Feet, bras, autopsies, hair - Peggy Shinner takes an honest,
unflinching look at all of them in You Feel So Mortal, a collection
of searing and witty essays about the body: her own body, female
and Jewish; those of her parents, the bodies she came from; and the
collective body, with all its historical, social, and political
implications. What, she asks, does this whole mess of bones,
muscles, organs, and soul mean? Searching for answers, she turns
her keen narrative sense to body image, gender, ethnic history, and
familial legacy, exploring what it means to live in our bodies and
to leave them behind. Over the course of twelve essays, Shinner
holds a mirror up to the complex desires, fears, confusions, and
mysteries that shape our bodily perceptions. Driven by the
collision between herself and the larger world, she examines her
feet through the often-skewed lens of history to understand what
makes them, in the eyes of some, decidedly Jewish; considers bras,
breasts, and the storied skills of the bra fitter; asks, from the
perspective of a confused and grieving daughter, what it means to
cut the body open; and takes a reeling time-trip through myth,
culture, and history to look at women's hair in ancient Rome, Laos,
France, Syria, Cuba, India, and her own past. Some pieces
investigate the body under emotional or physical duress, while
others use the body to consider personal heritage and legacy.
Throughout, Shinner writes with elegance and assurance, weaving her
wide-ranging thoughts into a firm and fascinating fabric. Turning
the category of body books on, well, its ear, You Feel So Mortal
offers a probing view of our preoccupation with the body that is
both idiosyncratic and universal, leaving us with the deep
satisfaction of our shared humanity.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(2)
(4)
