A big book that I’m glad to own. I have read it in fits and starts as I have set it aside to spend time with some of Sontag’s works that I have not read. Doing that has definitely made this more rewarding.

I couldn't finish this lengthy volume in the time allotted by NetGalley, but I loved it as long as I had access. Sontag is a fascinating person to study, and this book felt intimate and had real depth that gave deep insight on who she was.

Really enjoyed this deep dive into Sontag's life. Sontag was such a complicated person: difficult, brilliant, and sometimes very cruel (okay, a lot of the time), and Moser really brings out all this out without ever being too fawning. Moved at swift pace, even though I felt like Moser repeated himself sometimes, especially when he goes into psychoanalyzing mode that worked over time in applying trying to depict Sontag the human, and not Sontag the metaphor. Sontag's final days made me cry, and I don't know if this is a testament to Moser's writing or simply the idea that as Sontag lived her final days, she still craved more knowledge, art, and resisted her bodily mortality so she could keep up the work of her brilliant mind.

The year is 2008.

I am 18 or 19, but just beginning to emerge from the borderline codependent relationship that had been my homeschooling experience, I think mentally I was probably closer to 14 or 15.

As sometimes happens in the age of the internet, I found myself on a forum with a fairly diverse group of people, most of them older and smarter than me. And as also sometimes happens, they graciously engaged with my clumsy attempts to make jokes and parrot any opinion I had heard that I got a chance to shoehorn in to the conversation.

I think we were discussing a classic British novel, either Dickens or Austen, and I made a joke about how if a character spent a night out of doors in such a novel, then <i>poof</i>, they were probably doomed. I'd heard my mother make the same joke and I wanted to make an impression.

In the discussion that followed, real world conditions of the time period were brought up, but more than that, one particular poster pointed out that often the sickness that a character died from was a narrative device. They suggested I read <i>Illness as Metaphor</i> if I was interested in exploring the idea further.

I don't remember if I had to do an Interlobrary Loan or if our local system actually had a copy, I just remember the satisfying brown of the cloth cover, the faded gold leaf of the title, and the reassuring slimness of the oddly shaped volume. It's funny what details stand out. I had no real concept of the author as a person (which I think now after reading the biography she might find amusing), and the name became disembodied and genderless in my mind, simply a shorthand for a doorway into a world where ideas could be dissected and remade for endless hours: Sontag.

I never read another word by Susan Sontag, whether through distraction or lack of access, but reading the one book was perhaps life changing enough for me at the time.

A many lettered explanation, or maybe a justification, for why I requested an arc of this biography. But I'm so glad I did.

That amorphous, breathlessly impressionistic image of "Sontag" conjured up the kind of mystic free thinker and academic that I've always secretly wished I could be, and it's comforting in a strange way to find what an enormous, whole mess(tm) of a personality she was.

This biography was excellent, flipping the lens from Sontag to the people and events around her with effortless transitions and well rounded explanations. And this is from someone who usually finds biography one of the least compelling forms of nonfiction.

Definitely recommended for scholars of the late 20th century and fans of biography as a genre.

Sontag: Her Life and Work (2019) written by Benjamin Moser, totally captures the complexities of this dark literary lady and cultural icon. Born Susan Rosenblatt (1933-2004) to Lithuanian Jewish parents, Susan and her only son David Rieff would unapologetically change their given family name to Sontag. It was impossible to contain Sontag’s genius, intellect and persona by the conventions of ordinary life.

The mother daughter dynamic shaped Sontag’s character in numerous obvious and subtle ways. Sontag adored her beautiful moody, temperamental mother Mildred. For reasons unknown, Mildred declined to share the details of Sontag’s father’s death with her daughters for several months and seemed to want his memory erased from the family history. Moser suggested reasons for this were linked to Mildred’s probable alcoholism and substance use, though this was never a topic for polite discussion during the time. Mildred confessed that although she found her grandson David quite “charming” as a toddler, she still didn’t like children.

While still in high school, before her admission to Berkley and the University of Chicago, Susan interviewed the notable novelist/poet Thomas Mann several times. Sontag was highly respected in college for her intellect and was popular with professors and students alike. Sontag studied and wrote about Freud extensively. Moser described various parts of Sontag’s (compartmentalized) selfhood: the private self, the social self, and the self of metaphor and mask that was carefully watched and observed closely but at a distance. Through the 1970’s many mental health professionals and academics believed homosexuality could be changed at will. Sontag had affairs with both men and women, and usually declined to share intimate details of her personal life with significant others, Judith was shocked to learn her sister had female lovers many years after the fact.

When Sontag was 17, she married 28 year old sociology instructor Philip Rieff (m.1950-59). Mildred typically had little to say about her new son-in-law. The newlywed’s celebrated by going out for burgers. Susan is now recognized as the editor/true author of “Freud: The Mind of a Moralist” (1959). Rieff, reluctantly added Sontag’s name as the co-author in later editions of the book, and never produced another book of similar quality. Susan eventually insisted on the freedom that only a divorce could provide, and promptly elected to travel abroad-- leaving David in the care of domestic staff. Rieff didn’t take Sontag’s departure as easily as she had hoped. For a period of time he stalked her, and accused her of being an unfit mother. Sontag feared she would lose custody of David. After decades, and marriage to his second wife--,Rieff claimed Susan was indeed the love of his life.

Sontag identified simply as a writer. If she had come out of the closet, or identified as a feminist she would have gained legions of support from the gay community and additional popular women’s organizations and forums. Moser observed that Sontag wouldn’t have been as renowned and her work would have had less of an impact on all social and cultural levels had she publically identified as a lesbian or feminist author and noted the example of the author/poet Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) to support his point of view.

By 1964, when Sontag taught at Colombia, the numbers of Jewish students admitted to prestigious colleges and universities soared to 65% when discriminatory practices against them ended. While Sontag was from sunny California, most of her friends, colleagues, and other associates were from New York-- these (Jewish) intellectuals invented the genre of Literary Criticism. Sontag’s loyal friend Roger Strauss founder of FSG Publishing printed all of her books. Strauss and Sontag helped launch the careers of many new writers through generous support and mentorship.

In the declining years of her life, Sontag was surprisingly cognizant and energetic, sitting up in her hospital bed reading the paper and having the final word about her care. Sontag’s long term partner, the iconic celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz flew her to Seattle for treatment at the Fred Hutchinson’s Cancer Care Center. Moser didn’t seem to uncover many new details other than what is already on record of their relationship, nor is it surprising that Leibovitz would chose to document her relationship with Sontag and consequently Sontag’s drastic decline from cancer in her pictorial volume: “A Photographers Life: 1990-2005” (2006). The photographs are stunning, though many critics have deemed some the photographs of Sontag in poor taste.
Whether Sontag was writing about Vietnam during her stay in Hanoi in the 1960’s, or war torn Sarajevo in the 1990’s, or 9/11, she was always one step ahead of her time, and Sontag’s life and times are covered exceptionally well in the 832 pages of this book. With thanks and appreciation to HarperCollins for the DDC for the purpose of review.

Rounding up from 3.5. Admittedly I skimmed this more than read it (as in, please don't quiz me). But, it's an accessible (yet still dense) biography of someone who I admittedly didn't know too much about (other than a book or two of hers I had previous read). It's well-researched and interesting to the extent that I would like to read it more thoroughly again in the future.

An interesting eye opening look at the iconic Susan Sontag.Her public life her writings and a look at her private life.Very interesting eye opening revealing look .#netgalley#harpercollins.

Well-documented and well-written bio of major American cultural icon. Conveys the triumphs and struggles, as well as impact on American culture without hero=worshipping of finding gleeful skeletons in the colser