Customer Reviews

Nin

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4 star:		(1)
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Cass Dalglish has created an entertaining hybrid of academic satire, the novel of ideas, and mystical feminist fantasy. The title character Nin (short for Nina and a whole lot more) is a poet who teaches at a university in Duluth, where free-speech issues arise at a yearly remembrance of protests in 1971; who returns to Vermont to celebrate the publication of her father's magnum opus, a new translation of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas; and who undertakes a journey to Israel to visit the graves of her mother and grandmother. Along the way, we are treated to a rousing satire of the excesses of political correctness on campus, a comic but loving portrayal of feminist eccentricities, a serious debate about the anti-woman tradition in philosophy and theology from Aristotle through Thomas Aquinas and beyond, a witty encounter with women writers of the past, and even the vagaries of internet chat houses. "Nin" successfully combines Catholic theology, feminism, Sumerian antiquities, and Jungian psychology. Best of all, it's a great read.

"Nin" is thought-provoking and inspirational. It is a life-changing book. After reading it, I feel exhilarated with a new interest in what women have said before, I have renewed hope for women's voices, I feel inspired to add my own words to other women's and know that, in doing so, there is meaning (if only in the act of doing it).
The work is obviously well researched and well thought out. The writing style is tight and inventive. It is an advanced work of fiction.
I will read the book many times.

Nin is truly the newest gem in feminist literature. Dalglish has done a fine job of interweaving history and fiction, oftentimes with tongue in cheek. What a treat to enter a realm where women writers throughout history are dialoguing on the world wide web and confronting the philosophies belittling the place in women in creation; for example, those of Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle and Plato. This adventure is an act of genious and one of the best novels I've read in years.

Did you know that the first author of a signed work was a woman? Neither did I until I read "Nin". Dalglish is hilariously subversive. As she tells us the tale of Nin's quest for her mother's notes we find out how every aspect of the written word has been influenced or invented by women. Read "Nin" and you too will learn how to find women's voices throughout the ages despite masculine occlusion. Join Nin in her literary initiation into the feminine mysteries. (You might also enjoy "Descent to the Goddess" by Sylvia Brinton Perera)