. A really great read for all, though, discussing feminism, rape culture and why capitalism harms us immensely.
Very basic feminist ideas, but I liked how well researched the first few essays were and even though none of the concepts was new to me, I didn’t feel like I was only reading stuff I already knew. The collection for sure lacks intersectionality and I felt like the essay about Virginia Woolf was kinda misplaced. I’m torn between 2.5 and 3 stars.