I had not heard of Fear of Flying (1973) by Erica Jong before I saw it on my list of 50 Books Every Woman Should Read Before She Turns 40. I subsequently learned that Jong’s book was controversial for its racy sex; that it involves the sexual escapades of the protagonist in Europe; and it was important in second-wave feminism. Once I began reading, though, it was not what I expected. I found the protagonist grating at times, and the plot felt rambling. But it also grew on […]
Is she talking about me?
In a book with a title that could well have (and sometimes has) been specifically directed at me, Anne Helen Petersen – a woman who regularly brightens up my internet reading – takes a look at how the behaviour of women is policed by society, using the lens of celebrity. With each chapter focusing on a different female celebrity – with a cast including an athlete, singer, politician, reality TV star and more – Petersen looks at the various aspects of their characters that have […]
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?
On the one hand, I very rarely read short story collections because I also have a strong desire to finish a book once I start, and if I read too many short stories in a row, I get irritated about not getting to spend more time with characters. Collections of short stories related to series don’t count since those are opportunities to experience short side adventures, thus having more time with beloved characters. On the other hand, Atwood’s Gertrude Speaks is one of my favorite […]
When other people keep making your point for you.
I follow a ton of art historians, museums and academics on Twitter, and Mary Beard is one of my favourites. I genuinely love her tweets and have been surprised to see how many people are willing to troll her, and ignore her academic bona fides because she dares discuss sexism and diversity in the ancient world, not to mention being an older woman in an academic field (Classics) where almost all well-known presenters are male. Beard, a Cambridge University Don, was most recently involved in a tempest about the distinct […]
404: Girl Not Found
Never give up your voice for a man, you fucking guppy!” I don’t know how I missed melanir’s review of The Refrigerator Monologues last year. It ticks a lot of my boxes comic books feminism sarcasm I read melanir’s review before writing my own and there were many nods of agreement. The Refrigerator Monologues is a series of short stories told in the first person by the dead and sidelined women from comic books. The stories are loosely tied together by Paige Embry, the first […]
“I remind myself of the fundamental notion of what it means to be a writer. A writer is the one who controls the narrative.”
Reading this book, I was reminded of a moment near the end of season 3 of Top Chef, when Casey presents her dish to the judges as a coq au vin inspired by memories of her grandmother. Tom Colicchio scolds her for calling the dish coq au vin when it wasn’t, but he also tells her it was a good dish and probably would have won the challenge if she had just called it what it was: chicken braised in wine. The moral of the […]
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