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bayrayj's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
I usually do not fall in love with non-fiction, but this book is different. Maybe because the author is as talented with poetic prose as she is with essay formatting, but no matter, I love Maggie Nelson and I love this book. As someone who indulges in true crime and “cruel” story telling this reading challenged me to consider why. Why I want to fill myself with that? Why these stories are so popular? What the goals are of the creator? Are they just or successful? I didn’t need to agree with every line to understand the importance of these questions in the world we navigate each day. The issues she brings up are only becoming more descreet. I’m my opinion, this book asks its reader, “do you know what you’re doing?” To which my answer was “no”.
The one issue I had was my difficulty recommending this book to others, as it falls into some of the traps it describes. Many of the references are given in such detail, and brought up so casually thoughts of rape, torture, and murder, that I feel it may be cruel to get friends to read it.
The one issue I had was my difficulty recommending this book to others, as it falls into some of the traps it describes. Many of the references are given in such detail, and brought up so casually thoughts of rape, torture, and murder, that I feel it may be cruel to get friends to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
These content warning happen in the discussion of their validity in connection to the content they were previously included in, not as story telling tools.