Sontag and Kael: Opposites Attract Me

This is a witty and stylish assessment of the work of two icons of cultural criticism: Susan Sontag and Pauline Kael Though outwardly they had some things in common – they were both Westerners who came east, both schooled in philosophy, both secular Jews and both single mothers – they were polar opposites in temperament and approach. Seligman approaches both women through their widely discussed work. Kael practiced a kind of verbal jazz – exuberant, excessive, intimate, emotional and funny. Sontag is formal and rather icy. From the beginning it’s clear where Seligman’s sympathies lie: Sontag is a critic he reveres; but Kael is a critic he loves. But for all his reservations about Sontag, he considers both writers magnificent and his exploration of their differences results in this luminously written landmark of criticism.