Reviews

At the Same Time: Essays and Speeches by Susan Sontag

inphemeral's review against another edition

5.0

It has been a long time since I've read such a well written book. If you really love reading and you care a lot about form, structure and the use of argumentation in essays this is definitely a must read. It has pushed my thoughts beyond my current comfortable state of mind.

talypollywaly's review

informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

Excellent literary essays.
Sontag made me interested in subjects I knew absolutely nothing about. The political essays were refreshing to read for the time they were published in, but she contradicts herself at times and that was off-putting.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture

rltinha's review against another edition

4.0

Quando a Susan Sontag escreve sobre literatura não dá qualquer margem para o alheamento. Tudo nela e na sua abordagem é investimento pleno e dedicação inata ao que toma tanto como missão como prazer.
Ler literatura é estar só comungando do âmago de outrem. É conhecer o mundo adensando a todo o momento os motivos do merecimento de um certificado de ignorância. Ler sobre a literatura segundo a perspectiva de Sontag é sentir uma companhia flagrante nessa tal tarefa solitária.

dinguini's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

4.0

Her essays on culture/literature are interesting, at times brilliant. The political ones leave much to be desired.

caterpillarnotebooks's review

5.0

makes me believe in what I know is true again

lauravjean's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.75

peternotkavinsky's review against another edition

3.0

Ler Susan Sontag é sempre bom. Os ensaios sobre livros são bem legais, mas bem específico, pois são sobre certos livros. A coletânea como um todo senti que não funcionou para mim. Como disse, os ensaios sobre livros fariam mais sentidos como introdução dos respectivos livros. Os sobre 11 de setembro são muito bons, e gostei bastante dos discursos. Mas, acho que prefiro os livros que são mais direcionados a um tema em especial.

dontgetnastybro's review against another edition

4.0

Hay algunos tópicos en los que Susan Sontag evidencia cierta ingenuidad que supongo pretende demarcar cierta distancia con los temas que trata, esto que es producto, especulo yo, de su edad al momento de escribir algunos de estos ensayos o su evidente posición de privilegio social (me refiero sobretodo a los ensayos que tienen que ver con temas como el intervecionismo estadounidense en el medio oriente y por consiguiente en su posición bastante apologista de la política exterior del estado de Israel) quizás le hacen perder algo de poder a este libro, sin embargo todo eso se compensa porque Sontag es muy buena argumentando sus puntos de vista, siempre lo fue.

Para Sontag-ólogos.

andrewreads's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

melanie_reads's review

4.0

While not her best, it is alas, the last. It was helpful also to read the foreword to better understand the context of these essays and how truly heart breaking to read the lament that she wishes she had more time to write about what burned deep inside her.

Many, many wonderful "big ideas" broken down into tiny bits:

1. There is no final photograph.

2. Literature was freedom. Especially in a time in which the values of reading and inwardness are so strenuously challenged.

3. The likelihood that your acts of resistance cannot stop the injustice does not exempt you from acting in what you sincerely and reflectively hold to be in the best interests of your community.

4. The greatest offense now, in matters both of the arts and of culture generally, not to mention political life, is to seem to be upholding some better, more exigent standard, which is attacked, both from the left and the right, as either naive or (a new banner for the philistines) "elitist."