Anna Shechtman, a journalist and crossword-puzzle compiler, uses the nuances and politics of the crossword-puzzle industry to craft a memoir as alluring as a ready-to-be-solved crossword puzzle. Shechtman, the second youngest woman to publish a crossword in the New York Times and a bimonthly compiler for the New Yorker, details her journey from sketching boxes for witty wordplay to world-class success. Deemed the "queen of crosswords" by the Guardian, she celebrates female talent, success, and strength in The Riddles of the Sphinx.
In showcasing her predecessors, Shechtman's meticulously researched timeline unveils a widely unknown history of crossword puzzles, detailing how they emerged as a craze; became a pastime for intellectuals and an outlet for activism; and evolved into a daily section of every major newspaper. She writes: "It is also a group portrait of women, myself included, who have attached themselves to language rules--and language games--to resist the realities of their lives as women subordinate to men." Shechtman connects the women of the puzzle world to her own deeply personal story and to larger discussions of womanhood, feminism, and politics, commemorating their paths to crossword puzzles while identifying the ideals, roadblocks, and men who stood in their way. It is, she writes, "a larger story about the roles women have been allowed to play in American culture."
The Riddles of the Sphinx is an accomplishment in journalism and storytelling, allowing readers to understand how crosswords are not just black-and-white squares on a page but reminders that women, properly recognized or not, have always written history (and crossword) books. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer