A Girl’s Guide to Modern European Philosophy
by Charlotte Greig
Published by Other Press
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Reviewed by Michelle Kerns
If you purchase the cutesy-looking A Girl’s Guide to Modern European Philosophy under the impression that it will make an admirable light-hearted chick-lit romp as you lounge about on the beach this summer, you will be in for an unpleasant surprise: this book bears about as much resemblance to typical chick-lit as Mein Kampf does to Twilight.
At its center is Susannah Jones, a young philosophy student at Sussex University in 1970’s England. Susannah lives with her much older boyfriend, the stable and somewhat patronizing Jason, but slides into a clandestine relationship with her tutorial partner, the definitely much-less-stable Rob. When Susannah discovers that she is pregnant, she’s got some serious thinking to do – not only does she have no idea which man is the child’s father, she can’t decide whether or not to have an abortion.
Being a devout philosophy student, Susannah turns to what she knows best – the words of the great philosophers. How the reader interprets Susannah’s final decision, her attempts to apply the sometimes obscure teachings of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard to her life, and her sadly pathetic cries for guidance from all and sundry, depends largely on your opinion of philosophy as a field of study.
Susannah is, at times, annoying, heartrendingly vulnerable, and immature. But how many of us, at that age, aren’t? This isn’t a fun book, but it isn’t a lousy one, either. It’s a well-written, sobering account of a young woman coming to terms with life’s most difficult question: how to make sense of it all.
Armchair Interviews says: This is not a light read, but has an important facing reality story.
Author’s Web site: http://www.CharlotteGreig.com