Customer Reviews

On Lies, Secrets, and Silence: Selected Prose 1966-1978

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rich's work remains thoughtful and provoking even now. The changing feminist consciousness revealed by her collected essays is a fascinating portrait of a growth over time. This book deserves far more than one star.

Adrienne Rich is a thinker, and yeah, the reader who said this book was outdated is probably right about that. Thinking IS pretty outdated these days - as are truth and authenticity. Although this book is written from a feminist perspective, Rich's commentary on the destructive aspects of lies, secrets and silence applies to all of humanity.

As I have educated myself in adulthood, first as an undergraduate, then in time, two MA degrees, one in theology, this book has named realities I see in women's lives with greater nuance than anyone else I read. Her prose and her poetry is very fine and insightful. The reader who gave it one star probably couldn't get his (?her) head around the references to what it's like to be a lesbian and double discriminated against--and hated by the dominant culture. I'm straight but not narrow. If we are going to progress as a species we need to be able to stretch our minds and hearts to understand the social location of the writer. That is why professors require books like this. Once your mind is stretched it never goes back to the tight little rubber band it once was. It can stretch around more books.

i only bought this book because i had to for one of my courses. i should have just checked one out from the library. this book is about a lesbian feminist and all her writings and opinions are outdated, with the most recent prose being written in 1978. my advice is do not waste your money