Between Women and Generations: Legacies of Dignity

Rating:
Summary: The purest of blasphemers
Review: "The worst readers are those who proceed like plundering soldiers: they pick up a few things they can use, soil and confuse the rest, and blaspheme the whole."

-Friedrich Nietzsche, Mixed Opinions and Maxims (1879)

I can't help but think a few cold souls who write for trade publications read by publishing industry insiders reviewed Drucilla Cornell's wonderful new book as the purest of blasphemers-- members of the intellectual lightweight brigade.

Rating:
Summary: From Someone a Little Open-Minded
Review: From what I gathered reading her latest work, Cornell is in no way promoting any self-righteousness, or seeking pity from her colleagues. She is simply making the reader aware of a problem that people in this society cannot fully face: the roles of women of color in the workplace. Cornell even goes beyond this and makes reference to her own life and the lives of generations before her, to emphasize the general woman's socioeconomic status and her role in society.

Perspective is important in making a point. Cornell uses different perspectives, as well as her own, to create different sides on an issue she is discussing and defending (some people might find this type of writing incoherent, but it did not seem so in my opinion). Repetition, too, is just as effective in her writing. At times, repetition can damage a writer's work. For Cornell, it only strengthens her work; she does not lose sight of her ideas, and sticks to them faithfully for added emphasis. For example, her ideas of women having the right to be in control of their lives and to be independent are ideas she seems truly passionate about, portrayed in many ways throughout this well-thought-out analyses.

Cornell tells it like it is, and her views are honest and direct. Her knowledge on different ethical and socioeconomic philosophers complement her views, and again, back them up very well. In her writing, she is passionate yet realistic, introspective yet thought-provoking. This book, without question, makes for an interesting read and a worthwhile learning experience.

Rating:
Summary: thinking back through our mothers...
Review: I loved this book so much I gave copies to my mother and my mother-in-law for mothers day. And they loved it too. This is one of those rare books that combines a deep attention to the beauty and pain of family life with brilliant analysis that transcends most psychoanalytic approaches. Best of all, it does so within a heartwrenching and compelling narrative. I loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe [the reviewers] at Publishers Weekly
Review: In the April 15, 2002 issue of Publishers Weekly, Between Women and Generations is reviewed by Mark Rotella, Sara F. Gold, Lynn Andriani, and Michael Scharf, all of whom are angered by what Drucilla Cornell argues and defends both ethically and politically. Had these reviewers taken more time and care in reading this truly marvelous book, they might not have been so quick to characterize her thinking as "postmodern bravado." Indeed, such a self-contented characterization is simply the result of careless and crude reading: she says nothing of postmodernism and thus cannot be writing with the bravado they clearly view as a necessary and sufficient component of the postmodern position, whatever that position may be. (Like most people who play fast and loose with the term, they don't bother mentioning what they understand by `postmodern'.) Such carelessness and crudeness allow these reviewers--...--to revel in their own stylistic élan and feminist theory baiting at the expense of offering a thoughtful account of her key conceptual developments and interventions in ongoing debates in the theory and politics of feminism. And as for her mother's bridge class, apparently they did not have the time or the inclination to look at the back cover and read the kind words from Bonnie Sakamoto, obviously one of her mother's closest friends, who offered a glowing endorsement of the book on behalf of the entire bridge class. I regret that these reviewers chose not to engage her arguments about dignity and respect. For such engagement surely would have issued in a more balanced review--the first step to a serious exchange of ideas between a writer and her critics.

Rating:
Summary: A must have for every mother, sister, daughter...
Review: It's rare to read a book like Cornell's - one that so brilliantly weaves together autobiography, philosophy, and feminism. Cornell's interviews with a NY housecleaner's union are fascinating - every journalist and union organizer should pay close attention to this unique section of the book. Every woman can see a part of herself in Cornell's stories of her life and her relationships with her mother. I've already bought a copy for my sister and mother!

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Book of Spellbinding Beauty
Review: My fiancee gave me this book, and I loved it so much I gave one to my mother. She loves it too. Drucilla Cornell tells a spell-spinding story about the loving and complicated relationships between her, her remarkable grandmother who befriended Eva Peron, her courageous mother who decided to take her life and die with dignity, and her adopted daughter from Paraguay, wise beyond her years. The personal stories Cornell tells are fascinating, but just as interesting is the way that Cornell uses these stories to illuminate complicated psychological theory in crystal clear prose. This book will move your heart and challenge your brain.

Rating:
Summary: Crucial reminder of the true meaning of dignity
Review: This book captures the essence of the meaning of dignity. By giving voice to a range of women in her life Drucilla Cornell gives us all an example of what it means to really listen to all the women in our lives-mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, neighbors. Cornell reminds us that by bearing witness to each other's dignity-which must be done with respect for all of our differences-we start on the path of creating a better world. What an important and refreshing reminder for such a complicated world!

Rating:
Summary: The most important work of feminist theory and autobiography
Review: This is the most important and brilliant work of feminist theory I have ever read. Drucilla Cornell, known to the academic world as professor of Political Science, Women's Studies, and Comparative Literature at Rutgers University, interweaves psychoanalysis, political philosophy, postcolonial literature, aesthetic theory, and real world feminst political analysis like no one else writing today.

Some have called her the most brilliant, passionate, and provocative feminist in the United States. What can I say? Believe them.