Taking A Long Look: Essays on Culture, Literature and Feminism in Our Time by Vivian Gornick offers a reflective and incisive examination of contemporary issues through the lens of culture, literature, and feminism. Gornick, known for her sharp prose and keen observations, addresses a range of topics with both depth and clarity.

In these essays, Gornick combines personal insight with critical analysis, exploring how cultural and literary contexts shape feminist thought and vice versa. Her writing is both accessible and thought-provoking, making complex ideas digestible without sacrificing nuance. This collection is particularly valuable for readers interested in feminist theory, literary criticism, and cultural commentary, as it provides a sophisticated and engaging perspective on current debates and historical contexts.

I think this book wasn't for me. I wasn't familiar with most of the subjects Gornick writes about here and ended up DNF'ing. This was 100% my problem, as this is just as well-written as any Gornick I've read. I think I'm just less inclined to read this kind of cultural critique than I have been in the past. This book would be a great resource for anyone who had previous knowledge of the individuals and works Gornick writes about here

This is a bit of a mixed bag, spanning eras and topics; there’s a cohesive line of consciousness running through it, and the same eye for things, with a splinter of ice in it, but the result is somewhat uneven. The literary criticism feels the most jumbled to me: I enjoyed her takedown of Salter, but yearned for more, for the case study to lead to a takedown of the postwar male writers of ‘heroic sex’ she thought he ought to have been born earlier into. On Beauvoir and Primo Levi she was excellent; on Melville, again, almost there, but not far enough. Go deeper into that vein of homoeroticism/male-subjectivity as the only subjectivity you see in both him and Lawrence!

Towards the end, there’s a turn towards the personal and the feminist, and this is where the book is most flavoursome and highly coloured, albeit in the colours of another time. It’s both interesting and difficult to imagine the 60s and 70s, the era of her ‘New York stories’ or of the later essays, when it was truly shocking when a man did the dishes for the first time in his life! I feel for Gornick’s voice and passion here, but many of the arguments seem like dead letters, to be read as artifacts only. But then - she turns again, and puts a knife in Norman Mailer and Henry Miller. That’s literary criticism still of its moment, because all the decades and feminist readings since haven’t been sufficient to knock them off their pedestals. I could read Gornick skewering them all day, fixing them with her icy eye.

This is, I think, a collection for those who already appreciate her body of work (as I do), and who don’t mind dipping into the back catalogue. There are jewels in it.

I would read Vivian Gornick on any subject, but this collection really hits the spot as she talks about writers I admire (and those I don't) and finishes with some excellent explicit takes on feminism. Gornick has a way of illustrating a point that has never quite been articulated that way. I often felt some of the criticisms could have been longer, but they do what good criticism should do and make me want to read the author in question to make up my own mind. A section that transcribes a feminist group is so fascinating and ageless and I would have loved to have read more.

Thanks to NetGalley, Verso Books and Vivian Gornick for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Vivian Gornick's thoughts inspired me to read and re-read the subjects of her essay collection. Previously, I'd managed to avoid any consideration of Herman Melville. Gornick's insightful essay had me thinking about this classic author for the first time. I found her comments on consciousness raising groups particularly insightful and relevant to the present day, as we are forced to confront systemic issues in order to move forward in our personal lives.

I liked this book for many reasons. One was the author of whom I have on a digital shelf Fierce Attachment and the book on Emma Goldman. I still haven't read them but this collection of essays made me pick at least one of them for my-next-to-read-books.
Concerning this book, I found it fresh and provocative and also having a style of its own. When you read one of the essays you're struck by how distinctive it is. Reading Gornick you can't say that it's a voice like everyone writing online these days. And maybe this is one reason of loving the book. Another is the good flow. You want to read more even if you're not interested in the topic per se. The writing is contemporary in the best way. Also the writing isn't forced like some contemporary writers tend to do ("a few hundred words and I have my 1500 words"). You start a piece and read and read and almost suddenly you're at its end.

Typical recap showing us all the shortcomings in history for where we have failed women and instead elevated men. Was well written but honestly a drag - let’s do something about it and stop just writing about it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.