https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3423925.html

Russ is a fascinating writer, whose work I don't know as well as I would like, and this book goes in great detail (perhaps too much detail) in its recounting of the stories in each of her published (and some unpublished) work. But I don't get a sense of how she fitted into the broader sfnal picture - there is a discussion of the Khatru Symposium, but without really explaining where it came from and what happened after. Russ herself, as a personality, flits in and out of the narrative. I found it a bit frustrating. ( )

The most recent installment in University of Illinois Press's Modern Masters of Science Fiction series is not as successful as the other one that I have read. Unfortunately for a scholarly monograph, Jones's book doesn't have a clear narrative, making it feel more like a catalog: Russ wrote this story, and here's what I think of it; Russ wrote this story, and here's what I think of it; Russ wrote this story, and here's what I think of it. The novels are over-summarized, and I'm not convinced we needed to hear about literally every book review Russ ever wrote. A good single-author monograph gives you a lens to focus on a writer's trajectory, but here I feel like I have a lot of interesting parts, but no coherent whole. (It is possible this is because I've read very little Russ, just a couple short stories. It did make me want to read more of her, at least.)

There is a lot of interesting information here, and it was well worth reading, but I found something about the presentation meant that a lot of it went in the eyes and straight out the back of my head. I'm not sure that I have a better insight into the works of Russ than I did when I started reading this, which disappoints me. It has prompted me to consider acquiring some of the works that I don't have, because I am interested in (re-)reading, but whether or not this is something I'll remember, *shrug*

It is a good book, it just wasn't a good book for me. ( )

Mainly consists of a list of Russ's works with brief synopses. There's no examination, just quotes from the works themselves or from others who have done the analysis. Better to just read Russ and ignore this one. ( )

I’ve a feeling I read The Female Man back in the early 1980s, although I can’t be sure. I do remember buying a copy of The Adventures of Alyx, the Women’s Press edition, in a bookshop/stationery shop on Hamdan Street in Abu Dhabi in the mid-1990s. It wasn’t until I started up SF Mistressworks, however, that I started reading Russ’s fiction seriously, and the more I read the more I became a fan. Jones, on the other hand, I’ve been reading since the late 1980s, since when she has been one of my favourite genre writers. So that’s a double-win: a writer I admire writing about a writer I admire. Jones does an excellent job of running through Russ’s life and career and the fiction she produced. Jones ties each piece of fiction to events in Russ’s life and to her changes in her views on feminism and science fiction – all backed up by references to letters and essays. I had always known Russ was a clever writer, and a sharp critic, but until reading this book I had not realised quite how prolific she was. I knew her fiction, but not her essays and letters and fan articles… and… Russ was a second wave feminist who eventually accepted third wave feminism (I think I’m getting this right). Jones is also a feminist, vocally so. I get the impression from this book that their different brands of feminism do not quite map onto the other, but I also get the impression that Jones very much admires Russ and her fiction. This is a book that will give you a fresh appreciation of Russ’s work. I was a Joanna Russ fan before reading it, now I am even more of one. ( )