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A review by lbarsk
The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson
2.0
Mostly this book leaves me feeling pretty depressed about our prospects as Earth and the human race -- as I think is the point -- but I can recognize it as solid writing and "book-plotting." Winterson is NO SLOUCH and knows how to pack a punch, though her prose did take a bit of getting used to.
I found the book's fundamental concept, "Everything is imprinted for ever with what it once was," fascinating to think about, and I appreciated the parallel narratives/past lives/future lives situation going on. It's just REALLY HARD to read this and come out of it feeling good about anything; Winterson captures the worst of Western society and takes it too far and shows us its devastating effects, which we are of course unable to reverse and so everything falls to shit. In that way I think it's a critical read -- everyone SHOULD be thinking about environmental conservation and where power lies in our societies and the crushing burden of patriarchy -- but definitely a terrifying one to dive into right before this shitshow of an American presidential election.
I found the book's fundamental concept, "Everything is imprinted for ever with what it once was," fascinating to think about, and I appreciated the parallel narratives/past lives/future lives situation going on. It's just REALLY HARD to read this and come out of it feeling good about anything; Winterson captures the worst of Western society and takes it too far and shows us its devastating effects, which we are of course unable to reverse and so everything falls to shit. In that way I think it's a critical read -- everyone SHOULD be thinking about environmental conservation and where power lies in our societies and the crushing burden of patriarchy -- but definitely a terrifying one to dive into right before this shitshow of an American presidential election.