Where to Start with Susan Sontag

On January 16, we're celebrating the birthday of Susan Sontag (1933-2004), one of the most influential American essayists, and critics of the 20th century. Known for her sharp wit, her breadth of knowledge, and her acerbic voice, Sontag combined rebellious cool and academic rigor to craft brilliant essays on everything from radical politics to French New Wave to pornography. Not content to just be a formidable public intellectual, Sontag was also an accomplished novelist, turning her prodigious talents towards fiction in four novels (which, in my opinion, are underrated) and several short stories over her career.

Sontag's voice can be a bit intimidating, and her powerful intellect is very daunting, so I understand why some have trouble getting into her work. But if you haven't read her yet, you're missing out on one of the smartest voices in American letters. Here's where I recommend you start with the great Susan Sontag:

Styles of Radical Will, 1969

This excellent collection of Sontag's essays from the late '60's is a great intro to her particular style, offering piercing observations and insights in politics, philosophy, and modern art. This collection includes "The Aesthetics of Silence," an enthralling exploration of how artists engage or choose not to engage with audiences, and "Trip to Hanoi," which describes her travels to North Vietnam in 1968, covering communism, war, imperialist attitudes, and the difficulty of conceptualizing suffering in far-off places.

Against Interpretation, 1966

When you're done chewing over Styles of Radical Will, turn back a few years and pick up the book that made Sontag a literary darling. Against Interpretation contains one of Sontag's best known essays, 'Notes on 'Camp,'" an analysis of campy art and media which was an intellectual hit on its publication in Partisan Review. The title essay, "Against Interpretation," is a defense of art against criticism, which Sontag saw as diminishing the spiritual power of creativity. If you want shrewd, evocative cultural analysis from a young, brilliant author, this is the book for you.

In America, 1999

Had enough essays yet? Let's move into this playful, easy National Book Award winner, which was Sontag's last novel and also her most acclaimed. In America, based on the real life story of actress Helena Modjeska, tells the story of a famous Polish diva who flees her Russian-occupied homeland for California, circa 1880, to set up a utopian commune. When her motley crew of idealist friends and family struggles to support themselves, she again turns to the stage to pursue the same success she had in Warsaw, and make enough money to feed her family. If you're not so much a fan of her denser work, In America will be a much smoother read, while still retaining Sontag's masterful way with words.

Death Kit, 1967

And now for something completely different: Death Kit is Sontag's second novel, a thriller about an ordinary businessman named Diddy who, when stuck on a delayed train on a business trip, impulsively beats a railroad worker to death -- or so he thinks. The blind woman he meets on the train, named Hester, swears he didn't leave his seat. As Diddy fears that he has either committed murder or gone mad, he tries to unravel the mystery of what truly happened. I won't say more about the disturbing end of this thrill ride, except to say that it's one of the most haunting I've ever read.

I, Etcetera, (1978)

I don't think Sontag gets enough credit for her excellent short stories, eight of which are collected here in I, Etcetera. The stories here are all experimental and different: "Project for a Trip to China"  reads like a panicked packing list, made up of fragments of self-talk, to-do's, and strange free associations on Chinese culture; "Baby," through a series of defensive questions, tells the story of two woefully irresponsible Southern California parents attempting to deal with their misbehaving son; "Old Complaints Revisited" tells of a secret society's mysterious rules for membership and strangely vague purpose. Running beneath each one, though, is a constant sense of anxiety that keeps the reader hooked.

What are your favorite Sontag reads? Shout them out in the comments below!