A review by ennakkoon
Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit

4.5

The book is a refreshing counterbalance to the general atmosphere of despair and hopelessness at large in the internet sphere of leftist politics. Remembering and using little wins to keep yourself going, seeing opportunity in the unknowability of future, engaging in actual action. Solnit stays practical and useful even when writing about immaterial things and champions a flexible variety of tactics and new revolutionary ways of seeing the world, not only pointing out that there's hope to be found but also creating some herself. It's easier to believe that there is a future worth fighting for after reading this.

One thought that kept coming up as I was reading was that the book will soon the 20 years old. How much of its hope is still applicable, realistic, especially concerning the climate? A depressing thought. These days the book requires adaptation, as the some of the grounds for hope Solnit brings forward in this book have lost some of their potency through changes in culture and time. The reader then has the responsibility of finding their own grounds for hope, some more recent wins, moments of collective power and change. That is not necessarily a negative.

Edit: looking back, the relevance of this text keeps proving itself. The practicality of its politics and focus on longevity is hugely helpful as a frame of thinking when hope is running low.