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kamilaczyta's review against another edition
4.0
Gdy czułam się przebodźcowana to mościłam się na łóżku z gorącą herbatą i sięgałam po "Nadzieję w mroku". Ta lektura była jak miód na mój skołatany nerwami i stresem umysł. Zaznaczyłam masę cytatów (a jeszcze więcej podkreśliłam ołówkiem).
gijs's review against another edition
3.0
Some worthwhile musings on the potential power of narrative and what it means to be a human;
“How do people recognize that they have the power to be storytellers, not just listeners? Hope is the story of uncertainty, of coming to terms with the risk involved in not knowing what comes next, which is more demanding than despair and, in a way, more frightening. And immeasurably more rewarding.”
“For paradise does not require of us courage, selflessness, creativity, passion: paradise in all accounts is passive, is sedative, and if you read carefully, soulless. That’s why John Keats called the world with all its suffering “this vale of soul-making,” why crisis often brings out the best in us. Some imaginative Christian heretics worshipped Eve for having liberated us from paradise—the myth of the fortunate fall. The heretics recognized that before the fall we were not yet fully human—in Paradise, Adam and Eve need not wrestle with morality, with creation, with society, with mortality; they only realize their own humanity in the struggle an imperfect world invites.”
“How do people recognize that they have the power to be storytellers, not just listeners? Hope is the story of uncertainty, of coming to terms with the risk involved in not knowing what comes next, which is more demanding than despair and, in a way, more frightening. And immeasurably more rewarding.”
“For paradise does not require of us courage, selflessness, creativity, passion: paradise in all accounts is passive, is sedative, and if you read carefully, soulless. That’s why John Keats called the world with all its suffering “this vale of soul-making,” why crisis often brings out the best in us. Some imaginative Christian heretics worshipped Eve for having liberated us from paradise—the myth of the fortunate fall. The heretics recognized that before the fall we were not yet fully human—in Paradise, Adam and Eve need not wrestle with morality, with creation, with society, with mortality; they only realize their own humanity in the struggle an imperfect world invites.”
niknakpattywhack's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very hard book for me to review because the writing is good, it seems well researched, and poignant points are made! BUT I'm just not sure I can get on board with the thesis of the book. The idea that there are wins in this modern world don't make me think that those wins aren't overshadowed by significant and heartbreaking losses. Often where terrible regimes and leaders are overthrown the same monster with a different face pops up. Maybe it's the 2020 (and 2021 so far) that is getting to me, but I'm not sure there is hope in the dark. I think there is hope in the small and that's about all we can count on at the moment. Anyway, this book definitely made me think critically about what it means to hope for a better world and how important the concept of hope is, I'm not sure I'm there at the moment. Very curious to see if Solnit will do a 2020 update to the book as there are 2009 and 2014 updates. It's a whole new world and I'd love to see Solnit's thoughts on hope in the current era.
anaisrvlr's review against another edition
3.0
Essay collections aren't my thing and this applies to this book as well. I adhere to the thesis of this book but I just found it very repetitive.
arielamandah's review against another edition
4.0
I like what Solnit has to say. Keeping the long view in mind is critical for any movement. It's hard to remember that our lives are short in the grand scheme of things, and to expect wholesale change over the course of one lifespan is extremely ambitious. I have to say, I started reading this once in 2016, put it down, and picked it up again. It's feeling a little dated in her examples, but perhaps I'm just feeling heavy with the weight of the world right now. I think the message is still good.