Public Policy

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“The rage, to my surprise, seemed to come mainly from middle-class white people. They seemed to see despair as a form of solidarity, and hope as a betrayal…” As a middle-class white guy who feels a decent amount of despair these days, Solnit’s latest (and brilliant as ever) collection doesn’t do much different from previous works, (especially 2016’s Hope In The Dark,) but is a vital reminder that things can change, they do change, and only we can make them change. The message is crucial, but the storytelling that conveys it is equally so, and it is the snippets of fact which catch you by surprise sometimes, and help the moral (never give up, never despair) stick – how did I never know, for instance, that MLK’s “I have a dream” speech was off script, unplanned? Solnit is one of the most important living writers, and any new book by her is cause for celebration, introspection, and ultimately, action.

No Straight Road Takes You There: Essays for Uneven Terrain by Rebecca Solnit, (List Price: $16.95, Haymarket Books, 9798888903636, May 2025)

Reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana