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kaileycool's review
5.0
Read this for my Baldwin class. I don't agree with all of Biss' assertions, and I'm not sure she has the right to make some of them, but the exploration is provoking, which I think is the point. The metaphor of a treacherous "no man's land" where the very ground beneath you is deceptively unstable is a very apt way to describe this text, a fact that makes it clear the provocation is intentional. Her argument that guilt is the racial heritage of white Americans is certainly offensive to some, but I would agree with her even if I didn't have a natural predilection toward offensive women. There were several palpably uncomfortable moments in the class session dedicated to this book, and I think that's the point.
lisa_mc's review
2.0
I go into collections of essay expecting them to be uneven -- I'll always like some more than others -- and this book fit that pattern. But the ones I liked I didn't love, and the ones I didn't like I didn't even finish. I'm not sure what it was about her writing that I just didn't connect with -- it seems that everyone else was raving about this book. But to me the writing seemed choppy in places, jumping back and forth between topics, and so self-consciously "wrought" in other places that it was a distraction to me as a reader. This may be a book I'll need to revisit later to take a fresh look at.
karinacheah17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Genocide and War
dkrane's review
5.0
One of the more consistently brilliant nonfiction works I've read, especially in how she merges her innovative writing style with her at times iconoclastic observations about how race operates in America. It's really good and is a particularly insightful example of writing about Whiteness and race from the perspective of a White person.
ben_smitty's review
4.0
Very artful, thought-provoking essays on race, systemic racism, and the difficulties of urban life. Biss's poetic paragraph form, one-liners, and repetition create convincing illustrations of the need for reform and reparations.
sjgochenour's review
4.0
I kept waiting for Biss to go off the rails, but while I disagreed with the implications of certain statements or sources, it didn't feel like she really did.
I, of course, was most taken by her version of "Good-bye to All That," which encapsulates a lot of my feelings abut both New York and becoming an adult in a new city.
I, of course, was most taken by her version of "Good-bye to All That," which encapsulates a lot of my feelings abut both New York and becoming an adult in a new city.
quietmachine's review
5.0
Holy amazing. Read this. Seriously. It's not light reading. It is, however, filled with brilliant essays on race/class/culture/etc written in engaging, thought-provoking ways.
Hey when Sherman Alexie tells you to read something (he's a quoted author on the back of the book), you should do it. End of story.
Hey when Sherman Alexie tells you to read something (he's a quoted author on the back of the book), you should do it. End of story.