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Sharp
Sharp | Michelle Dean
21 posts | 13 read | 28 to read
Dorothy Parker, Rebecca West, Hannah Arendt, Mary McCarthy, Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael, Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, Renata Adler, and Janet Malcolmthese brilliant women are the central figures of Sharp. Their lives intertwine as they cut through the cultural and intellectual history of America in the twentieth century, arguing as fervently with each other as they did with the sexist attitudes of the men who often undervalued their work as critics and essayists. These women are united by what Dean terms as sharpness, the ability to cut to the quick with precision of thought and wit, a claiming of power through writing rather than position. Sharp is a vibrant and rich depiction of the intellectual beau monde of twentieth-century New York, where gossip-filled parties at night gave out to literary slanging-matches in the pages of the Partisan Review or the New York Review of Books as well as a considered portrayal of how these women came to be so influential in a climate where women were treated with derision by the critical establishment. Mixing biography, literary criticism, and cultural history, Sharp is an enthralling exploration of how a group of brilliant women became central figures in the world of letters despite the many obstacles facing them, a testament to how anyone not in a position of power can claim the mantle of writer and, perhaps, help change the world.
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vlwelser
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Pickpick

It's possible that I bought this because I liked the cover. I used to buy a random book in an airport on my way home from traveling, usually nonfiction. I liked this. It's about literary criticism. The best part might be the verbal sparring between these women and their other contemporaries. They didn't hold a lot back.

#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 3y
27 likes1 comment
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biblio_ginger
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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All done!!! 😁 I finished my #24in48readathon at 11:15 pm and I'm beat! I started feeling like I was going crazy at about hour 15 but these are crazy times! 😂 Thank you @24in48 for having the readathon!
#stayhome24in48

PaperbackPirate Congratulations!! 🙌📚 5y
biblio_ginger @PaperbackPirate thank you so much! 😁 5y
31 likes2 comments
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Verity
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Mehso-so

I really wanted to like this, but it just wasn‘t as engaging as I was hoping. Never mind. Group biographies are a tricky beast. So hard to get right, but so hard to pin down what the problem is when they don‘t quite work.

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Verity
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Next nonfiction read (thank you library!)

18 likes1 stack add
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youneverarrived
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Pickpick

I loved this book of mini biographies of smart, sharp and talented women writers from Dorothy Parker to Janet Malcolm. It was interesting to read about their lives and careers as well as their relationships to each other and feminism. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

batsy I've had this on my radar for awhile. Sounds really interesting! 5y
youneverarrived @batsy I think you might like it 😚 5y
62 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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youneverarrived
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Wine, my book and this view from the living room. I don‘t ever want to leave this house 💚💚

Cathythoughts Beautiful! Lovely place to be 5y
Eyelit That‘s so lovely! 5y
youneverarrived @Cathythoughts it‘s so lovely to get away for a bit ♥️ I received your parcel and bought it with me to open tomorrow, I forgot to post and let you know. Thank you 😘😘 5y
See All 11 Comments
BarbaraBB What a great view! 😍 5y
batsy Ohhhh, I can understand never wanting to leave 😍😍 5y
LeahBergen Happy, happy birthday!! 📚📚📚📚 5y
youneverarrived @Eyelit @BarbaraBB @batsy the whole house is surrounded by this scenery it‘s gorgeous 💚 5y
youneverarrived @LeahBergen thank you lovely 😘 5y
BarbaraBB So English (the way I think of England) or is it somewhere else? 5y
youneverarrived @BarbaraBB it‘s the Lake District so very English 😀 5y
BarbaraBB I need to go there, it really looks gorgeous! 5y
64 likes11 comments
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Ephemera
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Pickpick

I must confess that much of the information in this book sailed over my head. Sharp is about women in the public eye who broke barriers with their writing, wit and intelligence. The author writes about such icons as Dorothy Parker, Rebecca West, Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael, Joan Didion, and Nora Ephron. Women who today might be called ‘thought leaders‘. Much discussion of feminism and how it evolved. Dry at times. 3.5 out of 5

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Eyelit
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Daria! Thank you for the fabulous and thoughtful #galentinesday gift! Galentine‘s has become something close to my heart (I was out late on a Galentine‘s date with some friends last night) and try to do something each year to celebrate (whether that‘s in a big or small way). Much love to you, friend!

batsy Ooh, I've had my eye on this for awhile! Perfect Galentine's gift. 6y
dariazeoli ❤️ 6y
57 likes2 comments
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Nebklvr
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Pickpick

A compilation of mini biographies of women with sharp opinions and the relationships between these women. If the reader isn‘t interested in journalism, literature, or feminism, this will seem dry fare. However, these were intelligent women who had something of importance to say and they didn‘t feel the need to sugar coat it. Most had an ambivalent relationship with feminism.

63 likes2 stack adds
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RowReads1
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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RowReads1
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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RowReads1
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Abailliekaras
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Current situation. 🤒

Cinfhen Feel better 6y
ClairesReads Not ideal! Feel better soon 6y
See All 7 Comments
Weaponxgirl Feel better soon 6y
cobwebmoth Hope you're feeling better soon! 6y
41 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Augustdana
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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This just in. Looking forward to it, but at first glance the ladies in here aren‘t as diverse as they could be. It is acknowledged in the intro, but that‘s it, just acknowledged.

9 likes1 stack add
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GatheringBooks
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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#ReadingResolutions Day 9: These are only some of the titles included in my #WishfulWednesday or books I wish I have on my shelves.

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Ekkross
Sharp | Michelle Dean

What Arendt found most intriguing about Varnhagen was that Varnhagen had found a way to make being different a kind of a boon.

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JoyBlue
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Bailedbailed

I invested 4:01:34 (into Chapter 5; 35% done overall). The subject matter is theoretically interesting; but I‘m just not getting into it. Maybe another time. I‘m working too hard in real life to force myself to read anything that‘s not totally floating my boat. I deserve to be entertained by my reading!

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Rhondareads
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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A book of essays about Sharp iconic women& Susan Sontag essays so excited to read these books great addition to my library .

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Ekkross
Sharp | Michelle Dean

From the preface:
“I gathered the women in this book under the sign of a compliment that every one of them received in their lives: they were called sharp.”

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Ekkross
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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🧡🧡🧡

JoyBlue What a great way to start the book, huh?! 😉 7y
23 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Worldforreading
Sharp | Michelle Dean
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Happy pub day to Michelle Dean's Sharp, one of my most anticipated books of the year. I'm halfway through and loving it, it's a fascinating survey of 20th century public intellectual women. It focuses on their relationships with each other as well as with feminism. I also appreciate that it occasionally dunks on Norman Mailer.