Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"A Dialogue on Love" by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick

What fascinates me most about this book is how much I enjoy reading it despite the lack of enticing story or characters that I care about. I just really love the way she writes.

Sedgwick, who passed away not too long ago, is truly an inspiration. I was used to her intellect as a literary and cultural critic, but had no idea she was such a poet. This book isn't about queer topics or literature--although there are, as should be expected, references to those things and their roles in her life; instead it is about herself as revealed in a series of therapy sessions. I'm not sure if she arrives at any conclusions about any of the topics she explores here, but there are great insights offered here in such a captivating way there is no need for closure.

Biographies are always convoluted. Autobiographies, though generally regarded as more accurate, are possibly even more convoluted. What you read is what the author wants you to know, and how can you know if they want you to know the truth? Fortunately the truth isn't what I'm interested in; Sedgwick's intelligence is, and that is what we get here. As she explores her childhood, beliefs, and dreams, we get incredible insights into her thought process, her struggle as she turns her critical lens toward herself.

It is purely a pleasure to read, an experience like no others I have had before.

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