booksandbecoming's review against another edition
4.0
an interesting collection of essays about class, representing a diverse array of voices.
roxana1989's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of good stories and perspectives. I really appreciated this.
bluerose's review against another edition
5.0
This. Book. It should be a bestseller in the front of every book store. In an age of economic struggle for many millennial women, this book was a warm hand on the shoulder saying "YOU ARE NOT ALONE!".
The short stories in this book offered a wide variety of experiences of lower / working class women across race, gender and generation.
My personal favorites were:
Farm Use by Joy Castro
The Prison we Called Home by Siobhan Brooks
Winter Coat by Terri Griffith
Blueprinter and Hardwires by Cassie Peterson
Getting Out by Frances Varian
Fighting by Bee Lavender
The short stories in this book offered a wide variety of experiences of lower / working class women across race, gender and generation.
My personal favorites were:
Farm Use by Joy Castro
The Prison we Called Home by Siobhan Brooks
Winter Coat by Terri Griffith
Blueprinter and Hardwires by Cassie Peterson
Getting Out by Frances Varian
Fighting by Bee Lavender
iguana_mama's review
5.0
I enjoyed this collection of short essays about working class women from a wide variety of backgrounds as they struggle through poverty, inadequate health care, humiliation, inferior housing, poor working conditions, unemployment, dead-end jobs. Their stories were raw, personal, sometimes depressing, yet always engaging. These women may be victims, but they are also strong and resourceful survivors.
bashbashbashbash's review
3.0
Engaging. Some of the pieces are more interesting than others. Four that stood out in my mind: 1) Dorothy Allison's piece about stealing books from college professors and then replacing them (usually a few days later) with passages she liked underlined; 2) a piece about dressing in traditionally feminine manner (makeup, short skirts, et cetera) as being a form of class statement and working class female resistance to middle and upper class feminist pressure to conform; 3) an essay about a (working class) lesbian working in construction with a bunch of working class men; 4) a piece about a woman whose mother had been a prostitute, and of her acceptance of her mother and also her own experience in sex work.
Michelle Tea's introduction insists on the autonomy of poor and working class American women and resists the idea that they are lifeless or mute victims of class. There's not enough of that kind of writing around, so it was a pleasure to read.
Problems: there is certainly a tone of explanation in many of the essays, as though the book is written primarily to/at a middle class audience. Some of the essays were far less engaging/focused than others.
However, overall "Without a Net" is definitely worth reading, and probably worth a re-read, too.
Michelle Tea's introduction insists on the autonomy of poor and working class American women and resists the idea that they are lifeless or mute victims of class. There's not enough of that kind of writing around, so it was a pleasure to read.
Problems: there is certainly a tone of explanation in many of the essays, as though the book is written primarily to/at a middle class audience. Some of the essays were far less engaging/focused than others.
However, overall "Without a Net" is definitely worth reading, and probably worth a re-read, too.
writerrhiannon's review
4.0
Read my full review on my blog: http://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2018/02/review-without-net-female-experience-of.html
This book has been hanging out on my unread shelf for a VERY long time! After reading Barbara Ehrenreich's Nikel and Dimed and some other books exploring poverty and the working poor I picked this book up but it got shelved. I'm not sure why except to say I always have a huge queue of books and I have been focusing on frontlist titles for the last few years. Deciding to grab something from my backlist, I picked this off my shelf. While many books may explore the topic of the working class, too often we do not hear their stories firsthand--especially from women and girls. To dig even deeper, we don't hear the stories of LGBTQI woman-identifying people and women of color. Edited by indie icon Michelle Tea, Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class contains raw and powerful first-hand accounts of working class experiences. The first essay alone will leave you with your jaw on the ground! While it was written in 2004, it is still relevant and provides insight into the daily sacrifices and struggles of an often disparaged demographic. I think an updated or additional volume of essays would be well received by the general public and anyone interested in America's economy and class systems.
This book has been hanging out on my unread shelf for a VERY long time! After reading Barbara Ehrenreich's Nikel and Dimed and some other books exploring poverty and the working poor I picked this book up but it got shelved. I'm not sure why except to say I always have a huge queue of books and I have been focusing on frontlist titles for the last few years. Deciding to grab something from my backlist, I picked this off my shelf. While many books may explore the topic of the working class, too often we do not hear their stories firsthand--especially from women and girls. To dig even deeper, we don't hear the stories of LGBTQI woman-identifying people and women of color. Edited by indie icon Michelle Tea, Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class contains raw and powerful first-hand accounts of working class experiences. The first essay alone will leave you with your jaw on the ground! While it was written in 2004, it is still relevant and provides insight into the daily sacrifices and struggles of an often disparaged demographic. I think an updated or additional volume of essays would be well received by the general public and anyone interested in America's economy and class systems.
radlibrarianmama's review
5.0
Without a Net: The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class is a collection of essays written about working class (mostly working poor) women BY working class women. These stories tell about everyday struggles with poverty, abuse, addiction, health care, housing, humiliation, feelings of inferiority, and the struggle to survive. The essays avoid the usual trappings of voyeurism and romanticism of the working poor and are often gritty and visceral. Stories such as these are very rare as most stories about the working poor are written from an outsider’s perspective and thus these stories feel more immediate and real to the reader.
veganemelda's review
5.0
So great. You should read it. Like now. See how good of a reviewer I am? I love Michelle Tea. Dorothy Allison is another woman I will have many babies with. I have "waiting", "a catholic leg", "my father's hands", "dirty girl", "getting out" and "fighting" dog-eared on my copy.
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