Customer Reviews

Radical Sanity : Commonsense Advice for Uncommon Women

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I opened up this book not knowing what to expect, and was surprised at first how empowering it seemed on the surface. Some of the advice is actually worthy of praise, for example, she encourages women to ask questions and learn more about the world and to have opinions about things-- in other words, to use our brains and our voices! She also encourages women not to be afraid to indulge in life by doing things such as eating dessert and not being afraid to let the men clean up after a dinner party. Where the book starts to fall apart, however, is when she starts to suggest that in order to "be gorgeous," women should have some make-up on and should be pleasing to look at (in order not to offend those around them), and that to be fulfilled, a woman should fall in love and settle down. It's not that there's anything wrong with these things, but these are not radical ideas-- in fact, they fall very much in line with traditional advice-- and they may not be for everyone and these chapters don't seem to fit with the rest of the book, as the former chapters were vague enough to fit most women's lifestyles and choices. Was she running out of ideas on things to write about or was she that locked in to one path to happiness? We didn't need another book aimed at young women that claims to contain some secret to life so that when they try to live up to it and fail, they feel guilty and miserable, unaware of the rich options available out there.

"Radical Sanity" is not nearly as delightfully manic as "Bitch" or "Prozac Nation." You cannot picture a young woman seething with anger, depression, or ideas, but perhaps this is good. "Radical Sanity" is more ambitious than Maria Shriver's attempts at telling young woman how to live, even though some points are duplicated. In this very fast read, Wurtzel tackles the problems of ex-boyfriends and the stigma of single women with cats. As always, she is honest, but I missed the sense of controversey and Wurtzel herself that her other books have had. In "Radical Sanity," Wurtzel shares her experiences, but she seems far more... normal (and organized). For that, I think this book is good for 20 and 30 something females because Wurtzel makes feminism and self-centeredness seem so simple and needed. Of course you shouldn't clear the dishes if the men don't. Of course you should enjoy your single years. Some readers may dislike the fact that Wurtzel joins the ranks of the common woman for this book, but I think many young women will find reassurance in Wurtzel's ideas.

Before reading this book, I was a big Wurtzel fan. In Prozac Nation, I finished the book feeling like I had a fair idea of who she was. I respected her. This book revealed to me that she is not at all what I'd formerly imagined. I got the feeling that this work was something she through together just for the purpose of making a few bucks and having another title under her belt. It is unlike not only Prozac Nation but all her other titles. I noticed a number of contradictions within this work. Personally, I was uninterested in taking any of her "advice" which I felt was lacking sincerity. There were also generalizations made by Wurtzel about women which I thought isolate were untrue, unfair, and far from feminist. If this book hadn't been written by Wurtzel, I'd most likely have stopped reading it midway. The only reason I completed it is because I was a fan of hers. I expected better.

A friend gave it to me, implying I guess that she thinks I'm an "uncommon woman." So that was cool. But this book sounds like it was written, I swear, by one of my my ninth-grade students, without any editing. It is THAT trite. I cannot believe that this book was written by a woman in her early 30's. I can only conclude. . . . I don't know what to conclude. I find absolutely no insight in this slim volume. If you're 13 or 14, you might relate to some of what she says and the way she says it; otherwise just chat with a friend. You're bound to get something more original and helpful than what's in this book.

Self-serving platitude heaped on self-serving platitude then served up as "sass," from a spoiled, self-involved non-entity. Watch and enjoy as she, along with every other nineties excess, swirls into a well-deserved oblivion. Simply an awful --I hesitate to say "writer" --simply an awful phenomenon. Whoever mistook her for a role model deserves what they got. Another non-book from a talentless brat.

I read this book when I was in college and just recently read it again 8 years later before donating it to someone else who can benefit from it. I don't know what it was about this book that stuck with me, but it did. I didn't read the book as if it was the bible or that disaster of self-help that came out in the 90s called "the Rules." I think Wurtzel is pretty clear as you read the book that these aren't necessarily a list of things that you HAVE to do (for example, I do not and will not hire someone to clean my house). But I did think about housework a lot more critically -- enough to not settle for a man or roommate who doesn't want to split up the housework 50/50. Essentially, they are things to consider and if they inspire you -- that is wonderful.

What I feel was the most important thing to me in reading this book was that when you are so captured by the author's voice (as I was at 19) it really makes you take the ideas in the book and reflect on your own life. For example, at 19 the concept of doing NOTHING about a conflict and just letting something blow over was one I internally knew, but had a hard time following. But having that confirmed through reading it in this book really aided in my own search for finding those lifetime truths that Wurtzel puts into this book.

And to those reviews I've read that criticized Wurtzel's advice like "Be Gorgeous" or "Settle Down" I think are pretty closed minded and out of touch with reality. Just because its conventional advice, that doesn't mean that (A) it doesn't contain some truth, or (B) Wurtzel doesn't approach the subject differently than traditionalists. Even Gloria Steinem chose to get married eventually -- and it's not to say anyone has to get married but you should think about the value in it and make the choice if and when it seems right.

Reading the book now that I'm 27, there is less that seems revolutionary or "radical" in it than when I was a fledgling young sorority girl with feminist tendencies. However, there were some subtle things I still took to heart as enjoyable reminders of things I already know are true.

Has Wurtzel's life become--gasp--normal, and does she need to plagarize others? Let's see..."It's not that you have to see it to believe it; on the contrary, you have to believe it to see it." I believe that Wayne Dyer wrote a whole book on that concept some years ago. Ah yes, then there's that gem about men doing the dishes. Wasn't Gloria Steinem talking about that, about 40 years ago???

Let's see, if you can make it past all of this radical advice which has been around for decades, there are the contradictions. Wurtzel wants a daughter who won't have to worry about dieting or such mundane things as cellulite, but yet she has a whole chapter on being beautiful. Same thing with love. You should enjoy being single but you still must find Mr. Right.

I read through this book at a bookstore. I picked it up because two woman were reading it together and laughing hysterically. I actually found it more pathetic than funny. It is always sad when an author gets this desperate, that they have to rehash other people's work and ideas. Perhaps Ms. Wurtzel needs a higher dose of Prozac, or Ritalin. Or maybe she might offer advice to people, such as herself, who think that the destruction of the World Trade Center was a "work of art." Yes, she said it, that watching the towers collapse was a work of art, and she felt absolutely no emotion. How's that for uncommon advice for an uncommon woman?

This book contains Elizabeth Wurtzel's words of wisdom--hilarious insight and advice from a great writer. However, I was disappointed when this book arrived due to the fact that it is less than one hundred pages and cost $15.00! It seemed a bit on the pricey side to me. However, the book is well-written and will keep you laughing. If you have read any of Wurtzel's other books, you may be wary about getting advice from a girl who has, by her own admission, snorted Ritalin, but she also admits that she does not always take her own advice. Like any other book, you should simply read and take what you think is sound, leaving anything you think sounds slightly off-kilter. Well worth reading...but not necessarily worth $15.00.

Elizabeth Wurtzel annoys me so much that reading her stuff has become a guilty pleasure.

I was relieved that this book was such a quick read (less than 100 pages) because I was embarassed to be seen with it on the bus. Besides being a substandard writer -- I don't think I've ever before seen such terrible sentence constructions in print -- Wurtzel often makes no sense whatsoever . Women should enjoy being alone she says, yet life is ultimately meaningless without love. Wurtzel apparently feels that one should enjoy one's single years primarily so that one has interesting stories to tell later in life, when one is happily settled down. In Wurtzel's world, going to movies alone is a good thing, but sunsets aren't as beautiful without that special someone by your side. Mmmhmm. But, according to Wurtzel, there's no need to worry, because you will find that person. You will get what you want out of life. And why? Because she said so! And she went to Harvard and has a book contract, so she's got to be right!

From what I understand, Radical Sanity (and if this is what qualifies as "radical" these days then a whole lot of feminists have been wasting thir time since the early 60s) appeared first as an e-book, under Random House's "At Random" imprint. All I can say is that if major publishers want e-books to garner the same respect as their traditional-format titles, they are going to have to hold their e-books to a much higher standard of quality.

The title doesn't lie--the sense in this book is so common that it's boring. Read KISS MY TIARA instead. It's smarter and funnier. This book probably wouldn't have had a chance if PROZAC NATION hadn't been so popular. I don't know why Wurtzel is trying to appeal to the masses. She should stick to her usual audience--readers who gobble up her solipsistic, smarmy ramblings.