navayiota's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
It was alright. I assume it was more original and edgy when it came out but now it's incredibly tame.Spoiler
The sexual assault scenes were very vivid, though.criticalgayze's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Autobiography of Red was recommended to me as part of my 30 Before 30 reading challenge where I enlisted 30 friends to share a book each I should read before my 30th birthday this year.
Going in, I had no clue about Anne Carson. I figured she was some fringe author and that this was a sort of one-off text (although I knew it had a less praised sequel). I had no idea she was a critically acclaimed poet or that this work was a NBCC award finalist.
The text itself is a phenomenal piece of novel in verse. The way repetition, especially of symbolism is use to tie in a cohesive narrative, and the way both the source text and its biographical history are weaved in was masterful.
Even more than the text itself, I was blown away by Carson's opening essays. The opening essay starts with the line, "He came after Homer and before Gertrude Stein, a difficult interval for a poet." In a year that has found me obsessed with writers on writing and reading, I was immediately hooked and practically salivating for a full work of LitCrit by Anne Carson.
Going in, I had no clue about Anne Carson. I figured she was some fringe author and that this was a sort of one-off text (although I knew it had a less praised sequel). I had no idea she was a critically acclaimed poet or that this work was a NBCC award finalist.
The text itself is a phenomenal piece of novel in verse. The way repetition, especially of symbolism is use to tie in a cohesive narrative, and the way both the source text and its biographical history are weaved in was masterful.
Even more than the text itself, I was blown away by Carson's opening essays. The opening essay starts with the line, "He came after Homer and before Gertrude Stein, a difficult interval for a poet." In a year that has found me obsessed with writers on writing and reading, I was immediately hooked and practically salivating for a full work of LitCrit by Anne Carson.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Drug use
Minor: Animal death
earthtokb's review
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Chen Chen said online "I wonder if Anne Carson watches gay porn" and I have to agree. What a wild read lol but I'm glad I finally got around to it! I've been wanting to read this book since the original L word was on and the character Jenny mentioned it. Mythology is generally not my thing but this has me thinking twice about that! Beautiful language that's got my writer wheels turning.
My only drawbacks is I feel like at times the line between what was happening & what was just the inner thoughts of Geryon were blurred and not in a way that brought me closer to the text. Had to stop and start quite a bit (and I read poetry all the time so that's saying something). Love me some Anne Carson, tho!
My only drawbacks is I feel like at times the line between what was happening & what was just the inner thoughts of Geryon were blurred and not in a way that brought me closer to the text. Had to stop and start quite a bit (and I read poetry all the time so that's saying something). Love me some Anne Carson, tho!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Animal death
abuck_2426's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content and Incest
Minor: Blood
ellecarman's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Sexual content
hasmazlom13's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Drug use, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Mental illness
leslielychee's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest and Sexual content
aegagrus's review
3.5
In terms of literary craft, Autobiography of Red is a tour de force. Carson writes gorgeous sentences, careful and serpentine or elegant and clipped. The frame device with which she brackets her story is highly inventive. She has a keen eye for vignettes. She treats her classical source material with a reverent unorthodoxy.
As a coming-of-age story, Autobiography of Red dwells on interiority. Geryon muses on the gap between his internal and external worlds; the novel captures this fixation by consistently creating a sense of dreamlike disconnect. Photography, philosophy, and volcanoes are all interesting motifs Carson finds ways of applying to this theme. I enjoyed the subtlety with which Carson treats Geryon's wings, as well. Many queer coming-of-age stories directly center the awkwardness of holding a non-normative identity. Here the wings, always present but rarely the focal point and only occasionally noticed, are an effective way of striking at the quieter ways that we carry identities with us (without neglecting a more direct discussion of queer experiences, which the novel also provides).
I preferred the first half of Autobiography of Red to the second half. As Geryon travels to South America, Carson gets somewhat bogged-down in the trope of foreign-travel-as-self-discovery. The unfamiliar landscapes. The cultural barriers. The final, climactic moment of finding self-knowledge in the traditional beliefs of a far-away people. Carson sometimes does interesting things with these tropes, but none of this is quite up to the standards of her earlier work. Some of the characters, notably Herakles, suffer in being transplanted to a novel environment (the young adult Herakles being far more exaggerated and far less interesting than the adolescent Herakles). None of this is really necessary. While Carson's prose is far from dense, her conceptual work is extremely dense, meaning that there are many compelling directions the story could have gone without getting a bit muddled and losing some urgency by getting into the business of this sort of travel narrative.
Though this change of direction is a drawback, in my opinion, the novel's concluding portions are hardly "bad", and the lasting impressions this book is likely to leave with me are much more likely to reflect its many virtues than its one significant defect.
As a coming-of-age story, Autobiography of Red dwells on interiority. Geryon muses on the gap between his internal and external worlds; the novel captures this fixation by consistently creating a sense of dreamlike disconnect. Photography, philosophy, and volcanoes are all interesting motifs Carson finds ways of applying to this theme. I enjoyed the subtlety with which Carson treats Geryon's wings, as well. Many queer coming-of-age stories directly center the awkwardness of holding a non-normative identity. Here the wings, always present but rarely the focal point and only occasionally noticed, are an effective way of striking at the quieter ways that we carry identities with us (without neglecting a more direct discussion of queer experiences, which the novel also provides).
I preferred the first half of Autobiography of Red to the second half. As Geryon travels to South America, Carson gets somewhat bogged-down in the trope of foreign-travel-as-self-discovery. The unfamiliar landscapes. The cultural barriers. The final, climactic moment of finding self-knowledge in the traditional beliefs of a far-away people. Carson sometimes does interesting things with these tropes, but none of this is quite up to the standards of her earlier work. Some of the characters, notably Herakles, suffer in being transplanted to a novel environment (the young adult Herakles being far more exaggerated and far less interesting than the adolescent Herakles). None of this is really necessary. While Carson's prose is far from dense, her conceptual work is extremely dense, meaning that there are many compelling directions the story could have gone without getting a bit muddled and losing some urgency by getting into the business of this sort of travel narrative.
Though this change of direction is a drawback, in my opinion, the novel's concluding portions are hardly "bad", and the lasting impressions this book is likely to leave with me are much more likely to reflect its many virtues than its one significant defect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
serotonone's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Incest, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
aurorasgrande's review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content