The Life of the Mind

The Life of the Mind: A Novel | Christine Smallwood

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What is the point of being an academic during late stage capitalism? What's the point of teaching classes, working on articles, attending conferences when the dream of life in the ivory tower is long dead? That's what Dorothy is struggling to figure out as she sees two therapists, copes with a unexpected miscarriage, and interacts with friends & colleagues who seem better prepared for life.
As a former academic, this book was HIGHLY relatable👇

merelybookish And it might have been triggering, but enough time has passed and I'm on the other side. It was actually affirming to read this now. Sure, I miss aspects of the life, but like Dorothy, the dream never quite could become reality. Objectively, it's a solid character study of a disillusioned woman with a somewhat unsatisfying ending. But highly recommend to any other recovering academics! 3mo

merelybookish This is the antidote to Possession for anyone in the #byattbuddyread who wished they were a literary scholar. 😆 @Graywacke 3mo

Graywacke Oh boy 🙈 No discovered private letters around every corner?! 3mo

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merelybookish @Graywacke Sadly no. 🤣 3mo

sarahbarnes 😆😆😆 3mo

vivastory Haven't really said “Hi“ in a bit. Hope you are well! 3mo

merelybookish @vivastory Hey Scott! 👋 I'm good. I've been working a lot which is good/ bad. Two of my kids are moving out at the end of the month which also feels good/bad. So that's what's going on with me. How are you? 3mo

vivastory That is a lot of changes for you! Hope that everything goes smoothly for your family. Not much new here, Work is work, Looking to transition soon to a different position. Looking at taking some time off towards the end of August. Otherwise, not much. Reading, watching movies etc 3mo

kspenmoll @merelybookish 😂😂 3mo

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batsy

The Life of the Mind: A Novel | Christine Smallwood

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I really enjoyed this sharp, darkly funny novel of one woman's interior life. Dorothy is an adjunct professor of literature who has recently had an incomplete miscarriage. There's a bleak, grimy feel to it that brings into relief the state of precarious labour & deromanticises academia & the "life of the mind", as well as being uncompromising about what it is to have a body. It's a novel for our time, I think; disillusionment & static despair.

batsy In some small way, it reminded me of Dostoevsky. The anguish of overthinking, which is the fate of the scholar, & a scholar who barely has access to the department office printers & no office in which to rest between classes, to boot. It was especially ironic to read this as I make my way through Plato's The Last Days of Socrates, where in one of the dialogues, Phaedo, Socrates argues for precisely this life of the mind over everything else. 2y

batsy (Socrates made this argument as he awaited his execution. The life of the mind as refuge from his imminent death, with the mind making its home in the soul.) 2y

kspenmoll You write the best reviews! It always I want to read what you review. Too many books. I should get to Socrates execution today I am behind on reading the googolplex. 2y

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Cathythoughts Brilliant review💫 2y

batsy @kspenmoll Thank you! You're too kind. Plato's Socratic dialogues are both challenging and fun; on one level, it's like reading a play, but when Socrates goes on a roll with his questions it can get a bit brain-scrambling 😁 2y

batsy @Cathythoughts Thank you! ❤️ 2y

jlhammar Sounds good. Great review! 2y

TrishB Another brilliant review! 2y

Tamra Must check it out! 😃 2y

batsy @jlhammar @TrishB Thank you! ❤️ 2y

batsy @Tamra I hope you like it! Like all novels of interior life, it does depend a lot on whether the reader gets on with the narrator's voice 🙂 2y

CarolynM Sounds wonderful. Stacked🙂 2y

batsy @CarolynM 👍🏾🙂 2y

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Megabooks

The Life of the Mind: A Novel | Christine Smallwood

so-so

First, you have to have a strong stomach for LOTS of talk about womanly bleeding to read this. That may be why this didn‘t make it big OR maybe it‘s because I couldn‘t find the thread of this book. The narrative just didn‘t make sense to me. Maybe it just went over my head. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This is one of my #AlgorithmExperiment books from Amazon where I bought books I hadn‘t heard of that it recommended. 3/5 Amazon. Do better!

CW: miscarriage, abortion

Cinfhen

Lindy Good on you for trying this. Algorithms will never be as good at recommending books as an attentive librarian or bookseller. 3y

Cinfhen Disappointing but at least you tried. 3y

Megabooks @Lindy so true! (edited) 3y

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Megabooks @Cinfhen I‘ve got two more! 3y

Cinfhen Hope they are better 🤞🏽🤞🏽 3y

Megabooks 🤞🏻 for sure! 3y

73 likes6 comments

Mccall0113

The Life of the Mind: A Novel | Christine Smallwood

I have no clue what I just read. What happened here? So confused.

59 likes

sarahljensen

The Life of the Mind: A Novel | Christine Smallwood

pick

Particularly good for anyone who has been an adjunct, which I have. As a warning, the protagonist's miscarriage informs much of the book, so if you're in a place right now where that would be upsetting, skip this one. Overall, I found it well written and difficult to put down.

#litsycats #catsoflitsy

RaeLovesToRead So floofy 😻😻 3y

sarahljensen @RaeLovesToRead Oh, yes. All the floofs :) 3y

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