LAPL Reads's Reviews > Men Explain Things to Me

Written through a feminist lens, this book is a series of short essays--most of them meditations on how men and women relate to each other. What is most striking to me about this book, is the simplicity and cogency with which Rebecca Solnit presents how women are sometimes treated inequitably and discriminatorily in the public sphere. She speaks to the struggle for gender equality in a simple, non- preachy, eloquent manner, at times humorously as well.

The title of the book is taken from the opening essay that originally was published in 2008. Not long after the essay was published the word mansplaining came into usage--a word not created by Solnit. This word refers to a manner of being spoken to, predominantly a man to a woman, that presumes the woman has no knowledge of the subject matter, and also is incapable of understanding it. Therefore the speaker is condescending in manner and language.The signal experience which prompted the essay, and it is a gem, Solnit recounts with sly humor. She also clearly expresses the ramifications for those who have been a captive listener, often hearing inaccurate information. I highly recommend this book for its conciseness and also accessibility to the concepts of feminism.

Reviewed by Eileen Y., Librarian, InfoNow