Sexual subversions : three French feminists /

A welcome addition to the corpus of works attempting to interpret current writings in French feminism for the English-speaking world. Grosz writes from an informed feminist perspective on the works of Kristeva, Irigaray, and the less celebrated philosopher Michele Le Doeuff. Her text opens with a brief recapitulation of French philosophy from Kojeve to Derrida via Lacan. These 40 pages will irritate experts and will perhaps confuse undergraduates; but beginning graduate students may find them quite helpful. Once the discussions of the three writers get underway, the elucidation is likely to inform better any scholar with an interest in them. Grosz deals at length with Kristeva and Irigaray, showing how their emphases and concerns have shifted over time. Le Doeuff, a less protean figure, is dealt with in one chapter that explores her work on the imaginary space of philosophy. A brief conclusion restates the commonalities and distinctions among these three brilliant writers. This is a lucid, teacherly book written with compassion both for the three women who are its subject and for the students who will be its readers. Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. J. W. MacInnes Eckerd College