First things first, Siri Hustvedt writes beautifully (the German translation reads already very smoothly and I'm sure reading it in English would only improve my impression) and her intelligence is apparent on almost every page. In short the book is amazing.Nonetheless, the fact that she is obviously as smart as she writes makes me judge her a lot harsher than I would judge other peoples writings, which gets particularly tricky when considering the personal nature of most of her essays in this collection. What do I dislike? I think she is blatantly wrong more often than not, I disagree with almost everything she brings up when she ventures into the land of science, where she reduces complex problems into oversimplified statements of one or two supposed authorities in the field, who she likes, mostly, as it appears because the authorities statements fit nicely into her story. It gets even worse when she reduces matters solely to her personal one. It doesn't really matter whether Hustvedt talks belittling about numbers - as it is ever so popular (and infuriates me personally) especially in the intellectual literary classes - and the importance of algebra (and the ever present subtle maybe even subconscious connotation of "but who needs it anyhow, words are what is truly beautiful and the artist tool"), she starts to dissect literature to a point (which always bothered me in school) where I have not the shadow of a doubt in my mind that none of the interpretations she brings up were even intended by the author, or she digresses into the world of psychology saying in one line no one cares much about the Freudian view these days, only to progress to dissect a dream in much a way that would have made the father of psychoanalysis happy.One might wonder why I deem this book amazing as I seem to constantly disagree with Hustvedt's opinions, well, it's simple, she always redeems herself, often in the next sentence after uttering the statement that would infuriate me, after dissecting Henry James, she'd go on talking about her Ph.D. defense and how she was asked by the committee whether she believed that James was aware of all which she saw in his work and her answer would be a simple: No (it would get more tricky, as the important part is aware as in conscious about it and she would go on explaining about her notion of writing and expressing the subconscious of the writer). Her psychological digressions would often be backed be very personal (childhood) experiences and even the apparent belittling of numbers is nullified when she goes on to explain her personal struggles in her childhood with the evil "minus sign" (and general problems with numbers). Moreover, Hustvedt makes it all points clear that she's portraying her personal opinion and she's never trying to act like an authority on the matter. So, her opinions are as far from my own as possible (in many cases) but isn't that the best one can expect out of any book? To challenge one's conceptions, feelings, and thoughts?I'll stay at 3/5 for this book for now but it might as well be a 5/5, I will wait till after I read some of her novels and then, potentially, revise my statement.
I suppose I am drawn to Siri Hustvedt's writings, because I am interested in the same things she is: memory and place, the nature of art, Henry James, Our Mutual Friend, Dickens and 19th-century English lit in general, all of which (and more) she addresses in this collection. I relate to her descriptions of her inner world, especially those from when she was a child and an adolescent. But Hustvedt is a lot smarter than I am, so I'm happy to have my outlook on these topics expanded by her.When this book came out I was excited, because I love her earlier collection, Yonder: Essays. Upon opening this book, I was disappointed to see that the first three essays are repeats from the earlier book. I understand why her publisher reissued them, as the three 'reruns' are wonderful -- the essay titled "Yonder" is my favorite -- and I'm guessing the first collection is now officially out-of-print, plus she'd become more known since the publication of What I Loved.
Do You like book A Plea For Eros: Essays (2005)?
Anyone intriged by the cover image of a woman in panties and corset might be disappointed to discover essays on Gatsby, Franklin Pangborn, James, and Dickens within. I'm interested in all of these subjects and yet preferred the essays that resonate most with her novelistic obsessions, including her Norwegian heritage and the mind/body connection. I love reading about her sisters Liv, Astrid, and Ingrid in "Yonder," which memorably defines fiction as remembering what didn't happen. The title essay is also great territory for Hustvedt: because she is a novelist who writes intelligently, sensitively, and honestly about desire, her thoughts about issues of sexual harassment and misogeny are worth reading.
—Stephanie
I wanted to read a novel by Hustvedt, but when you live in a non-English speaking country and prefer to read in English, you read what you can get your hands on. This was it, a selection of essays. Usually I like most essays, but these left me lukewarm, especially the personal ones in which the writer is rather enthralled with every thought she's ever had on whatever subject she is discussing and anything tangential (or not!) that she can find to say. But I still want to read a novel by Hustvedt.
—Jessica
I read 'Living, Thinking, Looking' about a year ago, and fell in love with Hustvedt as an essayist, loving her already as a novelist. During my recent trip to Paris, I stumbled upon 'A Plea for Eros' in Shakespeare and Co., and had to buy it. The book itself wil always be connected to Paris for me now - from the location-specific stamp in the front the staff kindly offered to memories of reading the first couple of essays aloud to my boyfriend lounged on benches on Place Dauphine and in the Cimetière Montparnasse, beneath the cenotaph to Baudelaire.The essays themselves are on the whole not as academic in tone and focus as those of 'Living, Thinking, Looking', but weave between stories of Hustvedts Norwegian-Midwestern upbringing, her life in New York City as both a young woman, writer, mother and wife, and stories of the stories of others - Fitzgerald, Dickens and Henry James. The language flows, as always, impeccably, and the tone ranges from the humorous to the grave without loosing integrity.Why, then, only four stars? After writing this, I'm not quite sure, but I've decided to stick to my gut feeling. I maybe do feel that this collection is less coherent than 'Living, Thinking, Looking', and apart from common threads and themes I do not see an overarching connection between all of them, making the collection somehow a little weaker. I do really recommend it, though, especially for the thoughful and inspiring essay on Dickens and the side-splittingly funny "Eight Days in a Corset".
—Charlotte J.
