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kylefwill's review against another edition
5.0
"Let's face it. We're undone by each other. And if we're not, we're missing something." (23)
djinnmartini's review against another edition
5.0
I'm just not really sure where I was or what I was doing when this came out, but I feel really stupid for taking this long to read this MASTERPIECE.
Things this book does:
-re-imagine grief and mourning
-reconfigure sovereignty in the wake of governmentality (in a really clear, easy-to-understand, mindblowing way!!)
-rip Larry Summers a new one, re: conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism
you know, read it. It's one of the most accessible Butler texts I've ever read, which is no small feat. Hopefully a post over on Canonball (http://thecanonball.wordpress.com) will be forthcoming.
Things this book does:
-re-imagine grief and mourning
-reconfigure sovereignty in the wake of governmentality (in a really clear, easy-to-understand, mindblowing way!!)
-rip Larry Summers a new one, re: conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism
you know, read it. It's one of the most accessible Butler texts I've ever read, which is no small feat. Hopefully a post over on Canonball (http://thecanonball.wordpress.com) will be forthcoming.
tiaelisabeth's review against another edition
5.0
Pleased to return to this book and find it just as erudite as the first time around… Butler‘s call for the humanities and cultural critics, as well as everyday consumers of media and political discourse, to examine the ways in which perpetual war, violence, cruelty, and dehumanization of the other are conveyed through disavowals of mourning, vulnerability, and the inherent fragility of human life. Certainly, the first two essays here are the strongest and offer the most (perhaps as theoretical points of view from which to continue working), however I also appreciated Butler’s insights into other political conflicts. They are certainly one of those people whom reading feels like having my opinions revealed to myself, more clearly and well-constructed than I might have imagined!
psychephoenix's review against another edition
4.0
The introduction, first and last chapter were most interesting.
Easier to read than a lot of Butler's other works.
Easier to read than a lot of Butler's other works.
cristina_barba's review against another edition
4.0
Early post 9/11 rhetoric is overwhelming to me, and I'm often unable to approach it in a productive way, but this essay collection is crystal clear on subjects I haven't been exposed to academically (and therefore have opinions based only on intuition, peers' opinions and experience) but that I'm nonetheless passionate about. This book wonderfully apprehends the nuance of privilege that exists in cultural criticism of the Arab-Israeli conflict, political correctness as it intersects with religion, the U.S. and racism, and (in my opinion, most eye-opening) the way we interact with mourning and humanity.
For such a short book this read long at times, I assume from a lack of education and exposure to academic writing, so I was able to really enjoy maybe half to three quarters of this. But what I did, I'm keeping. This is perhaps the most important text I have consumed this year.
For such a short book this read long at times, I assume from a lack of education and exposure to academic writing, so I was able to really enjoy maybe half to three quarters of this. But what I did, I'm keeping. This is perhaps the most important text I have consumed this year.