Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Pageboy by Elliot Page

55 reviews

imscrem's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

2.5

I appreciate that Elliot Page took the time to write down his story. I listened to the audiobook, and found it difficult at times to understand what time period in his life he was writing from due to the somewhat jumpy narrative.  I didn’t enjoy hearing about his sexual escapades or the many, many times he was sexually abused, but I have to acknowledge that these are true parts of his story and the book would not have been complete without them. It was uncomfortable to hear about who licked what while I rode the subway. Overall, I this book definitely wasn’t what I expected — I thought it would be a more uplifting take on the trans experience, but came out thinking it’s more of a dismal array of all the ways that people can be horrific to someone for being different. I wish the world was kinder. 

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maryellen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0


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anni_swanilda's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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vixenreader's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.25

A structure based on the journey towards self-love, this memoir is deeply poignant, unflinching, and vulnerable, and a honest experience about how wilful ignorance and prejudice ultimately perpetrates the bigotry experienced by the trans community. 

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crybabybea's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

3.75

This was a really uniquely written memoir told from quite a unique perspective as Elliot Page is currently one of the only openly out trans celebrities in popular culture. I was a bit scared to read this because I had heard it was poorly put together with a non-linear timeline that didn't really land; but I'm happy to say I'm pleasantly surprised and I actually thought the non-linear style worked really well for the point Elliot was trying to make! Queerness is messy and there are so many factors that impact how somebody discovers or pushes away their own queerness, and I think Elliot's writing really sold that feeling well. I also think he is just a great writer in general. You can tell he put a lot of time and heart into making sure the stories he told felt immersive and detailed in just the right way. I think the non-liner timeline helped me as a reader focus on the emotions that Elliot experienced rather than the nitty gritty details of when and where things happened and why. There were also some moments of poetic prose that I think were done quite well also.

I will say this felt a bit unedited, especially near the end. Page repeats himself pretty often (one of the most memorable being his constantly feeling like he needs to "shit blood") which isn't too terrible but was something I noticed. I didn't factor this into my review, but the audiobook also felt a bit lesser quality; there were multiple times that lines were repeated because takes weren't edited properly, and there were random drops in audio quality that weren't awful but definitely noticeable. 

This is overall an inspiring, heartfelt story but there is a healthy mix of heartbreak as well. I was especially moved by the way Elliot told his experience with homophobia, internal and external, and how that kept him from finding his identity for so long. I also found the perspective of trying to navigate queerness while also trying to navigate celebrity culture and his career as an actor super intriguing. 

I think if you go into this knowing it's not going to be a typical memoir with a clear, linear timeline, you will enjoy it, and especially if you are already a fan of Elliot. 

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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Deciding to love yourself was the whole point of this book.  All the ups and downs of life, the self discovery of a trans person.  The pain of being trans and living in a world not built for trans people.

While some of the pacing was a bit awkward and the timeline was difficult to follow but I ended up loving listening to this; especially since the author was also the narrator. 

I learned a lot about this author and I’m so happy that he was in a place to write this book and share it with the world.  I also liked how he mentioned several times about his privilege in a very genuine way, actually acknowledging the problems with trans healthcare and other issues as well.

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subbasileia's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0


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kiwichill's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Elliot does not hold back.  His soul is bared about the struggles of coming out in the public eye.  Very honest and real

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abicaro17's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

2.75

So the actual story is really compelling about heartbreaking but, like most memoirs I read, is jumbled and feels unfinished. This book would have benefited with a chronological order format or at least naming the year each story was in. Page uses ages as time markers and as someone who has no idea how old they are, it was confusing. Page also throws in lots of random info that doesn't contribute to the story, like info about landmarks or anecdotes about childhood musings. The parts of the story that felt relevant and composed, like Page's tumultuous relationship with their dad or growth in relationships, added reflection and complexity that's desperately needed in this book. I wish I liked this more because learning about Elliot Pages story was so engaging (plus I love them!) but, this book was a little too all over the place for my taste. 

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trinidaddy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0


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