Oppositions: Selected Essays

Review Gloriously trenchant, but never gimmicky, in these unsparing essays... insightful and revealing ― GuardianGaitskill has long been interested in the power play inherent in sexual relationships, so when it comes to probing the messy, murky topography of abuses of power and issues of consent, she's definitely the woman for the job. -- Lucy Scholes ― Daily TelegraphProvocative and wry ― VogueGaitskill is enormously gifted. ― The New York Times Book ReviewThe range of Gaitskill's humanity is astonishing ― LA TimesA writer of prodigious gifts ― GuardianGaitskill writes with such authority, such radar-perfect detail. ― The New York TimesStubbornly original, with a sort of rhythm and fine moments that flatten you out when you don't expect it. -- Alice MunroGaitskill is phenomenally gifted -- Sarah HallNever fails to surprise, provoke, or wander into the murky areas most writers try and avoid ... Oppositions is never less than fascinating -- Steven Long ― The CrackGaitskill's personal essays are evergreen... her non-fiction succeeds in embracing complexity -- Mia Levitin ― TLS Product Description 'Mary Gaitskill is willing to think about the problematic with complexity and humanity, and without taking sides or engaging in all the fashionable moral hectoring that passes for serious thought these days.' Eimear McBrideNuanced, daring and tender, these essays from the celebrated author of This is Pleasure and Bad Behavior, consistently fascinate and provoke. Mary Gaitskill takes on a broad range of topics from Nabokov to horse-riding with her unique ability to tease out unexpected truths and cast aside received wisdom. Written with startling grace and linguistic flair, and delving into the complicated nature of love and the responsibility we owe to the people we encounter, the work collected here inspires the reader to think beyond their first responses to life and art. Spanning thirty years of Mary Gaitskill's writing, and covering subjects as diverse as Dancer in the Dark, the world of Charles Dickens and the Book of Revelation with her characteristic blend of sincerity and wit, Oppositions is never less than enthralling. Book Description A collection of provocative and searchingly analytical essays by the author of Bad Behavior, This is Pleasure, and Lost Cat About the Author Mary Gaitskill is the author of the story collections Bad Behavior, Because They Wanted To, and Don't Cry, the novels Veronica,The Mare and Two Girls Fat and Thin and the novella This is Pleasure. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Best American Short Stories, and the O. Henry Prize Stories.