Scan barcode
amotisse's review
4.0
I Library hogged this book knowing there were snippets within that would appeal to me. From perusal I found many interesting and thought provoking concepts that my creative mind is still processing. Also liked some of the chapter titles and subtitles.
Definitely promising.
Definitely promising.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘My view is that life with objects requires thought and reflection, and it is not a state we attain once and for all.’
How often do we think about our possessions? I guess that we all think about what we own when (or if) it’s time to move, or perhaps when deciding whether there is enough space to add something new. But we make our own connections with the things that we own, and one person’s treasure may look like rubbish to someone else.
In this book, Ruth Quibell writes of seven different items (in essay length chapters) and in the eighth chapter, entitled ‘Foucault’s Toolbox’ she shares what she describes as: ‘ the ‘idea bundles’ that have shaped, goaded, inspired and challenged me while writing The Promise of Things.’
What are the seven different items?
Matisse’s Armchair
The Edwardian Wardrobe
The Ithaka Stone
The Pöang
The Velvet Jacket
Simone de Beauvoir’s Bicycle
The Singer Sewing Machine
The Empty Drawer
Each of these essays looks at different aspects of possession. Utility may be important (aspects of The Edwardian Wardrobe, Simone de Beauvoir’s Bicycle, The Singer Sewing Machine). Or perhaps it’s the function of meeting a specific need (The Pöang). Or the promise of happiness through distraction (Matisse’s Armchair). In The Ithaka Stone it’s a connection with a physical object, a reminder of a holiday during a period of illness. The Velvet Jacket is about owning something longed for, a possession that is (the possessor hopes) life-changing. The Singer Sewing Machine is partly about the perceived intrinsic value of homemade items. But it’s also about the means of creating and the promise of creativity. The Empty Drawer is about passing possessions on (when the time is right) and reminded me of my own grandmother and, more recently, an ageing friend divesting herself of craft materials she can no longer use.
Each of these essays had significance for me. Different items, different histories, different connections. And it has made me think about my own possessions in a different way.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
How often do we think about our possessions? I guess that we all think about what we own when (or if) it’s time to move, or perhaps when deciding whether there is enough space to add something new. But we make our own connections with the things that we own, and one person’s treasure may look like rubbish to someone else.
In this book, Ruth Quibell writes of seven different items (in essay length chapters) and in the eighth chapter, entitled ‘Foucault’s Toolbox’ she shares what she describes as: ‘ the ‘idea bundles’ that have shaped, goaded, inspired and challenged me while writing The Promise of Things.’
What are the seven different items?
Matisse’s Armchair
The Edwardian Wardrobe
The Ithaka Stone
The Pöang
The Velvet Jacket
Simone de Beauvoir’s Bicycle
The Singer Sewing Machine
The Empty Drawer
Each of these essays looks at different aspects of possession. Utility may be important (aspects of The Edwardian Wardrobe, Simone de Beauvoir’s Bicycle, The Singer Sewing Machine). Or perhaps it’s the function of meeting a specific need (The Pöang). Or the promise of happiness through distraction (Matisse’s Armchair). In The Ithaka Stone it’s a connection with a physical object, a reminder of a holiday during a period of illness. The Velvet Jacket is about owning something longed for, a possession that is (the possessor hopes) life-changing. The Singer Sewing Machine is partly about the perceived intrinsic value of homemade items. But it’s also about the means of creating and the promise of creativity. The Empty Drawer is about passing possessions on (when the time is right) and reminded me of my own grandmother and, more recently, an ageing friend divesting herself of craft materials she can no longer use.
Each of these essays had significance for me. Different items, different histories, different connections. And it has made me think about my own possessions in a different way.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
ghostofyesterday's review
4.0
A book about things and what they mean to us.
I very much enjoyed "The Promise of Things", especially the first chapter which discusses Matisse and his armchair, the fifth in which the author, Ruth Quibell, explores her relationship with a brown velvet jacket she found whilst op-shopping and the final, which thoughtfully examines how we relate to our possessions when we consider the finality of our lives.
Beautifully written, personal and yet intensely relatable, I gleaned much from Quibell's writing.
I very much enjoyed "The Promise of Things", especially the first chapter which discusses Matisse and his armchair, the fifth in which the author, Ruth Quibell, explores her relationship with a brown velvet jacket she found whilst op-shopping and the final, which thoughtfully examines how we relate to our possessions when we consider the finality of our lives.
Beautifully written, personal and yet intensely relatable, I gleaned much from Quibell's writing.
wtb_michael's review
4.0
This short book of essays is a fascination examination of our relationship to the objects in our lives. It's accessibly written, thoughtful and engaging and well worth the few hours it'll take you to zip through.
kali's review
4.0
A short book of essays on the meaning and role of ‘things’ in our lives. My favourite was the last ‘The Empty Drawer’, asking how we ensure that our treasures are recognised as such by those we leave behind when we die; the way that certain items retain memories of who we were, and the changing attachments that happen. I also enjoyed Quibell’s essay on The Edwardian Wardrobe, which reiterates William Morris’s refrain that all things must be beautiful or useful, though in this case the thing in question is neither. There is no rationality sometimes in why we clutter/ornament our lives with things, or yearn for one thing and its illusive promise of an imagined self, and it’s all psychological. Quibell studs personal anecdotes with theorists, but this is not a heavy read.
More...