millie_yule's review against another edition
2.0
Whilst there were many interesting points within the text, I found they were buried under long accounts of authors’ lives and a writing style that I thought was lacking in direction. The book felt more like a ramble than a published piece.
I also felt that this book had accessibility issues as there were quotes within the book that had not been translated into English or briefly explained. This was only the case with the French texts as the texts in other languages were translated into English. This gave the impression that the author expected the reader to be fluent in French, which is not only somewhat academically elitist but also quite ironic considering his book discusses attitudes of European supremacy.
There was also a lack of citation within the book, something I never like when reading any type of history book (although I appreciate this takes more of a holistic view).
I found the subject of the book interesting, so although I would recommend reading about the topic I would not recommend this book as it is poorly written and somewhat inaccessible.
I also felt that this book had accessibility issues as there were quotes within the book that had not been translated into English or briefly explained. This was only the case with the French texts as the texts in other languages were translated into English. This gave the impression that the author expected the reader to be fluent in French, which is not only somewhat academically elitist but also quite ironic considering his book discusses attitudes of European supremacy.
There was also a lack of citation within the book, something I never like when reading any type of history book (although I appreciate this takes more of a holistic view).
I found the subject of the book interesting, so although I would recommend reading about the topic I would not recommend this book as it is poorly written and somewhat inaccessible.
em_being's review against another edition
3.0
It is good to want to read foundational criticism but it is also a chore. That's inherent in the practice, an inevitability of progress and perspective. Reading this book is like watching someone discover the wheel as you coast by in your car. There is use to it, but also so many words of it are devoted to outlining a problem and practice that modern anti-colonialists could easily tell you. Which is not to say the book is without merit, especially as an introduction to the ideas of cultural representation and othering. But it is also the prime example of white audiences and institutions needing every aspect of an argument explained and cited and tied up against any critique ad nauseam about people they oppress that the oppressed could have told you in a tenth of the time and decades (if not centuries) before.
sjgochenour's review against another edition
4.0
Frankly not the best book to absorb in audiobook form -- his arguments are detailed and intricate, and it's a little hard to remember the relevant details from one chapter to the next. As an American whose political consciousness developed post 9/11, it's sometimes damn uncomfortable to read/listen to -- I recognized a lot of the ways I've learned to think about Islam and Arab people in this book. I would say it's fairly accessible to the non-specialized reader, but I had to stop quite often and Wikipedia unfamiliar names, places, and books. It took me about a month to get through because the text was SO dense and I had to stop and process frequently.
I'm not sure if this is better in the print version, but Said quite often does not translate his quotes. For French books, I didn't have too much of an issue (and most of the untranslated quotes are French), but I was totally lost in the German.
I frankly enjoyed the 1992 afterword, in which Said delivers a fairly blistering criticism of Bernard Lewis.
I'm not sure if this is better in the print version, but Said quite often does not translate his quotes. For French books, I didn't have too much of an issue (and most of the untranslated quotes are French), but I was totally lost in the German.
I frankly enjoyed the 1992 afterword, in which Said delivers a fairly blistering criticism of Bernard Lewis.
laurelkane's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't 'add' this book the first time around - 2 years ago - because I didn't feel like I had a good grasp on it. Now, in re-reading it for a paper I wrote on the Wealth of Nations, I feel better about it. It's crazy how one person can take what appears to be a completely legitimate field of study and completely discredit everything that's ever been done under it in one fell swoop. I can only dream....
flipphonegay's review against another edition
this is definitely the hardest book ive ever had to read for school and i maybe understood like 20% of it. v interesting tho!
alghesny's review against another edition
5.0
Astoundingly enlightening. Writing a review calls for a reread
casparb's review against another edition
4.0
'Before and after book' is a phrase I believe has entered the common lexis - the idea of a book that changes the reader's perspective to the extent that their thinking may be demarcated into 'before' and 'after reading'.
This may well be a suitable descriptor of Orientalism for me. For the unaware, Orientalism is often considered an initiator of post-colonial criticism, with a focus on what (in Western circles) is termed the 'near', rather than 'far' East.
I was warned by informed sources that this text was rather dry and technical - which was a little daunting for me. I'm not always one for non-fiction. This warning appears valid (in my opinion), as Said (wonderfully) references Gramsci, Althusser, and the likes of Spengler before even the end of the introduction. I do not think I would have finished this book had I attempted it a year ago.
However, I am very glad that I have read it! It's a genuinely incredible piece of scholarship that spans centuries. Said refuses to take any shit from the scholars he discusses - he is particularly merciless at pointing out the psychosexual aspects of so many Western commentaries on the 'Orient'. I found this delightful.
This may well be a suitable descriptor of Orientalism for me. For the unaware, Orientalism is often considered an initiator of post-colonial criticism, with a focus on what (in Western circles) is termed the 'near', rather than 'far' East.
I was warned by informed sources that this text was rather dry and technical - which was a little daunting for me. I'm not always one for non-fiction. This warning appears valid (in my opinion), as Said (wonderfully) references Gramsci, Althusser, and the likes of Spengler before even the end of the introduction. I do not think I would have finished this book had I attempted it a year ago.
However, I am very glad that I have read it! It's a genuinely incredible piece of scholarship that spans centuries. Said refuses to take any shit from the scholars he discusses - he is particularly merciless at pointing out the psychosexual aspects of so many Western commentaries on the 'Orient'. I found this delightful.