Ever wondered why there’s no female voice as bold, erotic, unflinching, and revealing as Norman Mailer, Henry Miller, or Philip Roth? Ther... read full description
reviews
Jul 06, 2011
Andreea
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******Full Disclosure**** This was an ARC copy, that was received through the GoodReads Advance program. I am grateful for the chance to have listened this memoir, which I might not have purchased otherwise.
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I am going back and forth about this review - I think I wrote it three times so far, but it still hadn't capture all the nuances of the book. First, let me tell you that I had no idea who Susie Bright was before listening to this book. I have very mixed feelings about More...
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I am going back and forth about this review - I think I wrote it three times so far, but it still hadn't capture all the nuances of the book. First, let me tell you that I had no idea who Susie Bright was before listening to this book. I have very mixed feelings about More...
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Jun 15, 2011
Butterfly
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Fragments of stories weave in and out of my thoughts after reading Susie Bright’s memoir, Big Sex Little Death. Stories that Susie experienced, with guts, audacity, and sexual independence.
She begins with her family and by no means is she excusing them. They are necessary for her tale to be told. Beginning where she herself began, from the lives and union of two complicated people—- her parents. Perhaps the raw emotions and scars are still too palpable to fully express her feelings a More...
She begins with her family and by no means is she excusing them. They are necessary for her tale to be told. Beginning where she herself began, from the lives and union of two complicated people—- her parents. Perhaps the raw emotions and scars are still too palpable to fully express her feelings a More...
May 12, 2011
T.L.
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Susie Bright tells her life story in the memoir, Big Sex Little Death. Big Sex Little Death details the events of Bright’s life well but provides very little insight into the motivation behind her actions. Often it reads as if Brigh just became involved in whatever cause happened to come her way. Even her passion for her causes seems muted and a bit fleeting throughout the book. The book is written to leave the impression of a girl longing to belong but never actually explores this with any emot
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Mar 22, 2011
Fred
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I've admired Susie Bright's candid, direct, and wide open sexual expression for a great many years, from her early writing in the lesbian tabloid "On Our Backs" right through to her current blog [...]. Here is a woman who took on a number of risky and controversial causes, especially the celebration of a bawdy and earthy female bisexuality with a primarily lesbian identity, against the anti-sex prophets of what I would call the right wing of the feminist movement--people like Andrea Dw
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Jun 09, 2011
Holly
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Susie Bright is someone I admire greatly: sex-positive feminist, progressive leftist social activist, lesbian/bi-sexual pioneer. She is smart as hell, extremely learned, and funny. A great audiobook, mostly because it is read by the author herself - she laughs at her own jokes - but I suspect there is more to tell. This book touches parts of her life and career, her parents and early years, her socialist period, and the "On Our Backs" years. I found myself moved by her chill-inducing d
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May 21, 2011
Caitlin
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As a person who came of age during the roaring '70's only to enter college and adulthood for the early years of HIV, I've always admired Susie Bright. She's been a sex-positive educator throughout her career - openly gay, an editor of annual collections of erotic stories. She founded On Our Backs, the first magazine for gay women. She was the first female critic of the X-Rated Critics Organization and wrote feminist reviews of erotic films for the Penthouse Forum. She sassy and funny and was
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Jul 10, 2011
Eric
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I really wanted to like this book a lot better than I did. I've liked a lot of other things written by Susie Bright, I have a whole lot of respect and admiration for her, and we went to the same high school - though she started there four years after I graduated - and she even mentions some teachers in the book who I recall. But I was surprised by the lack of emotional resonance in the book. It seemed more like a recitation of incidents than anything much deeper than that and so I was disappoint
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Aug 21, 2011
Editrix
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Much as I admire Susie Bright and have enjoyed her writing in the past, her memoir left me tepid. I'd expected a far more engaging read from someone so brave and expressive. Perhaps the episodes from her adolescence and early adulthood she breezily recounts were more cohesive in her head than they wound up becoming on the page.
Her story might be better told by another person -- someone with a little critical distance who could describe Bright's life and work in the context of the larg More...
Her story might be better told by another person -- someone with a little critical distance who could describe Bright's life and work in the context of the larg More...
Jan 05, 2012
Hazel
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I picked this up because of its intriguing title, and in complete ignorance of Bright's history in North American sexual politics. Unfortunately, she is not a good enough writer to engage a stranger like me and although she's clearly led a colourful life and has known many remarkable people, she could not bring most of them to life for me. In fact the book gives little or no sense of Bright herself as a person, or (except for the early chapters describing life with her unstable mother) of the p
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Mar 26, 2011
Rachel
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Big Sex Little Death is about some of the things you would expect from a Susie Bright memoir: her time at pioneering lesbian sex magazine On Our Backs, the feminist sex wars, politics and hypocrisy. But it's also about a lot of things you might not expect, things that revealed not just how she got to where she is now and the forces that shaped her, but the rift her parents' divorce caused inside her, and how it shaped her as a parent and person.
Bright starts off as a little girl trying More...
Bright starts off as a little girl trying More...
May 23, 2011
Monica
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I just read this book in a day. I had to stand in line at court today, and had brought this along with me, and I was so absorbed I didn't even notice that a minor altercation had broken out in front of me until the growing group of sheriffs started questioning us at to what we'd soon. Oops. Oddly, I'd been reading what I thought was the weaker part of the book, about the splits in the socialist group Bright had worked with in Detroit.
Some good quotes in here. I hope I can find them ag
Some good quotes in here. I hope I can find them ag
Jul 06, 2011
Amanda
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This is the first time that I have actually heard the author read the book that they wrote. I love how her actual emotion came across while listening that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to read.
Susie is amazing in her genre and I can honestly say that I didn't know much about her before this book. I'm so glad that I got a chance to read/listen to what she has to say. The greatest thing about a memoir is that even though I may not believe everything that the author does, I can still re More...
Susie is amazing in her genre and I can honestly say that I didn't know much about her before this book. I'm so glad that I got a chance to read/listen to what she has to say. The greatest thing about a memoir is that even though I may not believe everything that the author does, I can still re More...
Jul 11, 2011
Umachan
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I'm not one for having idols, but Susie Bright (along with Pat Califia and Carol Queen) played a huge role in the development and articulation of my belief that we don't have to fit into anyone's box when self-defining gender and sexual identity. She is amazingly articulate, open minded and honest. To be allowed into her history is a gift. If you are not familiar with Ms. Bright, be forewarned that this book is sexually graphic (she's not called "Susie Sexpert" without reason). A great
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Mar 12, 2011
Crystal
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Susie Bright has given us a brave, funny, even-handed, and culturally astute American political memoir of family, love, learning, revolution, sex, friendship, mothering, reconciliation, more revolution, and more love. I've been looking forward to reading this book since learning in 2008 that it was in the works; I wasn't disappointed.
Recommended for feminist workers and feminist culture warriors of all ages.
Recommended for feminist workers and feminist culture warriors of all ages.
Jan 25, 2012
I received this audio book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Audiobooks are not my favorite medium. I found the narration to be a bit dry at times and found myself distracted quite often. I would have preferred to read this in book-form.
Audiobooks are not my favorite medium. I found the narration to be a bit dry at times and found myself distracted quite often. I would have preferred to read this in book-form.
May 02, 2011
Janet
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I was so excited to discover this memoir but was disappointed in the meandering style in which Susie told parts of her tale. Loved the beginning chapters about her childhood and the ending bits about her life now (even if I wanted more), but she seemed to lose focus in describing her more rebellious years ~ the ones I was most interested in hearing about! But she does provide some wonderfully crafted ideas like this one: "I knew family ghosts don't go away. I've enjoyed the beneficial ones.
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Jun 18, 2011
Yasmin
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Jun 05, 2011
Anna
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A crazy real autobiography. She even goes to places that shame her... I love Susie Bright!
Jul 30, 2011
Lisa
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I picked up this book because I was curious about Susie Bright. I'd heard her name many times in connection with "On Our Backs" and other things sexual, but didn't know much else.
Two qualities of this book stood out for me: Bright's beautiful and imaginative descriptions of events, people and places; and the incredible detail with which she recalls experiences that occurred decades ago. My admiration of her writing kept me reading for much of the book, but ultimately the exc More...
Two qualities of this book stood out for me: Bright's beautiful and imaginative descriptions of events, people and places; and the incredible detail with which she recalls experiences that occurred decades ago. My admiration of her writing kept me reading for much of the book, but ultimately the exc More...
Jan 03, 2012
Interesting memoir from Susie Bright. It was interesting to read about her beginning in the world of politics and revolution. The book reads like many small conversations between the author and reader. The ending was a bit odd - not that I expected some drawn out reflections on life, but it was very abrupt. I also found it curious that Susie Bright really didn't reflect on the erotica collections she's edited or her podcast on audible.com.
Mar 23, 2011
Jan 11, 2012
Dawn
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With a name like "Big Sex Little Death" I thought it would be full of explicit sex tales and "ooooohhh yea!" moments. However, that is not the case. Her life story is interesting enough in and of itself, but it wasn't what I expected.
Jun 09, 2011
Katie
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I really suck at reviews. I dig this book. I had no idea her history with the socialist movement, just her work as a feminist sex activist. She's bad ass and an ok writer to boot.
Feb 21, 2012
Feb 19, 2012
