The Professor and Other Writings

Literary non-fiction is the most self-indulgent of all styles of literature. Really, does anybody care about some writer's (lesbian) lovelife, vacations, or taste in art? Terry Castle redeems the inherent self-indulgence of the genre, but only just. She actually has interesting taste in music, drops literary references in a way that makes the reader feel more cultured, and the lesbian-ness of the bad relationships makes them a little more enjoyable. The wordcrafting is good, and occasionally sparkling, and what the hell, everybody like lesbians.

((I only mention lesbians, because that's about the frequency at which Terry Castle mentions her sexuality))

The Professor consists of seven essay/memoir pieces, the longest and last about Castle's sexual relationship as a grad student with a woman professor. It's a profoundly disturbing relationship and Cast le spares neither the professor nor herself in the telling of it. Castle is neurotic, needy, desperate, the professor cruel, disassociative, manipulative. I didn't like the way Castle wrote about lesbians of the seventies, with a limited, dismissive view.

Another piece is called "Desperately Seeking Susan," and is about herself and Susan Sontag. She possibly nails Sontag in some ways, but still there is an aura of snarkiness about the writing. The fact that Castle acknowledges her own failings, including a tendency to nastiness, doesn't show more alleviate the sense of mean-spiritness that seeps in. show less

I resisted this book at first because I found the voice so wordy and academic. But I ended up getting to used to the voice, feeling really involved with the characters, and loving the way she thinks about art and life. The whole thing was incredibly intriguing. By the end I couldn't put it down. I'm still surprised by how much I liked it.

I resisted this book at first because I found the voice so wordy and academic. But I ended up getting to used to the voice, feeling really involved with the characters, and loving the way she thinks about art and life. The whole thing was incredibly intriguing. By the end I couldn't put it down. I'm still surprised by how much I liked it.

Author went to same junior school as me.