Russ, Joanna - To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction

[oyceter]

I think I liked the two other Joanna Russ books I've read better (What Are We Fighting For? and How to Suppress Women's Writing), but that is largely because I am much more interested in feminism than I am in SF.

I know! I am a genre reader, but not really an SF reader -- I grew up on fantasy, and that's still what I seek out. And I've read very little SF, so many of the things that Russ comments on, I don't know enough about to really analyze. I also haven't read several other works she refers to, including Willa Cather and "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Shirley Jackson (um. yes i know. i will some day....).

On the other hand, I continue to enjoy Russ' casual, conversational style and notes, along with her wit and her way of looking at things. I may not always agree with her, but I like that she continues to examine "marginal" genres and works, though this collection of essays focuses more (solely?) on white women instead of on POC.

Also, I am glad to have finally read this, despite the horrific overdue fine my library will charge, because I have now finally read her essay on Gothics, "Somebody's Trying to Kill Me, and I Think It's My Husband"! I'm excited because coffeeandink refers to it for romances, and I'm excited because I feel more equipped to read the Gothics rachelmanija has given and lent to me.

So, recced, but more recced if you have actually read what Russ is referring to.

Comments

[sarahtales.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you on the fantasy vs sf thing - it's not even a choice, my brain tends to switch off reading most sf because often I don't feel as if I'm getting enough character stuff and my attention inevitably wanders.

That said, 'Somebody's Trying to Kill Me and I Think It's My Husband' is a most awesome read. I've been experimenting with something Gothic of late and am going back over everything Gothic and marvelling and calculating. DWJ's The Time of the Ghost pulls some very modern-Gothic tricks, I think, if you haven't read it.

[oyceter]

Yeah, my brain very much wanders off during sf. I mean, a lot of the division in my head is the character-heavy vs. the idea-heavy. So I do read and like character-heavy sf, though even then, the sf-trappings don't tend to excite me (though, of course, sometimes they do... heh).

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Have you read Rosemary Kirstein's Steerswoman series? I was up till 3:00 AM last night re-reading The Lost Steersman, because I could not put it down. I thought of it because the idea element is integral to the character element.

[oyceter]

Yes! I love those books! I think I finally got around to them last year, and I was sort of thinking of them when I mentioned that sometimes idea-books do get to me (ditto with Gillian Bradshaw's The Sand-Reckoner, which isn't SF at all but is about a mathematician).