A bit rambly at times, but I also was pretty riveted by Klein's train of thought. This book has definitely sat with me in the few weeks since I've read it, in part because Klein does a really excellent job of answering a lot of existential questions that exist on the left. In general, it was really cool to read a leftist's take on the left - a gentle, in-the-know criticism that didn't feel like "in fighting" or "you just don't know what leftism is". I was expecting slightly more narrative/memoir-y elements (the chapter about Klein's experience as a parent of an autistic child was probably my favorite chapter), but I also really appreciated her sweeping analyses. I left the book with a newfound empathy for conservatives and the conviction that it's us against systems of oppression, not us against each other, and that we all face the same existential threats endemic to the modern world. Klein reminds us that we don't have to invent conspiracies; there are plenty of real shadow figures making decisions for the rest of us that help them and hurt us. I feel like this book concretely affected my politics - I now share Klein's perspective that the left sometimes falls victim to its own "cancel culture" or, perhaps less provactively, a culture that is, in effect, more concerned with gatekeeping than bringing people in. Because, as Klein cogently argues, the left MUST bring people in. In a real way, the fate of the globe relies on it. 

Also for the memories, here're some thoughts I wrote after listening to the first ~3 hours (I think): "I liked the memoir elements, surprise surprise, like the part about Naomi being a biblical name from a woman who decided to change her name from Naomi (pleasant) to mara (bitter), and how echoes of that were present for the author in her own name journey… idk I just love thinking about the significance of names and how our names can so often create tangible impacts in our lives. 

 

But the actual social commentary is feeling pretty basic to me right now. Maybe it’ll get more interesting, but right now it’s basically just “being online forces us to create our own doppelgängers- we are are forced to have branded presences that are both us and not. And that’s bad and inauthentic and capitalist.” I don’t disagree, and it’s definitely an interesting framing/metaphor. But it’s also not THAT interesting lol. The world being bad? Social media being shallow? Capitalism bleeds into every aspect of our lives and makes them worse? Yeah, I know lol."