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shantemarie's review against another edition
5.0
Read in public just to garner attention from the folks that should really be reading this incredible selection of essays- or maybe just to make the sexist, misogynistic folks angry, thus proving Solnit’s main themes. Solnit calls to attention clear hypocrisies in our “progressive” society but also has such a lens of hope and call for a movement forward. Recommend this short read for ALL folks.
emmabeckman's review against another edition
4.0
The first couple essays are a bit repetitive, but I suppose that’s a pitfall of essays written for different publications compiled into one volume. I think viewed as separate entities though, they’re all quite good. I could also see how the essay on Woolf would lose people but I think it comes back together with the last one. Overall, a nice book to have on your shelf and a good way to test the people (men) you come into contact with.
I read a slightly older edition of this book, so mine didn’t have as many updates as I believe later editions do.
I read a slightly older edition of this book, so mine didn’t have as many updates as I believe later editions do.
cass1699's review against another edition
4.0
this was a very interesting collection of essays! i've never read any of rebecca solnit's books, but i was curious about her work; as someone who is a big fan of feminist nonfiction, i think this collection was a great introduction to not only her writing style, but also the genre itself!
i really liked the way she decided to organize this book. she mentions it herself twice—once at the beginning and once at the end—but i truly just have to stress how powerful it was. for anyone who is curious, she takes a subtle but effective approach: starting off talking about conversations with men who either patronized her or cut her off (or both), and ending with rape and murder. it's comparable to the "how to boil a frog" analogy. the rise in extremity isn’t something you notice while reading, but upon finishing the book, the full weight of it smacks you squarely in the face.
the reason i docked a star is because somewhere in the middle of the book, we took a break to talk about virginia woolf. as someone who knows of her but has never read any of her works (i'm uncultured, i know), i was totally and utterly clueless, so it was pretty hard to keep up. a lot of the references made in the chapter just went straight over my head. with that being said, i feel like if you're well-versed in her writing, you would have a blast.
but aside from that, i really enjoyed all the other essays in this collection and i'm glad i picked it up!
i really liked the way she decided to organize this book. she mentions it herself twice—once at the beginning and once at the end—but i truly just have to stress how powerful it was. for anyone who is curious, she takes a subtle but effective approach: starting off talking about conversations with men who either patronized her or cut her off (or both), and ending with rape and murder. it's comparable to the "how to boil a frog" analogy. the rise in extremity isn’t something you notice while reading, but upon finishing the book, the full weight of it smacks you squarely in the face.
the reason i docked a star is because somewhere in the middle of the book, we took a break to talk about virginia woolf. as someone who knows of her but has never read any of her works (i'm uncultured, i know), i was totally and utterly clueless, so it was pretty hard to keep up. a lot of the references made in the chapter just went straight over my head. with that being said, i feel like if you're well-versed in her writing, you would have a blast.
but aside from that, i really enjoyed all the other essays in this collection and i'm glad i picked it up!
eggsymegsy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
bookgoblin83's review against another edition
4.0
The title might make it sound like this is a much lighter book than it is. It does start with a classic example of "mansplaining" but over the course of it, the author explores how something as "simple" as not trusting that women know what they are talking about is part of the problem of why half the population of the world isn't trusted to make decisions about their own bodies, apparently can't tell the difference between a compliment and harassment and gets blamed for the violence they suffer on the hands of the other half. A short read but a meaningful one.
thehawk72's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating 2.5
Trigger warning for sexual violence in the first chapter or two.
I didn't agree with everything Solnit argued in the book, and I found it to be a little vague in its hope for the future; she doesn't really outline a solution to the problem at hand, she just tells us that step by step we have been getting better at recognizing women are actual people.
Just like most everyone else, I was also kind of bothered by her comment about violence not having a class or a race. Like, did she not live through 9/11...lol.
Trigger warning for sexual violence in the first chapter or two.
I didn't agree with everything Solnit argued in the book, and I found it to be a little vague in its hope for the future; she doesn't really outline a solution to the problem at hand, she just tells us that step by step we have been getting better at recognizing women are actual people.
Just like most everyone else, I was also kind of bothered by her comment about violence not having a class or a race. Like, did she not live through 9/11...lol.