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A review by middle_name_joy
Learning to Drive (Movie Tie-In Edition): And Other Life Stories by Katha Pollitt
2.0
I am here because I have lost my man.
Whether Katha Pollitt agrees with me or not, I came to see the above line as the thesis statement of Learning to Drive, a collection of essays from the feminist critic on topics ranging from destruction of green space to Botox. Yes, Pollitt lost her adulterous, sneaky, egotistical husband, and what was her response?
"I'm going to be a little obsessed for awhile."
Obsessed, indeed. Webstalking, tracking down her ex's mistresses(????), and as the title promises, finally learning to drive a car. "Beautiful Screamer" was perhaps the most relevant essay, detailing the author's entrance into motherhood, yet that still upheld an elitist barrier.
Too often, critics feel that if they analyze the heck out of something--and show a little self-deprecation in the process--it gains worth. But analysis without revelation, or even enlightenment, is glorified internal monologue, the pages of a personal journal turned out on the world.
"Almost everything is evidence of something," the Supreme Court passed down in a case tried by Pollitt's father, a known communist lawyer. There was a lot of evidence in this memoir, a lot of pontificating and bleeding, but that 'something' to which the strife gives meaning is illusive.
It is that dearth of focus that derails the collection. In the title essay, Pollitt was accused by her driving instructor of lacking observation skills. Not an ideal deficiency for a literary critic! And ultimately her downfall in several walks of life.
If she had noticed her mother's alcoholism....
If she had noticed her husband's decades of affairs....
If she had noticed the goldmine in her parents' FBI files beyond two, frustratingly condensed essays...
Then again, what would she have had to write about if she had?
Whether Katha Pollitt agrees with me or not, I came to see the above line as the thesis statement of Learning to Drive, a collection of essays from the feminist critic on topics ranging from destruction of green space to Botox. Yes, Pollitt lost her adulterous, sneaky, egotistical husband, and what was her response?
"I'm going to be a little obsessed for awhile."
Obsessed, indeed. Webstalking, tracking down her ex's mistresses(????), and as the title promises, finally learning to drive a car. "Beautiful Screamer" was perhaps the most relevant essay, detailing the author's entrance into motherhood, yet that still upheld an elitist barrier.
Too often, critics feel that if they analyze the heck out of something--and show a little self-deprecation in the process--it gains worth. But analysis without revelation, or even enlightenment, is glorified internal monologue, the pages of a personal journal turned out on the world.
"Almost everything is evidence of something," the Supreme Court passed down in a case tried by Pollitt's father, a known communist lawyer. There was a lot of evidence in this memoir, a lot of pontificating and bleeding, but that 'something' to which the strife gives meaning is illusive.
It is that dearth of focus that derails the collection. In the title essay, Pollitt was accused by her driving instructor of lacking observation skills. Not an ideal deficiency for a literary critic! And ultimately her downfall in several walks of life.
If she had noticed her mother's alcoholism....
If she had noticed her husband's decades of affairs....
If she had noticed the goldmine in her parents' FBI files beyond two, frustratingly condensed essays...
Then again, what would she have had to write about if she had?