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theciz's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Being occasionally exposed to the crazy descent of Naomi Wolf, I was curious to read a book about her from an author I, and many others, were constantly mistaking her for. I was aware of Klein’s work before this, but hadn’t read any of it, so I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. Somehow I was still disappointed.
She uses Wolf’s mainstream meltdowns to examine modern conspiratorial far-right culture, mostly through the lens of the whole anti-vax madness of 2020-2022. As with much "covid writing", I couldn’t help but think "I just went through all of this and know all of this already". I didn’t feel like there was any particularly informative or enlightening analysis going on - just endless descriptions of what Steve Bannon was saying on podcasts. The rest - neoliberalism, social media, Israel, relitigating the 2016 Bernie campaign yet again, etc. - felt disparate and shallow (approvingly quoting Kendzior in 2023? Yikes). She attempts to link everything to the "doppelgänger" theme, but it’s mostly tenuous - a forced analogy I could have done without. Again, if you’ve been on the internet enough the last ten years, there’s nothing revelatory. As such, I wished she’d just stuck to the personal parts, as they were the most interesting.
The ending also wasn’t very useful - "work together", what a revolutionary thought! It wasn’t that bad, but it also kind of felt like a waste of time.
She uses Wolf’s mainstream meltdowns to examine modern conspiratorial far-right culture, mostly through the lens of the whole anti-vax madness of 2020-2022. As with much "covid writing", I couldn’t help but think "I just went through all of this and know all of this already". I didn’t feel like there was any particularly informative or enlightening analysis going on - just endless descriptions of what Steve Bannon was saying on podcasts. The rest - neoliberalism, social media, Israel, relitigating the 2016 Bernie campaign yet again, etc. - felt disparate and shallow (approvingly quoting Kendzior in 2023? Yikes). She attempts to link everything to the "doppelgänger" theme, but it’s mostly tenuous - a forced analogy I could have done without. Again, if you’ve been on the internet enough the last ten years, there’s nothing revelatory. As such, I wished she’d just stuck to the personal parts, as they were the most interesting.
The ending also wasn’t very useful - "work together", what a revolutionary thought! It wasn’t that bad, but it also kind of felt like a waste of time.
leighkp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
avsharp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
tedcannon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
jacobinreads's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
I've not read any of Naomi Klein's other books, but this one has the air of a profound act of diagnosis that verges on prophecy. The framing device (the exploration of Klein's "doppelganger" Naomi Wolf, and her descent into right-wing quackery) threatens to wear thin, but never quite does. Once the mid-point hits, Klein leaves the realm of introspection and truly hits her stride in a brilliant exploration of contemporary movement politics, political discourse, and the progressive political imaginary.
The prose is sharp and often poignant. Super well written, and makes me want to read more from her. Definitely recommended.
The prose is sharp and often poignant. Super well written, and makes me want to read more from her. Definitely recommended.
bethanydark's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0