Men Explain Things to Me

I took this book with me to the barber to read while I was waiting. My barber noticed it and asked me what I thought, but before I could respond he started to expound on what he thought were the “problems” with Solnit's first essay. I sat quietly as he listed, without realising it, all the reasons that this book, and feminism in general, threaten him and his perspective on the world (i.e. the best bits).

Five stars; minus one for having to find a new barber.

I really enjoy Rebecca Solnit's writing style and essay structures. I started reading this book before the election, and the essays I read were fresh and inspiring. Because of life and work, I had to take a break, and then the election happened. Reading the rest of this book after the election was a much different experience for me. In this moment, it's harder for me to share Solnit's hope about the progress that we've made (especially in her essay “Worlds Collide in a Luxury Suite: Some Thoughts on the IMF, Global Injustice, and a Stranger on a Train,” about the head of IMF being accused of sexual assault) as a society. The essays that specifically explore how far feminism has come and how unsuccessful Republicans will be at chipping away at womens' rights were really difficult for me to read with any investment or hope right now. I kept thinking, “Would she still say all this, now that a misogynistic, racist, xenophobic, ableist sexual predator is our next president? What does she say/think now?” That's all my own shit though – all of her essays are well-written, engaging and approachable. The essays I found myself invested in were “Grandmother Spider” and “Woolf's Darkness: Embracing the Inexplicable.” “Grandmother Spider” encourages us (women) to take control of the narrative, to not be erased in the (hi)stories that are told about us. “Woolf's Darkness” was a salve for my post-election heart. Her words about despair and optimism as attitudes that are equally certain about the future and equally unproductive were particularly salient for me, especially now.

a very informative and interesting collection of essays on feminist issues. the handful of handhold-y “not all men”-isms for the handful of men who would read a book like this and actually need that reassurance are kinda cringe, and a couple essays feel like they don't exactly fit in with the others, but none of this really detracts the importance of what solnit is saying.

I found this little book at my favorite little book store in Staunton, and it being only two days after hearing about this book for the first time as recommended reading for young fledgling feminists. It was love at first page. I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. While I don't agree with everything single thing she says, the tone and the ideas are solid. She made me rethink things and I had many little ahha's or “YES! me too!” moments which always make up a terrific book. I devoured this in little over a day.
Well worth the price of admission.

Reading this opened my eyes to just how my life has shaped under patriarchy and how much it's influenced my mind set in regards to my relationships to this overhang of evil and to men, and I appreciate Rebecca for helping look beyond the surface levels of these issues and analyze myself and better myself - essentially, become more aware. Loved these essays.

Read on lunch breaks and on the bus. Laughed out loud and also felt my blood boil.

Solnit describes experiences most women have had, of being talked down to, talked over, ignored, not taken seriously, and connects them to the statistics for sexual assault in the US. The title essay starts with the famous story of Solnit having her own book explained to her at a party by a man who wouldn't hear that she had written it and ends contemplating another man who dismissed the idea that a woman he'd seen run out of her house naked in the middle of the night screaming, “My husband's trying to kill me” could possibly be telling the truth.

I've been a fan of Solnit's other writing on travel, wandering and getting lost. Her ability to put a name to experiences that are slippery and hard to name, in beautiful and precise language, is on full display in this book. I recommend it highly.

A collection of essays dealing with wide-spread misogyny. They track the slippery slope of lacking respect, so ingrained in our culture, that spans from “mansplaining” to rape and femicide. It's a saddening and maddening wake-up call when Solnit names numbers of how many documented and undocumented rapes happen on a daily basis. And how the typical response is to tell women how not to behave, what not to wear, when not to go out - instead of teaching men not to rape. Equally eye-opening is her pointing out that, without a few exceptions, most massmurderers and terrorists are men. A fact easy to overlooked, when all everyone cries about is nationalities and religion.

Solnit's voice is sharp and witty and I like her writing a lot. I can only imagine what essays she would have added in the last 2-3 years (since this edition was published). My only critique would be that some of the essays fit more while others fit less. And that there are slights repeats in content.

I read this book in one sitting yesterday, then reread the first two essays (which you can find online) today to further reflect/absorb.

This is an important read for sure, and I hope to pass it on and share it as much as possible. All at once, Solnit devastated me with statistics on violence against women, then gave me a small glimmer of hope for our future.

*I took off one star because I agree with other reviewers that the Woolfe essay was a bit meandering and perhaps not on point (or I missed her point).