"The problem is that public outrage has a short memory... So rarely do the ramifications of cancel culture extend past an internet connection. And whe
"The problem is that public outrage has a short memory... So rarely do the ramifications of cancel culture extend past an internet connection. And when they do, it is important to remember that they usually result in an incredibly privileged person temporarily experiencing slightly less privilege than they were accustomed to, which is still a very high baseline of privilege compared to the rest of the world. Personally, I long to be a canceled rich man because that is just a vacation." Pg. 78
This was a witty and insightful collection of essays by comedian, writer and talk show host, Ziwe! It had an element of memoir in it as well, as Ziwe shared many personal experiences from her youth, time in college, and at the start of her career. It was a very perceptive and thought-provoking collection, that not only fans of Ziwe should read, but that people, in general, could learn from, especially since the humour aspect and format make it very accessible.
The problems I had with this book were the footnotes and the grey boxes of text. The footnotes took away from my focus almost every time. I didn't find they gave enough context to things mentioned in the essays to be fully necessary, and there were just far too many in each chapter/essay. There were also many personal anecdotes via the footnotes, that I think would have served more of a purpose if they were just included in the essay rather than having to flip to the footnote every time. Additionally, the grey boxes of text seemed very unnecessary and really took me out of the essay every time they were included. If they were put in between chapters/essays they would have been less of a bother, but adding them within the essays just felt like an interruption.
Overall, I am happy I read this collection of essays, especially since I love Ziwe's talk show. I would recommend it to any fan of hers, especially because it is a short, but lively read....more
Very impressed by the first Angela Y. Davis work I've read. I wouldn't suggest this as your first read on this topic, but it was very informative. RevVery impressed by the first Angela Y. Davis work I've read. I wouldn't suggest this as your first read on this topic, but it was very informative. Review to come! ❤️...more
"Do words matter? Of course they do, because they underpin an idiom that acts to remove the authority, the force, even the humour from what women have
"Do words matter? Of course they do, because they underpin an idiom that acts to remove the authority, the force, even the humour from what women have to say." pg. 27
Women & Power by Mary Beard is a manifesto comprised of two of her lectures, The Public Voice of Women (2015) and Women in Power (2017). Both lectures explore and discuss the relationship between women, power, language, and influence, looking back as far as the ancient Greco-Roman times, and connecting to more recent examples such as the Clinton/Trump election in 2016.
"For a start it doesn't much matter what line you take as a woman, if you venture into traditional male territory, the abuse comes anyway. It is not what you say that prompts it, it's simply the fact that you're saying it." pg. 31
I really enjoyed Mary Beard's ability to pull from her expertise in Greco-Roman studies and historical examples of the gendered imbalance of power, while simultaneously pulling from personal experience as a female historian. One of the first examples of female silence Beard brings up is the put-down of Penelope in The Odyssey by Homer which she describes as, "the first recorded example of a man telling a woman to 'shut up'; telling her that her voice was not to be heard in public... a moment immortalized almost 3,000 years ago". This intrigued me as she connects it to a more modern example of women's silence, the Punch 'Miss Triggs' cartoons, both depicting continuously reinforced power structures, in their own modern way. These two examples to me, embody the author's message that without redefining the historically upheld idea of what power is in connection to women, strong and powerful women will continue to be silenced.
"We have to be more reflective about what power is, what it is for, and how it is measured. To put it another way, if women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power that we need to redefine rather than women?" pg. 63
I would have loved to hear these lectures from Mary Beard live, and would highly recommend this manifesto as a starting point for anyone interested in gender studies, history, and classics. I do wish it was longer, however, in her afterword, Beard explains how she only did light updating when transitioning these lectures to print, and how ways to go about reconfiguring these notions of power still need to be further explored. However, Women & Power by Mary Beard was overall very accessible, while still drawing on insightful Greco-Roman examples that will reshape your perspective on the historical influence on our Western view of women and power.
"You cannot easily fit women into a structure that is already coded as male; you have to change the structure. That means thinking about power differently." pg. 65
“The garden of Windy Corner was deserted except for a red book, which lay sunning itself upon the gravel path… The sun rose higher on its journey, gui
“The garden of Windy Corner was deserted except for a red book, which lay sunning itself upon the gravel path… The sun rose higher on its journey, guided, not by Phaethon, but by Apollo, competent, unswerving, divine. Its rays fell on the ladies whenever they advanced towards the bedroom windows; on Mr. Beebe down at Summer Street as he smiled over a letter from Miss Catharine Alan; on George Emerson cleaning his father’s boots; and lastly, to complete the catalogue of memorable things, on the red book mentioned previously. The ladies move, Mr. Beebe moves, George moves, and movement may engender shadow. But this book lies motionless, to be caressed all the morning by the sun and to raise its covers slightly, as though acknowledging the caress.” pg 166
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster is a historical comedy, coming-of-age story, following Lucy Honeychurch, as she visits Florence, Italy, accompanied by her spinster cousin, Charlotte Bartlett, who serves as her chaperone. Lucy is charming and witty, yet naive, set on having the ultimate tourist experience in Italy, including every tourist's dream, a room with a view. Throughout their time in Florence, Lucy interacts with various comical characters, one of whom is George Emerson, whom she ends up fainting in the arms of after witnessing a murder in a piazza during the trip. They are smitten with one another from that moment on, and they even share a kiss before she heads back to her home in Surrey, England. However, upon her return to England, Cecil Vyse, a snobby man from the same social class as Lucy, asks for her hand in marriage, and after having refused him multiple times before, she agrees. She is now faced with the decision to marry Cecil, a suitor who is socially respectable, yet does not see her, or any women, as a person of their own, or to follow her heart back to George, a socially unsuitable, but passionate lover.
“What is surprising, in fact, is how little tourism has changed over the past hundred years, once it made the leap from a privileged activity to a mass pursuit. Dean MacCannell, in his classic study of tourism, suggests a neat sociological evolution of travel: “What begins as the proper activity of the hero (Alexander the Great) develops into the goal of a socially organized group (the Crusaders), into the mark of status of an entire social class (the Grand Tour of the British ‘gentleman’), eventually becoming universal experience (the tourist)” pg 12
The topic of tourism is very common throughout the novel, as Lucy is of a higher social class where tourism was flourishing at the beginning of the 20th Century when this book takes place. This was really fun for me to read since I was traveling through Italy when I started reading this book. I really enjoyed reading and comparing the similarities of tourism then, to how it has continued to evolve today. The setting was beautiful, and enhanced by Forster’s descriptive and intriguing writing, he truly embodied the enchanting atmosphere of Tuscany within each descriptive paragraph of Lucy’s surroundings.
“It was pleasant to wake up in Florence, to open the eyes upon a bright bare room, with a floor of red tiles which look clean though they are not; with a painted ceiling whereon pink griffins and blue amorini sport in a forest of yellow violins and bassoons. It was pleasant, too, to fling wide the windows, pinching the fingers in unfamiliar fastenings, to lean out into sunshine with beautiful hills and trees and marble churches opposite, and close below, the Arno, gurgling against the embankment of the road.” pg 38
Lucy Honeychuch was a great main character, her curiosity paired with her quick wit made her really enjoyable to read, especially in interacting with the dynamic cast of side characters. I have read some criticism of her being unable to think for herself, which is echoed in this quote, “This solitude oppressed her; she was accustomed to have her thoughts confirmed by others or, at all events, contradicted; it was too dreadful not to know whether she was thinking right or wrong.” (pg 69), however, she is a young woman finding her way in the world. I personally think it would be unrealistic to assume she should be 100% sure of who she is and each one of her actions at such a young age because even nowadays that is not the case. It is a coming-of-age novel, and finding her voice, even with the help of others, throughout the story truly embodies that. Furthermore, she was incredibly relatable to me, especially in this quote after she witnessed the murder in a piazza in Florence, “The dreadful catastrophe of the previous day had given her an idea which she thought would work up into a book.” (pg 70). Her character development was evident throughout the novel as well, with traveling opening her eyes to the differences in social class, and culture throughout the world, prompting her to make changes to her own life and way of thinking once she returned to England, which to this day is often the case for people if they are in the fortunate position to travel. However, I would argue that this is also accessible in a different way nowadays, through social media, where we are able to see, interact, and learn from people all over the world, and of different backgrounds and experiences. Visiting Italy also left Lucy with a little bit of a travel bug, which was oh-so relatable.
“Life, so far as she troubled to conceive it, was a circle of rich, pleasant people, with identical interests and identical foes. In this circle, one thought, married and died. Outside it were poverty and vulgarity for ever trying to enter, just as the London fog tries to enter the pine-woods pouring through the gaps in the northern hills. But, in Italy, where any one who chooses may warm himself in equality, as in the sun, this conception of life vanished. Her senses expanded; she felt that there was no one whom she might not get to like, that social barriers were irremovable, doubtless, but not particularly high. You jump over them just as you jump into a peasant’s olive-yard in the Apennines, and he is glad to see you. She returned with new eyes.” pg 130
Overall, I really enjoyed A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. I don’t read classics often and sometimes find them hard to get into and through, so I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible this was while still feeling like a true classic with beautiful writing. I will be watching the movie for sure, it is a bit old, but I am excited because Lucy Honeychurch is played by Helena Bonham Carter, and Charlotte Bartlett is played by Maggie Smith! I am also very intrigued to read more of Forster’s work, especially Maurice, which follows two men of differing social classes who fall in love. If you’re a fan of classics, social comedies, or British Literature, definitely add A Room with a View to your to-read list!...more
"I've never understood why when women marry, they're expected to trade in their old names like used cars, losing their last and sometimes even their f
"I've never understood why when women marry, they're expected to trade in their old names like used cars, losing their last and sometimes even their first - Mrs. John Adams! Mrs. Abe Lincoln - as if their previous identities had just been twenty-odd-year placeholders before they became actual people. Mrs. Peter Dickman. It's like a life sentence. pg. 52
Lessons in Chemistry is a witty book that explores womanhood, career struggles, and feminism in the 1950s/60s. It follows a female chemist, Elizabeth Zott, who works for Hastings Research Institute in that time period. Zott is not interested in the things women "should" be interested in, such as getting married and being a Mom, rather she loves science and is focused on making a name for herself in her career. She is a strong, quirky, and empowering main character, I really enjoyed reading about her!
I did have a few problems with the book, the overall structure and pacing felt off. The foreshadowing of Supper at Six at the beginning was unnecessary to me, I wish we'd just learned about it as the story unraveled. The paragraphs and writing overall were very choppy and made it difficult to follow what was happening in each chapter since it jumped around so much from paragraph to paragraph. I also really didn't like how the dog (whose name is Six-Thirty) had its own thoughts that we read, especially since it only started happening halfway through the book. The plot was lacking in my opinion, it felt like the entire time I was waiting for something big to happen, but nothing did, and this made the whole book slow to get through. I was never excited to pick this one up, I was forcing myself to finish it because it was my book club's August book.
Although I liked the overall message of Lessons in Chemistry, and Elizabeth Zott as a main character, it was not a good fit for me, but I can see why it really worked for others! This is the August pick for my book club! Join us over on instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/ejgbookclub/...more
loved the short story and the afterword. her writing was gorgeous as always and i fell in love with galatea in a matter of pages. my only criticism (aloved the short story and the afterword. her writing was gorgeous as always and i fell in love with galatea in a matter of pages. my only criticism (and basically the only criticism i ever give short stories i love): i wish it was longer!!!
this might be my sign to finally pick up circe...more
"What is worse: being locked outside of your own mind, or being locked inside of it?" pg. 215
Her Body and Other Parties is a collection of queer, femi
"What is worse: being locked outside of your own mind, or being locked inside of it?" pg. 215
Her Body and Other Parties is a collection of queer, feminist, horror short stories, that explore a number of common struggles and themes that plague our everyday lives as women. Using a variety of classic horror stories, urban legends, and contemporary shows, mixed with magical realism, fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopia, Machado writes of motherhood, femininity, societal expectations, and violence against both women's bodies and minds. It was strange, mesmerizing, haunting, and emotional, with riveting yet elegant prose.
"A wife,” he says, “should have no secrets from her husband.” “I don’t have any secrets,” I tell him. “The ribbon.” “The ribbon is not a secret; it’s just mine.” “A wife should have no secrets.” My nose grows hot. I do not want to cry. “Why do you want to hide it from me?” “I’m not hiding it. It just isn’t yours.” pg. 24
My favourite story in this collection was 'The Husband Stitch' which is a modern retelling of the classic children's scary story, 'The Green Ribbon', featured in Alvin Schwartz's collection In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories. In this story, Machado explores the themes of autonomy, gender roles, motherhood, and the patriarchy, through a woman chronicling her life and marriage from aged 17 onward in first-person narration. One thing that really elevated this story was the references to other classic scary stories from Alvin Schwartz's collection Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which she used to emphasize her main themes. These included the stories, Just Delicious, The Girl Who Stood on a Grave, The Big Toe, The Wolf Girl, and The Hook, and I remember my classmates and I read all of these scary stories to one another out loud at around age 10, which added an element of nostalgia for me. Additionally, I loved the instructions included in parenthesis throughout the story for what to do if you were reading this story out loud.
“I drank water and set up my tent and began to make lists. Every teacher beginning with preschool. Every job I’ve ever had. Every home I’ve ever lived in. Every person I’ve ever loved. Every person who has probably loved me. Next week, I will be thirty. The sand is blowing into my mouth, my hair, the center crevice of my notebook, and the sea is choppy and gray. Beyond it, I can see the cottage, a speck on the far shore. I keep thinking I can see the virus blooming on the horizon like a sunrise. I realize the world will continue to turn, even with no people on it. Maybe it will go a little faster.” pg. 48
Although this collection is not for everyone, I think it is a really exceptional piece of work, especially for a debut. Some of my other favourites in the collection include 'Real Women Have Bodies', 'Eight Bites', and 'The Resident'. Although there is a large focus on the abuse endured by women's bodies, there was the celebration of our bodies as well. Machado's ability to trap you inside the mind of a character is really rare, I adore her writing so much and look forward to reading the next thing she writes! This is my book club's October book club pick, read along with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ejgbookclub/ !
Emma Griffioen
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