No! - by Sara Ahmed (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

An assembly of refusals portraying the radical power of "no," by the renowned scholar and author of Complaint! Sara Ahmed

To be heard as complaining is not to be heard, writes Sara Ahmed. In her sweeping exploration of complaint as a practice of and lesson in resistance, Ahmed listens with "feminist ears" to grievance across contexts. Carving complaint as endangered speech that addresses and exposes oppression, Ahmed explores how complaint blooms in the shadow of institutions and how individuals take up the mantle of complaint in order to push for change (whether they mean to or not), in reaction to a world that punishes those who say no to its mounting horrors.

Where complaint lives, how complaint is made, who receives complaints, who buries them and where--Ahmed's accessible, attentive writing brings to life these hidden rooms and the people knocking at their doors, painting a portrait of power and the day-to-day push against it. With No!, she commits to the complainer not only her own hand to hold but those of all complainers collected here, building solidarity among our outcries--quiet, loud, and yet unsaid.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Feminist Killjoy Handbook

"Being the killjoy is often a joy unto itself, and Ahmed shows us how to embrace it in all its liberatory glory." --Ms. magazine, Best Books of 2023

"The Feminist Killjoy Handbook is clearly helpful instruction. It is a book you can learn from: Here, in its pages, is your community and networks." --The Nation

"Audiences curious about navigating the intersection between feminism and daily life, intellectualism, poetry, and activism will love this title." --Library Journal

About the Author

Sara Ahmed is an independent feminist scholar who works at the intersection of feminist, queer, and race studies. Her research is concerned with how bodies and worlds take shape and how power is secured and challenged in everyday life as well as institutional cultures. She has published eleven books, including The Feminist Killjoy Handbook. She lives in Cambridgeshire, England.