Oppositions
Selected Essays
Published on 9. November 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-78816-816-8 (ISBN)
Description
'Mary Gaitskill is willing to think about the problematic with complexity and humanity, and without taking sides or engaging in all the fashionable moral hectoring that passes for serious thought these days.' Eimear McBride
Nuanced, daring and tender, these essays from the celebrated author of This is Pleasure and Bad Behavior, consistently fascinate and provoke. Mary Gaitskill takes on a broad range of topics from Nabokov to horse-riding with her unique ability to tease out unexpected truths and cast aside received wisdom.
Written with startling grace and linguistic flair, and delving into the complicated nature of love and the responsibility we owe to the people we encounter, the work collected here inspires the reader to think beyond their first responses to life and art. Spanning thirty years of Mary Gaitskill's writing, and covering subjects as diverse as Dancer in the Dark, the world of Charles Dickens and the Book of Revelation with her characteristic blend of sincerity and wit, Oppositions is never less than enthralling.
Nuanced, daring and tender, these essays from the celebrated author of This is Pleasure and Bad Behavior, consistently fascinate and provoke. Mary Gaitskill takes on a broad range of topics from Nabokov to horse-riding with her unique ability to tease out unexpected truths and cast aside received wisdom.
Written with startling grace and linguistic flair, and delving into the complicated nature of love and the responsibility we owe to the people we encounter, the work collected here inspires the reader to think beyond their first responses to life and art. Spanning thirty years of Mary Gaitskill's writing, and covering subjects as diverse as Dancer in the Dark, the world of Charles Dickens and the Book of Revelation with her characteristic blend of sincerity and wit, Oppositions is never less than enthralling.
Reviews / Votes
Gloriously trenchant, but never gimmicky, in these unsparing essays... insightful and revealing * Guardian * Gaitskill has long been interested in the power play inherent in sexual relationships, so when it comes to probing the messy, murky topography of abuses of power and issues of consent, she's definitely the woman for the job -- Lucy Scholes * Daily Telegraph * Provocative and wry * Vogue * Gaitskill is enormously gifted * The New York Times Book Review * The range of Gaitskill's humanity is astonishing * LA Times * A writer of prodigious gifts * Guardian * Gaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail * The New York Times * Stubbornly original, with a sort of rhythm and fine moments that flatten you out when you don't expect it -- Alice Munro Gaitskill is phenomenally gifted -- Sarah Hall Never fails to surprise, provoke, or wander into the murky areas most writers try and avoid ... Oppositions is never less than fascinating -- Steven Long * The Crack * Gaitskill's personal essays are evergreen... her non-fiction succeeds in embracing complexity -- Mia Levitin * TLS *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
200 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78816-816-8 (9781788168168)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Mary Gaitskill is the author of the story collections Bad Behavior, Because They Wanted To, and Don't Cry, the novels Veronica, The Mare and Two Girls Fat and Thin, the novella This is Pleasure and the memoir Lost Cat. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Best American Short Stories, and the O. Henry Prize Stories.