At first glance, Quiet seems like a mysterious novel, where silence could potentially play a pivotal role throughout the story. However, that is definitely not the case. Upon further inspection, this critically acclaimed success and psychology book by Susan Cain, an American author and lecturer, is all about the wonderful power of introversion in a world that seems to idolize extroverts. However, that simply scratches the surface of brilliance that Cain was able to accomplish in Quiet.
Quiet deals with the fact that in Western societies, we tend to define success and power with the ideal extrovert, yet in reality, one-third to one-half of the people in the world are actually introverted! It initially delves into the idea of how we’re forcing people to be the social butterflies that they are not, and how it’s not beneficial in the grand scheme of things. Cain manages to include examples of ways that people are either choosing to try and be more outspoken and social, or how in different school or work situations, things are set up to let those only who are social thrive. Though that’s not all that she manages to fit into her book.
The overarching idea that was implemented into Quiet was the fact that introverts don’t need to change to be successful, and Cain expressed this by separating it into four parts. In the first part, Cain gives background information on what this “Extrovert Ideal” really is, and how it affects those who are introverts. She then goes on to talk more about the biological aspect of introversion, and really gets down to how introverts and extroverts differ in many different ways.
?
?My personal favorite sections of Quiet must have been the latter half of the book by far. The third part deals with how Asians tend to see introverts and extroverts, and how that applies to Asians in the United States. The final section was, as Cain puts it, “How to love, how to work”. It predominantly focuses on how introverts act and how that would affect our peers and coworkers, but also about how introverted children are dealt with in school. It’s safe to say that Quiet deals with quite a broad range of topics, yet they all seem to fit together like pieces of an intense, information filled puzzle.
Initially, I felt as though this book would come off as being overly critical of extroverts and potentially romanticize introverts, but that wasn’t the case at all. It simply highlighted the fact that we do live in a world where the Western ideal for success is to be an outspoken people- person who knows exactly what to say at all the right times. It did nothing to degrade those who find themselves to be extroverted, but it rather elaborated on why the traits of introverts can be just as beneficial to today’s world. However, that doesn’t go to say that it’s a completely unbiased piece. This is due to the fact that Quiet focuses on the powers that introverts really have in today’s world. Quiet basically puts it out there that there’s a place for introverts in society, and that many have already made an impact, like Einstein, Rosa Parks, J.K. Rowling, and more!
This might be a psychology-oriented book, but it still managed to be an engaging read at all times. It was obvious that Susan Cain put large amounts of effort into creating this book, from sifting through multitudes of experiments, to reaching out to people whose stories directly paralleled what she wanted to project in Quiet. Each chapter had a mix of different studies and names and dates that all supported what she was trying to present to the reader. Though what made it so much more enticing wasn’t the fact that each claim was backed up by science. It was
because of the fact that Susan Cain connected each chapter to a different person’s experience that embodied what she was trying to say perfectly. If the chapter is about the relationships between introverts and extroverts and how they can and can’t work, she gives a real life example that makes it feel so much less academic than it already is. The inclusion of these stories helped bring it down a notch from being a bit lengthy and slow, and end up being quite amusing at times. That is probably one of the biggest reasons that kept me from abandoning this book over the course of the past month. It was an incredible learning experience and it was written in a way that I could easily connect to.
Quiet managed to highlight the fact that introverts can be successful in a social work setting, and that children don’t need to be social butterflies to thrive in school. It showed that while the extrovert ideal might have its place in this world, without introverts, we honestly wouldn’t be where we are today. This wasn’t a particularly epiphanic book, however it was everything that I expected from it and more. Susan Cain’s efforts have successfully paid off and I applaud her for being able to accomplish all that she’s done with Quiet. While it is a solid 4.5 stars, I wouldn’t necessarily go out recommending this book to any and every person I meet. However, it’s definitely a great read for those who want to understand the complexity that is our brains, as well as how Western societies function. As intimidating as Quiet may seem, it’s a book that will surely impress any potential reader.