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tensy's review against another edition
5.0
An exquisitely written memoir of the author as a young woman coming into her own voice as a writer in 1980's San Francisco. The chapter on her love of books, and their influence, was a reflection of my own emotions. Passages about writing could be used as a primer in college writing courses. However, the main theme of this memoir is how the world tends to treat young (and old) women as nonexistent. Her words and experiences are an example of how to find the courage to rely on your own inner voice and to learn use it.
Favorite quotes:
--Being human can mean many things.
--You should be with people who are like you, who are facing what you're facing, who dream your dreams and fight your battles, who recognize you. An then, other times, you should be like people unlike yourself. Because there is a problem as well with those who spend too little time being anyone else; it stunts the imagination in which empathy takes root, that empathy that is a capacity to shape-shift and roam out of your sole self.
--You learn to think of what you are in terms of what they want, and addressing their want becomes so ingrained in you that you lose sight of what you want, and sometimes you vanish to yourself in the art of appearing to and for others.
--I wanted English to be an instrument on which many kinds of music could be played.
--It's not you, it's patriarchy. [I suggest you read her essay "Men Explain Things To Me."]
--to make work that is so deeply absorbed that it ceases to be what people see and becomes how they see.
Favorite quotes:
--Being human can mean many things.
--You should be with people who are like you, who are facing what you're facing, who dream your dreams and fight your battles, who recognize you. An then, other times, you should be like people unlike yourself. Because there is a problem as well with those who spend too little time being anyone else; it stunts the imagination in which empathy takes root, that empathy that is a capacity to shape-shift and roam out of your sole self.
--You learn to think of what you are in terms of what they want, and addressing their want becomes so ingrained in you that you lose sight of what you want, and sometimes you vanish to yourself in the art of appearing to and for others.
--I wanted English to be an instrument on which many kinds of music could be played.
--It's not you, it's patriarchy. [I suggest you read her essay "Men Explain Things To Me."]
--to make work that is so deeply absorbed that it ceases to be what people see and becomes how they see.
junevonjune's review against another edition
5.0
One of the most meaningful books I’ve read this year, one I will return to.
txelloni's review
5.0
És la primera vegada que llegeixo la Rebecca Solnit, no sé si en altres assajos seus trobaré aquests moments d'intensa connexió amb ella. M'ha semblat una veu forta, de feminista del segle XXI, de les que saben què arroseguem i què ens trobem, de les que aprens perquè trobes que t'entén molt bé. De les que vols al teu costat. De les que vols d'amiga i de guia, tant per conversar com per escoltar-la durant hores (un no-parar de subratllar, ja ho adverteixo).
0rph3us's review against another edition
5.0
Life changing!
If you are someone who falls outside of the traditional image of "man" when it refers to people, almost everything Rebecca Solnit writes in Recollections of My Non-Existence will strike true. Silently, there has been a war raging against people of color, women and queer people.
The experiences Solnit writes about unfortunately resonate. From being talked over, dismissed as a liar, to being followed home in the dead of night. But the way she writes (making the fight for equality equal to poetry, a love story) has not managed to scare me, only to inspire.
She perfectly conceptualizes what is wrong and in her explanation of her fight for change, she instills hope in the reader in how they can also help. That things have changed (although not yet enough) and that will continue to change.
I recommend this book to everyone. Read this book. Be upset. Be a little in love. Be hopeful!
If you are someone who falls outside of the traditional image of "man" when it refers to people, almost everything Rebecca Solnit writes in Recollections of My Non-Existence will strike true. Silently, there has been a war raging against people of color, women and queer people.
The experiences Solnit writes about unfortunately resonate. From being talked over, dismissed as a liar, to being followed home in the dead of night. But the way she writes (making the fight for equality equal to poetry, a love story) has not managed to scare me, only to inspire.
She perfectly conceptualizes what is wrong and in her explanation of her fight for change, she instills hope in the reader in how they can also help. That things have changed (although not yet enough) and that will continue to change.
I recommend this book to everyone. Read this book. Be upset. Be a little in love. Be hopeful!
morandareads's review against another edition
5.0
This is Rebecca Solnit’s crowning achievement. I loved this book. I had read Men Explain Things To Me and liked but not loved it. I read A Field Guide to Getting Lost and liked it but wasn’t moved by it. This book however is superb.
We follow her through her growth as a young woman and into an adult but it’s cerebral, contemplative, and exploratory. It reads almost like stream of consciousness at times but neater, cleaner. You can follow her threads and you come out the other side feeling like she’s brought your through her genuine experience. That is an extremely difficult effect to achieve and I applaud her for it.
I am going to do a deep dive into her writing now. I waited a while to read this book and I’m so glad I finally did. A fascinating and ruminating read to delve into.
We follow her through her growth as a young woman and into an adult but it’s cerebral, contemplative, and exploratory. It reads almost like stream of consciousness at times but neater, cleaner. You can follow her threads and you come out the other side feeling like she’s brought your through her genuine experience. That is an extremely difficult effect to achieve and I applaud her for it.
I am going to do a deep dive into her writing now. I waited a while to read this book and I’m so glad I finally did. A fascinating and ruminating read to delve into.
noodal's review against another edition
5.0
I have been a fan of Solnit's writing since [b:Hope in the Dark|28048|Hope in the Dark|Rebecca Solnit|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388245698l/28048._SY75_.jpg|75603] and her latest memoir was the perfect companion to this year's Women's History Month (though women, their achievements and personhood, should be celebrated and appreciated at all times of the year). This is one I would read again and again, looking for the quotes and insightful prose that I missed the first time around. Every time I opened the book up again, there was always something to catch my eye. Very glad to have been exposed to this.
bckyflmn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
elena_1902's review against another edition
4.0
Io non sono fatta per i memoir e questa è stata la mia prima prova col genere, ma mi è piaciuto molto inaspettatamente! Un mix tra ricordi, argomentazioni di tipo emotivo tanto quanto politico e sociale, una traversata nella storia dei decenni passati e una carica di speranza per il futuro
modeislodis's review against another edition
3.0
I respect it, but I didn’t enjoy reading it. The storytelling was disjointed and perhaps too “poetic” or “artistic” for my taste? But I recognize her importance, liked learning about the fires in which she was forged, and appreciate that despite it all, she’s an optimist.