On Looking: Essays

This is an important book. It presents looking as an ethical act in a world that is filled with cruelty as well as beauty. Without preaching, it speaks out against multiple forms of violence in our culture; the essay about the Maryland snipers is particularly searing at this moment when America refuses to reconsider its love affair with the gun despite events at VA Tech. And while it emphatically rejects sexism, it is complex in its analysis of the relations between men and women, willing to consider the possible pleasures of being an object of the "male gaze." Though it never moralizes, On Looking is a deeply moral book, and truly poetic. The going can be difficult, but struggling with its language rewards the reader. Every so often, a moment of preciosity intrudes, but on the whole, Purpura's touch is fine, and her vision is admirable.