geirertzgaard's review against another edition
4.0
En nydelig liten bok med gatevandring i New York City. Hva er grunnen til at så mange av de beste bøkene er historier om mennesker som går gatelangs?
helenhulsey's review
4.0
I’m still making my mind up about this one. I try not to judge memoirs too harshly, given that they’re the author’s perspective on their own life. I just found it harder than usual to develop an attachment to the author. Her grievances with her own life often translate into harsh judgment of others, and she describes some questionable interactions (ex. calling the cops on a black man for talking too loudly on a bus? she writes about this with some self deprecation but I still wasn’t able to sympathize with her.)
But with loneliness and the author’s struggle to connect with others being a leading theme in the book, maybe this makes sense. After all, she isn’t trying to be likable - simply laying out her experience in all its (sometimes graphic) detail, and I admire the boldness in which she does so. Her prose is elegant, her observations sharp, and the insights on humanity she is able to pull from ordinary interactions are often really beautiful.
Many passages in this book resonated with me, as a fellow creative trying to find the art in life and waiting for the world to validate their personhood. I hope to read more of Gornick’s work to try and get a better understanding of her as an author and human being.
But with loneliness and the author’s struggle to connect with others being a leading theme in the book, maybe this makes sense. After all, she isn’t trying to be likable - simply laying out her experience in all its (sometimes graphic) detail, and I admire the boldness in which she does so. Her prose is elegant, her observations sharp, and the insights on humanity she is able to pull from ordinary interactions are often really beautiful.
Many passages in this book resonated with me, as a fellow creative trying to find the art in life and waiting for the world to validate their personhood. I hope to read more of Gornick’s work to try and get a better understanding of her as an author and human being.
alyza_reads's review
3.0
This book is a memoir but I see it as Gornick's intellectual commentary to various subject matters which she's immensely passionate about. Her observation of different people she encounters on the walks/places she's gone to and the conversation she's shared with Leonard, her gay friend whom I wanted to read more from, if I'm honest. Again, Gornick's writing is what kept me interested in this book regardless of whether I gravitate or not towards what she talks about. Because yes, there are instances in this book in which I find myself disassociating from her string of thoughts. Nonetheless, I still find this book worthwhile and the writing immaculate.
This is only my second book from this author and so far, I still love her Approaching Eye Level best. I will definitely read more books from Gornick because I couldn't get enough.
This is only my second book from this author and so far, I still love her Approaching Eye Level best. I will definitely read more books from Gornick because I couldn't get enough.
lonestarwords's review
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Every night when I turn the lights out in my sixteenth-floor room before I go to bed, I experience a shock of pleasure as I see the banks of lighted windows rising to the sky, crowding round me, and feel myself embraced by the anonymous ingathering of city dwellers…The pleasure it gives soothes beyond all explanation.
The Odd Woman and the City
Vivian Gornick
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I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but if you're out there, thank you! This is my kind of memoir. It's a love letter to NYC, it's the story of a "fiercely independent woman's engagement with city life" (quoted because I could not put that any better), and along with a love of city life, Gornick loves literature.
•
Vivian Gornick is a memoirist whose writing earned her the title of "Ambassador for those most contested, conflicted of American genres: the personal essay and the memoir" by Emily Stokes - high praise indeed. I'd never heard of Gornick but I now plan to read her other works because I connected with her so strongly.
•
This is a niche memoir, meaning if you're not smitten with NYC and care to hear what leading a life there looks like (for a single and very self-sufficient woman), this probably won't interest you. Gornick weaves her story around her love of walking and how that seemingly simple exercise is a balm to her entire life. "...nothing healed me of a sore and angry heart like a walk through the city. To see in the street the fifty different ways people struggle to remain human...I was never less alone than in the crowded street." She writes about the way the city has shaped and supported her - we are privy to her running internal dialogue as she shares her days, the people she encounters, the places she goes.
•
It's also a lovely story of friendship and Gornick introduces us to her best friend: "For more than twenty years now Leonard and I have met once a week for a walk…we hardly ever do anything else but talk. It's the way we feel about ourselves when we are talking that draws us so strongly to each other."
•
Gornick is one of those women I would love to have a glass of wine with and I will definitely be thinking of her on my next stroll in nyc.
The Odd Woman and the City
Vivian Gornick
•
I can't remember who recommended this book to me, but if you're out there, thank you! This is my kind of memoir. It's a love letter to NYC, it's the story of a "fiercely independent woman's engagement with city life" (quoted because I could not put that any better), and along with a love of city life, Gornick loves literature.
•
Vivian Gornick is a memoirist whose writing earned her the title of "Ambassador for those most contested, conflicted of American genres: the personal essay and the memoir" by Emily Stokes - high praise indeed. I'd never heard of Gornick but I now plan to read her other works because I connected with her so strongly.
•
This is a niche memoir, meaning if you're not smitten with NYC and care to hear what leading a life there looks like (for a single and very self-sufficient woman), this probably won't interest you. Gornick weaves her story around her love of walking and how that seemingly simple exercise is a balm to her entire life. "...nothing healed me of a sore and angry heart like a walk through the city. To see in the street the fifty different ways people struggle to remain human...I was never less alone than in the crowded street." She writes about the way the city has shaped and supported her - we are privy to her running internal dialogue as she shares her days, the people she encounters, the places she goes.
•
It's also a lovely story of friendship and Gornick introduces us to her best friend: "For more than twenty years now Leonard and I have met once a week for a walk…we hardly ever do anything else but talk. It's the way we feel about ourselves when we are talking that draws us so strongly to each other."
•
Gornick is one of those women I would love to have a glass of wine with and I will definitely be thinking of her on my next stroll in nyc.