The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness

The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness by Rebecca Solnit I loved this book because I have that magpie kind of mind that likes shiny bits of information and this book has them in droves. Intelligent, thoughful and humane is how I’d classify this collection of essays.

There is nothing trite or entertaining in here at all, which is not the same thing as saying that this is not to be enjoyed. You will need to engage your brain and your morals to get the most out of this book. It is not highbrow or academic, it is like talking to a really intelligent friend who can explain complex things without patronising you. A friend that you always look forward to spending time with.

If you don’t read this book this is just tiny iota of what show more you will be missing: “….there are many kinds of invisibility. There is the invisibility of what is so taken for granted that few see it, the custom of the country, the water in which the fish swim. Thus to perceive that the United States is an empire on a permanent wartime basis is be alien to, or become alienated from, the mainstream…..”

Gets a bit of a slagging on Amazon but Goodreads shows a bit more respect.

Get an axe, smash up your TV then read this book. If it is not too late for you then at least a thousand things will jump out at you and you will shout, “I need to know more about this”.

If that doesn’t happen then buy another TV and get back to those really, really, exciting cooking shows. show less

Rebecca Solnit is a genuinely radical intellectual, who writes with grace, wit and most of all hope about the world today and ways that it can be improved. This collection is a bit haphazard, which has the bonus of really showing off the breadth of Solnit's interests and enthusiasms, but the downside of feeling a bit loose (at least compared to her book-length attempts to wrestle with a particular theme). She's a wonder - making the grim state of modern capitalism clear, while somehow leaving her readers feeling hopeful and inspired by the potential for real changes.

Solnit is a genius of thinking and writing, of seeing and discerning. This volume of her essays written over many years is as insightful as ever. I always learn when I read anything she has written. She has a vast and varied knowledge and wisdom.

I'd like to give it 4.5 stars. Many essays were deep and reflective for both the author and reader. All of the essays taught some some fact, some perspective. This is all typical Rebecca Solnit. There were a handful that didn't hold the same amount of interest for me, though.