Reviews

Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults by Laurie Penny

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lilburger's review against another edition

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emotional informative medium-paced

3.5

walkerct's review against another edition

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4.0

With this book Laurie Penny has cemented herself as one of my all-time favorite feminist writers. Her no apologies assessment of the world from an intersectional feminist perspective is exactly the kind of commentary our world desperately needs right now. While she's always been emotionally present and honest in her writing, the election of Donald Trump gives her an even more visceral, urgent edge. And though this book works through a lot of dark topics, in the end there is always a feeling of resilience and resistance.

The only slightly negative aspect for me is that, since it's a collection of essays, the flow of the book is not as strong as it was in [b:Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution|20613624|Unspeakable Things Sex, Lies and Revolution|Laurie Penny|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405924555s/20613624.jpg|39894983]. A couple of the essays are very brief, and feel almost like afterthoughts compared to some of the longer pieces. They're all worth reading, though, and I would recommend this book to any feminists out there who are unhappy with the world as it currently is.

chrisiant's review

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4.0

Laurie Penny says a lot of the things I want to say, but better. Sometimes her anger is a little over-the-top for me, but mostly I’m right there with her. I did have to take a few breaks in the course of reading this because I couldn’t sustain that level of high-energy outrage without being exhausted, but she’s right that there’s plenty to be outraged about.

I’m glad Penny is out there making her voice and views heard despite the firehoses of harassment and bullshit thrown her way by conservatives and bro-dudes.