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70th out of 89 books
—
2 voters
I, etcetera
by
Susan Sontag
In eight stories, this singular collection of short fiction written over the course of ten years explores the terrain of modern urban life. In reflective, telegraphic prose, Susan Sontag confronts the reader with exposed workings of an impassioned intellect in narratives seamed with many of the themes of her essays—the nature of knowing, our relationship with the past, and
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Paperback, 256 pages
Published
March 6th 2002
by Picador
(first published 1963)
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I LOVED the first story... about preparing to go to China. Then, the rest (except maybe the last one) were well written, I guess, but sorta made me uncomfortable. I know I'm supposed to love Susan, and I do... the photo on the back of this edition is drop-dead gorgeous... but she really challenges my comfort zone when it comes to wanting to sit back and read a book of short stories. I want to be intrigued, entertained and moved... not left wondering why I feel like I've had an acid flashback.
Did...more
Did...more
Susan Sontag seems always struggling in writing novels. She claims she sees it as her permeant career, but readers hardly notice her novels, except for Volcano Lover.
In this book, several short stories. I like them, they are really really speaking of something that is quite common nowadays, but the way she wrote it seems way to shallow for Sontag's big name.
She tried to mute some characters' voices, nice move. But she could do better. Actually I believe she did better in The Benefactor and Dea...more
In this book, several short stories. I like them, they are really really speaking of something that is quite common nowadays, but the way she wrote it seems way to shallow for Sontag's big name.
She tried to mute some characters' voices, nice move. But she could do better. Actually I believe she did better in The Benefactor and Dea...more
Very mixed bag. First couple stories I liked a lot, the others not so much. There are great lines and observations in almost all the stories but they get rarer and rarer. What surprised me was how many of the stories sound like castoff Barthelme pieces. I hadn't realized how near their territories were to each other.
I'm cheating slightly as I finished about 90% of these stories. I really liked how the details were left open just enough that just when I thought I had the group/person figured out and was certain the next page would tell me I was right, the story ended. Don't know if I will ever finish it though...
the first story is "project for a trip to china" which is why i was reading this during my 14-hour flight to china, and with an additional 2-hour delay, with the AC drying my eyes, i was not able to create tears at all. i was not allowed to express sadness by crying. why should i cry, i don't know, but it's hard for me to cry when i try. anyway, my eyes were burning as i finished this, and the drawn out process of trying to read through squinted eyes exhausted me, so i didn't end up liking this...more
"Yo, etcétera" es un volumen conformado por diversos relatos disimiles, Sontag parece transformarse en cada uno de una manera fascinante.
Recomendado a quien desee una lectura que, siendo variada, es sumamente ávida y fresca a cada línea.
Recomendado a quien desee una lectura que, siendo variada, es sumamente ávida y fresca a cada línea.
I am mostly familiar with Sontag's non-fiction, but these stories were a surprisingly excellent find. I don't know what I expected, but I enjoyed them a lot.
I'm sorry, Susan, but I wasn't at all impressed by your short stories. Your essays are beyond excellent, and I expected so much more from this book. The first story I would give 4 stars; the rest were a 2 or 3.
jarring, disconnected, staccato style of writing. Not my cup of tea.
ps- I like her essays on Benjamin, Artaud, etc.
I, etc.
I, etc.
Mi primer acercamiento feministoide (chale)
May 10, 2009
Ian
added it
Meh
A VERY mixed bag.
I, Essai.
One of my all-time favourite short story collections!
I read a short story called Debriefing by Susan Sontag and for a moment I was in NY city, lonely and depressed, on edge. I really enjoyed this short piece. Her writing styIe, rambling, using short clips and held together with solid descriptions (especially in the story called Unguided Tour) painted vividly the near panic and desolation of the narrator's condition.
I have never read Sontag's fiction before this and it struck me as more revelatory than her criticism. The narrators here have the clipped, stream-of-strange-consciousness sensibilities you find in, say, a Lorrie Moore story, but are more baffling and metaphysical. The first story in particular raised hairs on the back of my neck.
Experimentalism and narrative style.
Yesterday I made dinner for my sister and myself. The kale was pretty bland but the tofurkey and mashed potatoes were good.
Some stories in this book I thought were really amazing.
Some stories in this book I thought were really amazing.
Jul 15, 2009
Abby
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Feminists, people who like prose
No wonder Susan Sontag is as well-regarded as she is. Her stories were so compelling and original!
Obsessed with Project for a trip to China. Why are you so quotable, Sontag?
Short stories written by someone too intelligent to write short stories.
I loved the story _Notes from a trip to China_, in particular.
Jan 25, 2008
Tamara
added it
"Better wrong with them than right with the others."
Pretentious, tedious, gorgeous. Typical Sontag.
Such clinical prose, nonetheless powerful.
May 19, 2013
James
marked it as to-read
May 18, 2013
Heather
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Maura
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Josipaa
marked it as to-read
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Jewish American literary theorist, novelist, filmmaker, and feminist activist.
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Jan 10, 2008 05:24pm