mamasquirrel's review
4.0
Lots of lovely provocative thoughts on feminism and what it means to be woman in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century.
bookthia's review
3.0
I first read this book within the first year it was published, sometime in late 2000 or early 2001.
Reading it now, almost twelve years later, it is interesting for me to see which of these essays still resonates. I didn't relate to all of them. There were some where I didn't agree with the essayist. But I did enjoy the collection a great deal. Lots of food for thought here.
My favourites are:
Joan Barfoot's "Starch, Salt, Chocolate, Wine".
Margaret Atwood's "If You Can't Say Something Nice..."
Katherine Govier's "Wild Roses"
Lily Redmond's "Mrs. Jones" and
and June Callwood's "Old Age".
Reading it now, almost twelve years later, it is interesting for me to see which of these essays still resonates. I didn't relate to all of them. There were some where I didn't agree with the essayist. But I did enjoy the collection a great deal. Lots of food for thought here.
My favourites are:
Joan Barfoot's "Starch, Salt, Chocolate, Wine".
Margaret Atwood's "If You Can't Say Something Nice..."
Katherine Govier's "Wild Roses"
Lily Redmond's "Mrs. Jones" and
and June Callwood's "Old Age".
jessferg's review
4.0
My Amazon review: A series of just over thirty short essays by Canadian authors, Dropped Threads 2 is a continuation of the first Dropped Threads book which began the discussion of women's lives from childrearing (or choosing not to) to rape to love to death and beyond. Each essay is a snippet of these women's lives, of things they have witnessed and done and thought - a mini memoir, if you will.
While the topics and ideas in these essays no longer feel like items that cannot be and should not be discussed in the 21st century, they are certainly still often found to be taboo and stifling - stuff not to be discussed in "polite company". The overwhelming emotion in the essays is the relief on behalf of the authors to have an outlet for their insights - insights that are often born of tumultuous conditions. Every woman who reads these essays will find familiar ideas and actions and will be inspired to take note of her own experiences in life.
Given the various topics and writing styles there is something for everyone in this collection of brilliantly compiled essays. It is a thoughtful gift idea for any young woman making her way in the world.
While the topics and ideas in these essays no longer feel like items that cannot be and should not be discussed in the 21st century, they are certainly still often found to be taboo and stifling - stuff not to be discussed in "polite company". The overwhelming emotion in the essays is the relief on behalf of the authors to have an outlet for their insights - insights that are often born of tumultuous conditions. Every woman who reads these essays will find familiar ideas and actions and will be inspired to take note of her own experiences in life.
Given the various topics and writing styles there is something for everyone in this collection of brilliantly compiled essays. It is a thoughtful gift idea for any young woman making her way in the world.
alisiac96's review
2.0
What I enjoyed:
---Some of the stories were moving for sure. Particularly the stories form Margaret Atwood (obviously), Isabel Huggan, Marni Jackson, and Joan Clark.
---I did feel some of the stories were written to allow the reader to apply the general message parts of their own lives. This made these stories more powerful than the others for me.
---At 22, I realize this may not all apply to me. However, with the better stories, I did find nuggets of valuable lessons to learn from those who have forged the path ahead of me.
---The book definitely fulfilled its purpose of: women sharing with women what they were never taught.
The Drawbacks:
---There was seemingly no organization to the order of stories presented. I felt the book would have benefited from having sectioned off parts.
---The stories that were most impactfull to me were far and few between. Maybe it is due to my age, but I felt some authors received greater pages for seemingly pointless stories
---This book draggggggeeeed, As you can see from the length of time I spent in this book. I had the intent of reading a story before bed every night and lost interest before the halfway point.
---On a final note, there were far too many stories in this one collection. I'd feel like I had read a decent portion of the book and look to see that I had dozens left to muscle through.
---Some of the stories were moving for sure. Particularly the stories form Margaret Atwood (obviously), Isabel Huggan, Marni Jackson, and Joan Clark.
---I did feel some of the stories were written to allow the reader to apply the general message parts of their own lives. This made these stories more powerful than the others for me.
---At 22, I realize this may not all apply to me. However, with the better stories, I did find nuggets of valuable lessons to learn from those who have forged the path ahead of me.
---The book definitely fulfilled its purpose of: women sharing with women what they were never taught.
The Drawbacks:
---There was seemingly no organization to the order of stories presented. I felt the book would have benefited from having sectioned off parts.
---The stories that were most impactfull to me were far and few between. Maybe it is due to my age, but I felt some authors received greater pages for seemingly pointless stories
---This book draggggggeeeed, As you can see from the length of time I spent in this book. I had the intent of reading a story before bed every night and lost interest before the halfway point.
---On a final note, there were far too many stories in this one collection. I'd feel like I had read a decent portion of the book and look to see that I had dozens left to muscle through.
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