Writing in an Age of Silence

by Sara Paretsky

Book Overview

A revealing look at the power of speaking out, Writing in an Age of Silence describes Paretski's coming of age in a time of great possibility, during the civil rights movement, the peace movement, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1844671224
• ISBN13: 9781844671229
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Verso
• Length: 138 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Mystery Writer Speaks Out

There are many things I didn't know about one of my favorite mystery writers, Sara Paretsky. She is nearly the same age as I; her writing began as a way to find her voice in a family beset by violence; she has four brothers; her mother was a librarian. Some of these facts are strikingly similar to my own experiences, making the reading of this memoir, for me, like sitting down with a friend from long ago. Paretsky's early years were influenced by the rise of feminism. She was told that if she wanted to go to college, she would have to attend the university where her father taught in the town where the family lived. She vowed to spend her summers away from home. In 1966, she went to do community service work on the South Side of Chicago. Anyone who has read her V.I. Warshawsky novels will now see where and how the best-selling series began. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was organizing in Chicago during that same summer, and Paretsky was "on the periphery of his great work." The civil rights movement and Second Wave Feminism deeply influenced Paretsky's life as well as her writing. She chose to invent a female private eye radically different from a previous American icon of the genre, Sam Spade. Unlike this male "loner," Warshawsky is intimately involved with her community. In 2002, Paretsky began speaking to library associations on the curtailing of civil liberties by the Patriot Act. She delivered her lecture, "Truth, Lies and Duct Tape," the night before the U.S. attacked Iraq, at the Toledo, Ohio public library. She had been asked by the library not to deliver the controversial talk because people were turning in their tickets. "My upbringing has made me particularly vulnerable to angry criticism," she writes (and so has mine), "to the implied fear of being a bad daughter, not submissive enough...I gave this talk, but my knees were shaking so badly I had to grip the podium throughout." The five hundred people in the audience gave her an ovation. As a librarian, writer and feminist, this memoir moved me and made me feel as though I had found a kindred spirit and sister. If you have any interest in American history in the past fifty years and in the writing life as it pertains to women, do yourself a favor: read this book. by Linda Wisniewski for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

Outstanding!

It's rare that I'm impressed sufficiently by a book to contact the author, but "Writing in an Age of Silence" is such a book. As a Chicago native who lived in Kansas for many years, I was awed by Paretsky's ability to finely convey both areas so well, positioning both within her own formative experiences. Fans of V.I. Warshawski know that Paretsky has a wickedly sharp, funny pen, but here she turns that talent inward. One caveat: those not familiar with Paretsy's other work might experience "Writing in an Age of Silence" differently, of course. In that case, I encourage you to read more of her work so that you can get a better sense of her voice. She's a remarkable writer, regardless of genre.

Gritty Life of a Writer of Gritty Mysteries

It's hard to say I enjoyed this book, because it's not about fun. I can't even recall a touch of humor. The author makes no effort to engage her audience, beyond high quality writing and an emotional intensity that rises from each page. Paretsky's title covers both her childhood background and her reaction to living in George Bush's America. As a child, Paretsky received nothing but discouragement and put-downs from her parents and siblings. Yet she and her brothers all turned out not just well, but outstandingly. All have graduate degrees (Paretsky herself has a PhD in American history) and have done well. It would be interesting to ask a family therapist where this resilience came from. Mystery fans will enjoy learning how Paretsky's life influenced the V. I. Warshawski series. Paretsky became influenced by classic detective writers while she was supposed to be studying for her American history degree. She deliberately created a female version of the hard boiled detective, drawing on settings she knew and real people in her own life. Some reviewers didn't care for Paretsky's attack on contemporary America, but I got the feeling she was angry and determined to use the platform she holds as a prominent writer. She's always been a force for good (as were her parents and at least one grandparent). Paretsky writes a great deal about the Patriot Act - a horrifying piece of legislation that apparently allows police to search and seize property - and people - without a warrant. This discussion alone makes Paretsky's book would be worth reading. It's terrifying to read about a woman who (according to Paretsky) was arrested because her social security card listed her married name and her passport her maiden name (or vice versa). Paretsky's discussion of women writers was an eye-opener for me: I had no idea that women writers had to fight for reviews and publication. Today we take for granted the best-sellers by Marcia Muller, J. A. Jance, Sue Grafton and Paretsky herself. I wish she had written more about founding Sisters in Crime and about her relationship with some other writers. I disagreed only when Paretsky claims (p. 76) that prominent women - Condoleeza Rice, Carly Fiorina, Katie Couric - are thin because they want to "disappear." In fact, it is hard for a woman to achieve prominence unless she is attractive. Being attractive means being slim, even thin. Madeleine Albright was exceptional. But media like to feature attractive women, making them even more prominent. Would Carly Fiorina have gotten as far as she did if she were heavier and less attractive? We will never know. Paretsky has given us some rare insights into the way she experiences life, past and present. She expresses the helplessness and frustration so many Americans feel - a sense of returning to McCarthyism and worse. The last few pages are lyrical and strong without slipping into sentiment. It's not a comfortable read, but the book will be hard to forget, well writ

Writing in an Age of Silence

A definite "Thumbs Up". Although not completely agreeing with all of the author's points, most are dead on. This should be required reading for all members of the U.S. Congress. This book does make one wonder about what is happening to our country. Please note that this book was published by an English company probably in England and not one based in the U.S. If you read the book you should understand why.

A Thinking Person's Book

Sara Paretsky writes not only of her life but of the world that dramatically affects women and men .One need not have read Paretsky's work to appreciate the clearly feminist views she expresses. But it is not fair to simply label her with one ideology.She is a woman who has cared deeply all her life for the disenfranchised; those disenfranchised by race,gender,religion. I felt as if I were reading the work of my doppelganger;especially the kind of ideas I shared with my students in a single-sex school. This book is no place to find the "warm,fluffy" philosophy that women or African-Americans have maintained whatever progress the world attributes to the women's movement or the Civil Rights Act.Rather Paretsky gives factual information to the contrary. This book is wonderfully,lucidly written. It should be read not only by those who already share her beliefs;but,more importantly by those who are brave enough to challenge their comfort zones.