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A-red-lipstick-wearing bibliophile extraordinaire. Word nerd & Joss Whedon fangirl; Literature lover & book reviewer. Lady Libertine; Tea collector; Potterhead.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Review: Quiet

Susan Cain looks at the plight, sorry, power of the introverts in a seemingly extrovert world in her debut book Quiet.

I had no choice but to read this, I'm fairly certain if I was given one, I would have put it down and walked far, far away. It wasn't from a lack of interest but rather the sheer grating feeling I got from reading it.

It seemed to focus a lot on corporate America and how introverts can actually be an asset to the work force and even more valuable to their extroverted counterparts. It seemed less about equality and understanding at work and in society and more about how much more advantageous it is when you're an introvert. This is something that didn't sit right with me, perhaps it was too much for my British taste buds but I felt this could have worked a lot better if she had spoken about personal experiences and struggles rather than other people's anecdotes on success over their rivals.  It's almost as if she wants to counteract the 'Extrovert Ideal' with an introverted one.

The book was split into several sections all of which seemed to reiterate information over and over and over again. There was enough repetition to drive me to madness. The kind of madness that introverts suffer at the hands of an open-planned office.
The levels of stereotypes were astounding, I have come to the conclusion that extroverts are rash, love to party and don't really think all that too much and the introverts, well they're the serious thinkers, the creative types; level headed. It acts as much as a validation tool as it does as a self help guide: You're an introvert? Don't worry, you're a thinker, you're smart. J.K Rowling is an introvert, so was Steve Jobs, they were rich and powerful. You're going to be a-okay. 

There are parts that do get quite interesting, you know as much as informal science experiments can get. She seems to bollix it up by making out as if introverts are a league of extraordinary hipsters, with their bespeckled faces, poor fashion choices and curiously described facial hair.


My problem is I hate anything that tells me we live in a one-or-the-other society. Gay or straight, male or female, good or evil and yes, introvert or extrovert.
The current world population stands at approximately 7 billion. With such a staggering number to consider, I'm not sure why or how we allow ourselves to think so simply.

RATING: ★☆☆☆☆

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