Notes from an Incomplete Revolution: Real Life Since Feminism

by Meredith Maran

Notes From an Incomplete Revolution defies political correctness and anti-feminist pieties to reveal just how far we have come--and how far we have to go--since "women's lib" upended our culture a quarter-century ago.

"I'd marched for reproductive rights, but I still mourned the baby I aborted when I was twenty. I'd been in a lesbian relationship for eleven years, but when my car broke down I still longed for a husband. I'd picketed beauty pageants, but I'd been secretly dieting for fifteen years...."

Through the intimate eye of her own experience, Maran speaks to the passionate concerns of women from breast cancer and sexual abuse to the challenge of raising children in a violent world. But she also finds much reason for rejoicing. And whether she's reminiscing about "free love" in the '60's, talking shoe styles with a transvestite, or learning how not to play racquetball "like a girl," this is writing to alive with feeling and deeply engaged with the life of our times.

Genres: Feminism, Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1997

About the author

MEREDITH MARAN is the author of more than a dozen nonfiction books, including Why We Write About Ourselves, Why We Write, and My Lie; and the acclaimed 2012 novel, A Theory of Small Earthquakes. She's a book critic and essayist for newspapers and magazines including the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Salon.com. The recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Yaddo, and a member of the National Book Critics Circle, Meredith lives in a restored historic bungalow in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an interesting read that raises some poignant questions about feminism. It's written from the first person perspective and details many relationships in Meredith's life -- her partner, her sons, her ex-husband, her lovers. It's emotionally honest and made me think.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book but I just found it hard to relate to. I think there is some benefit in analysing your past and your relationships along with your politics, but whether it requires a book to be published about what you think and feel I'm not sure...

I found it interesting from a feminist perspective, but her life is so different to mine and her experiences so different that on a personal level I couldn't really relate to a lot of it.

[Kati · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel really ambivalent about this book. Which might really just be me saying I feel ambivalent about second wave feminism. The writing is fine. I did read it somewhat voraciously, so maybe that says something good about it?

[Carrie]

books I've read,essays

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book. I couldn't relate to much of it, but I appreciated the personal perspective on early feminism.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it