The Witches Are Coming

I'll start by saying I'm a fan of Lindy West. She's unapologetic in her feminism and her ownership of self, despite the fact she's been a lightning rod for criticism because of those things. I've read her other writing and I'm a fan. But, this book just didn't quite do it for me.

West's writing addresses the sexism that still permeates across America. This book specifically talks about that sexism in Trump's America. The first essay is the best one, in which she describes how the term "witch hunt" is now thrown around casually, including by the president, and (ironically?) ignores the origins of that term and the sexism that drove and defined the actual witch hunt that took place in American history. I love when she says "the witches are coming" as a way to show women are not backing down anymore. I love that message - political or not - of equality and feminism.

I think my problem here was that every essay led to that same conclusion. That's not unexpected, really, but it just ended up feeling repetitive. Because of that, I found myself liking the book a little less with every essay I read. Not that I didn't want her to come to the same conclusion - it's the basic theme of her writing. But, I felt like I wanted something else from it; I wanted some different avenue, maybe, even if the conclusion was ultimately the same.

The bigger issue is probably that I'm not a huge fan of books of essays unless other voices are brought in. The exception, probably, is Trick Mirror, which I read earlier this month and loved.

There's some good stuff here, don't get me wrong. About the depiction of abortion in pop culture, about the mystery of Adam Sandler, etc. But, maybe I'm better off with an essay at a time instead of a book full all at once.