Glimpses into the Mind of Joanna Russ

The Country You Have Never Seen: Essays and Reviews, Joanna Russ

There are not enough words to express how much I enjoyed reading this collection, which is mostly reviews of science fiction novels spanning several decades. It didn’t matter if I’d actually read the book Russ was reviewing or not, the review was a delight and a source of thought in and of itself. What’s also delightful is the way the reviews, read in order, reveal the development of Russ’ thinking, about speculative literature, about literary criticism, about feminism, and about the interrelationship of all three in her own and other’s work.

And the (smallish) collection of essays and letters are another treasure trove of early feminist criticism and theory.

I could burble on incoherently for a while longer, or simply direct you to Sarah Monette’s review at Strange horizons, which is as glowing a comment on the collection as this is, but rather more coherent.

A must for those who think , as I do, that Russ is one of the (many) important feminist thinkers and science fiction writers.

THe Marriage of Two Minds

Channelling Cleopatra, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

What if you could commune at the most intimate level with the mind of an ancient hero, philosopher or poet, learn their secrets and have their wisdom and experience available to you at all times? What would you do to have that advantage? Would it be preservation of a historical treasure beyond value, or the worst kind of theft? And how would the person whose mind you had resurrected feel about it all?

These are some of the questions considered in Scarborough’s Channelling Cleopatra. It’s on the whole an interesting book, one that I was particularly fascinated by because I happen to have a mild obsession with the historical Cleopatra. It was a pleasure to see that the book does her character justice, and that it takes the questions raised by the storyline seriously – most notably the issue of Western appropriation of cultural artefacts (using the term quite loosely in reference to this book). Other enjoyable aspects of the book are the number of strong female characters, in addition to the Great Queen herself, and an element of a mystery/spy thriller tossed into the mix.

Fun to read.