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    The Mother of All Questions
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    The Mother of All Questions
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    The Mother of All Questions
    Ebook191 pages2 hours

    The Mother of All Questions

    By Rebecca Solnit

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Praise for Men Explain Things to Me:

    "It's a fraught time to be female in America (or should I say fraught-er), and Rebecca Solnit's Men Explain Things to Me is the most clarifying, soothing, and socially aware document I've read on the topic this year."—Lena Dunham, Wall Street Journal

    "The Antidote to Mansplaining."—The Stranger

    "Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest, and often scathing in its conclusions."—Salon

    In a timely and incisive follow-up to her national bestseller Men Explain Things to Me, Rebecca Solnit offers sharp commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more.

    In characteristic style, Solnit mixes humor, keen analysis, and sharp insight in these eleven essays.

    Writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit is the author of eighteen or so books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, wandering and walking, hope and disaster, including the books Men Explain Things to Me and Hope in the Dark, both also with Haymarket; a trilogy of atlases of American cities; The Faraway Nearby; A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster; A Field Guide to Getting Lost; Wanderlust: A History of Walking; and River of Shadows, Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award). A product of the California public education system from kindergarten to graduate school, she is a columnist at Harper's and a regular contributor to the Guardian.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHaymarket Books
    Release dateFeb 12, 2017
    ISBN9781608467204
    Author

    Rebecca Solnit

    Rebecca Solnit is the author of more than twenty books on feminism, western and indigenous history, popular power, social change and insurrection, hope and disaster, including A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster (Penguin, 2010) and Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities (Haymarket, 2016).

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    Reviews for The Mother of All Questions

    4/5

    14 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A series of essays by the woman who coined the term "mansplaining". She celebrates recent advances in working against rape culture, though without noting #MeToo, because this book predates it (though barely). Some of the things must be embarrassing the author right now - how could she have predicted that Louis C. K., a prime feminist comic, would turn out to be one of the men who would be accused of molesting women he encountered in the workplace? In addition, the amazing movement she discusses has, like so many similar movements, turned out to be less amazing than hoped, as women have lost ground in such areas as the Supreme Court (Brett Kavanaugh) and in several prominent cases that appear to be faltering. In the end, not as much has changed as hoped, and women seem to be retreating to lick their wounds. Still, it is not expected that the author would have a functional crystal ball, since so few of us do. This book is a valuable resource in spite of the misplaced optimism; she is a much-needed voice in the growing feminist literature. My one complaint is one that I rarely make: the book was too short. She could have doubled, even tripled, the length, and it likely would not have worn out its welcome.
    • 3/5
      A set of essays that are all valuable individually, but as a set rather repetitive and narrowly focused.
    • 3/5
      Best for: People who enjoy Ms. Solnit’s writing.

      In a nutshell: Essays on the experiences of women.

      Line that sticks with me: “The entitlement to be the one who is heard, believed, and respected has silenced so many women who may never be heard, in so many cases.”

      Why I chose it: I’ve enjoyed Ms. Solnit’s writing in the past.

      Review: I wish I had more energy to do this review justice. I definitely enjoyed many of the essays in this book, and as always Ms. Solnit has a way with words that any writer would envy. That said - I don’t know. This one didn’t do as much for me as her last book.

      I found the second half of the book to be more engaging and interesting to read than the first half, although I did underline and make notes on quite a few passages throughout. Her words on the Isla Vista murders and on rape jokes are especially good, but I can’t really imagine that I’ll be buying this for friends or returning to it often over the years to come.
    • 4/5
      I have the same criticism of this book as I did for Men Explain Things to Me: Some essays are exponentially stronger than others, and being a collection of essays on essentially the same topic, some very specific references to events or people appear multiple times within the same book. That said, Solnit is smart and witty and I really like her work.
    • 5/5
      This book is a series of essays in which Solnit discusses, among other topics, art. In 100 books a woman shouldn't read she shows how, in respected books by male authors, women are shown to be burdens, sex objects or empty evil characters with no heart - this is also the way they're frequently treated by male stand up comics. Of course she finds Tosh's humor vile (wouldn't it be funny if 5 men raped her right now, ha, ha) but oops, she bought the outward feminism of Louis C. K. and Aziz Ansari before she found out, like the rest of us, that their actions didn't mimic their words. This is a good, illuminating look at feminist issues that most of us can't believe are not yet resolved.
    • 4/5
      Though these are feminist essays, the range of subject matter is quite broad. Solnit weaves together musings on literature, contemporary feminist movements, comedy, science, and traditional women and gender studies topics. She really inspired me to reflect on more recent feminist movements, and in that way, she succeeds in her role as a historian.
    • 5/5
      One of the best feminist texts I’ve read. Really engages with the issues facing women today. Wish I could get it into the hands of more men.
    • 5/5
      I really respected this collection of essays. They are smart, challenging, and on point. Sadly, they are also very applicable to current events, though the essays were written from 2014-16. She writes about silence, gun control, abortion, and women's rights. Solnit is one of the best essay writers out there, in my opinion. Original publication date: 2017Author’s nationality: AmericanOriginal language: EnglishLength: 176 pagesRating: 5 starsFormat/where I acquired the book: purchasedWhy I read this: off the shelf
    • 5/5
      This has been on my to-read list for a while and I'm so glad I was able to get it. Rebecca is a highly intelligent writer and her insights and perspectives affected me deeply. Her perspective on silence really struck me and I was impressed with the categories and ranges in which silence still exists. I envision re-reading this book (or selected essays) again.
    • 2/5
      Not as impressive as I was hoping, although there were some standout sections, and Solnit can turn a great phrase now and then.
    • 4/5
      This book gave my neck quite a work out: I was constantly nodding along to all Solnit's insights and ideas and shaking my head at all the injustices and outrages she details. Highly recommended.p.s., It's a shame how soon things become dated. In this 2017 collection of essays, Solnit passingly praises Aziz Ansari and Louis C.K. for speaking out on behalf of women. If only the many bad things she cites had turned around as quickly.