Customer Reviews

Sita

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

 

 

I agree with the first reviewer that this books is disturbing and depressing. Clearly this is not the author's finest hour as a person. But what saved it for me was that as an author, Millet really does shine. She captures the truth of being the one who loves and needs more, and it IS painful. I found this book fascinating.

The narrator Kate, an accomplished New York artist, returns to San Francisco after a long absence in an attempt to rekindle her steamy romance with the exotic Sita. What follows is a stream-of-consciousness narrative of hope and despair, a roller-coaster ride from erotic highs to suicidal lows. As with any love story, the reader's response depends on his/her ability to identify and sympathize with the characters, and this is where it just didn't work for me. I immediately identified the Sita character as self-absorbed, dishonest and manipulative and it was difficult to understand why an intelligent, accomplished person like Kate would allow herself to be degraded by such a lover. It occurred to me about halfway through that if Sita had been a man and the story proceeded as it did, we would call it just one more tale of low female self esteem and male emotional abuse and I doubt it would ever have been published. The one redeeming aspect of this book, however, is that it does manage to capture the claustrophobic, edge-of-sanity atmosphere that comes in the final days of a passionate love affair in it's death throes. Just be warned to lock up the liquor cabinet before you begin- a few hundred pages of this is enough to send anyone on a bender.

This autobiography of the last days of her quite obsessive relationship with Sita is the story of a dying love affair, where each day's petty slights and delightful surprises are digested for the insightful truths and harsh realities of self analysis. Like Violette Leduc, Millett charts every moment and every emotion during the days of bliss and the days of spite in the struggle to save the love they share, until Sita's ultimate betrayal by leaving for a man. Included in this new edition is a portion of the elegy Millett wrote after Sita's suicide in 1978, which is a stunning finale for this captivating memoir. Unlike other reviewers, I didn't find this at all depressing. Rather, I found this book uplifting and mesmerising.

In college, I read this book. I was beside myself with misery and despair for weeks. It was really well written - don't get me wrong - but... The book should have a warning on the inside label... If you aren't at THE ABSOLUTE happiest place in your life emotionally - DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Sorry. But it's how I felt... and so did most of my friends.