chrisralonso's review against another edition
5.0
Strange in the best way, a labyrinth of book. Stintzi's debut is definitely one to watch out for.
alexisamburgey's review against another edition
The second person POV and imagery was not really my style. I enjoyed the story but couldn’t get past the writing style. Not for me but I’m sure others would enjoy.
suzuzoo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
2.0
tinamayreads's review against another edition
5.0
VANISHING MONUMENTS by John Elizabeth Stintzi is a fantastic novel! This multilayered story is about a non binary photographer and professor, Alani, who returns to their childhood home and tries to reconcile with their past.
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Right away I loved the representation with the non binary main character. I also loved the story structure as each chapter is a room in the house which is reflected in the book as Alani describes her old house as a memory palace. Through this metaphor each room holds specific memories and we discover how Alani’s life has unfolded. There’s a particularly moving section where Alani talks about their body that made me cry and you know I love a book that makes me cry! I loved this book! I loved the central themes of remembering, gender, home, and closure. Such a stunning debut novel!
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I’m so excited to read JES’s forthcoming novel My Volcano now!!
.
Right away I loved the representation with the non binary main character. I also loved the story structure as each chapter is a room in the house which is reflected in the book as Alani describes her old house as a memory palace. Through this metaphor each room holds specific memories and we discover how Alani’s life has unfolded. There’s a particularly moving section where Alani talks about their body that made me cry and you know I love a book that makes me cry! I loved this book! I loved the central themes of remembering, gender, home, and closure. Such a stunning debut novel!
.
I’m so excited to read JES’s forthcoming novel My Volcano now!!
violetlily13's review against another edition
5.0
Vanishing Monuments is a beautifully lyrical novel that navigates the troubled depths of Alani's memories as they come to terms with their past. The novel demands a slow, careful reading as you peel back the layers of Alani's life. I often found myself rereading sentences just to enjoy Stinzi's use of language and imagery, but I also reread sections to better catch the intricacies of the narrative - the ways in which Alani's memories interlock as they wander again and again through their Mother's house, experiencing the details in new ways each time. It's a haunted house story, except that it's the protagonist who is haunted, moreso than the house itself.
I first picked up Vanishing Monuments because it features a non-binary protagonist written by a non-binary author. There was so much to relate to and relish, but I also appreciated learning about a different non-binary experience, far more fluid, more like a swinging pendulum than a midpoint. This quickly became the star of my 2020 reading list, and it's very deserving of its accolades.
I first picked up Vanishing Monuments because it features a non-binary protagonist written by a non-binary author. There was so much to relate to and relish, but I also appreciated learning about a different non-binary experience, far more fluid, more like a swinging pendulum than a midpoint. This quickly became the star of my 2020 reading list, and it's very deserving of its accolades.
lukenotjohn's review against another edition
4.5
In [a:Sarah Kay|11377|Sarah Kay|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1327230533p2/11377.jpg]'s poem, "Extended Development," she muses that, while poets and photographers may have learned the art of "capture," they must begin to learn the "art of letting go." The sentiment felt especially relevant reading Vanishing Monuments, a novel written by a poet about a photographer who, despite many attempts to let go of the vestiges of their origins, spends the bulk of the book attempting to do so with even greater finality. This book surprised me; I was not anticipating its densely beautiful language, its somewhat experimental and surrealist structure, or its complex, layered storytelling. And, to be honest, these three qualities overlapped to make it a somewhat difficult book to get through. The non-linear, sporadic timeline constantly erodes any sense of momentum the story might otherwise build, and the actual plot itself is in reality utterly mundane, despite how deeply Stinzi imbues it with powerful interior pathos. And yet, it easily earned four stars for me, because while the book made me work to enjoy it, I was glad to have put in the effort not just at the end, but all the way through.
Stinzi's language here is some of the most striking prose I've read in a long time. You can tell that they are a poet, and countless sentences here, shimmering with creative insight, could've been imported from a contemporary poem. At first, this felt overwhelming, maybe indulgent, but I came to appreciate the buffet of clever metaphors and poignantly phrased revelations that consume Alani's inner dialogue. Similarly, it took about a hundred pages to get (somewhat, never entirely) used to the stop-start rhythm of storytelling, jumping from the present plot following Alani's return to Winnipeg to various threads of memory from their upbringing, adulthood, and time in Germany as well as the surprisingly prominent scenes from their "memory palace." The sections from the latter are the most surreal and experimental in the book; readers are taken into Alani's mental map of their childhood home, populated with dozens of versions of their past selves and housing the array of traumas that have indelibly shaped their identity, no matter how badly they've tried to erase and escape them.
In many ways, Alani has lived a quietly tragic life, and I appreciated Stinzi's restraint in avoiding more boldly devastating blows that seem inevitable in another writer's hand. There is a pervasive loneliness and alienation that looms over the book, obviously related to Alani's estrangement with their mother but also with various loved ones in their lives and, most crucially, their own self. Stinzi's depiction of nonbinary gender identity here is particularly fascinating (and, obviously, not a monolithic representation of what that involves). Alani takes on a kaleidoscopic host of identities throughout their life, adopting the feminine personas of Allie, Sofia, and Hedwig (their mother) at times, binding and going as Al at others, and inhabiting Alani elsewhere. This is obviously a compelling expression of their gender identity, but it also speaks to the fracturing within Alani's sense of self, and I found the scenes in which their plurality (which almost feels like a pun on the use of non-gendered singular "they") is manifest through visions of other versions to be so striking and even eerie, as if they're being haunted by ghosts of their own self. (Spoiler: This dovetails beautifully at the end, as Alani recognizes the multiplicity of their mother as well, which seems to be a catalyst for their capacity to move towards true forgiveness.) The book is also, and even more so, a meditation on memory: the monuments we erect and destroy as a means of bearing witness, offering reminder, capturing a moment, editing it through the lens of our own experience. As someone who enjoys photography, I loved Stinzi's embrace of that motif in relation to this theme.
The remainder of the review has a few spoilers, so heads up. One thing I was really curious about was Stinzi's resistance to allowing for any seemingly satisfying closure between Alani and their mother, especially when two opportunities were explicitly raised. The nurse suggests Alani arrange for them to take their mother out of the home for a day, presumably to visit her former house one last time before it is sold, and to re-enter that space alongside Alani again...but this never happens, or is even addressed again. Similarly, we follow Alani's photographic endeavor, memorializing different parts of the house where old furniture once stood, which climaxes in them photographing their mother for the first time...only to expose the film to sunlight, rendering it blank. That moment in particular elicited a visceral reaction from me, and I wasn't sure what its motivation was, especially given that Alani seemed to reignite some tenderness towards their mother and didn't end the book wanting to forget her entirely. If you have thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them!
Stinzi's language here is some of the most striking prose I've read in a long time. You can tell that they are a poet, and countless sentences here, shimmering with creative insight, could've been imported from a contemporary poem. At first, this felt overwhelming, maybe indulgent, but I came to appreciate the buffet of clever metaphors and poignantly phrased revelations that consume Alani's inner dialogue. Similarly, it took about a hundred pages to get (somewhat, never entirely) used to the stop-start rhythm of storytelling, jumping from the present plot following Alani's return to Winnipeg to various threads of memory from their upbringing, adulthood, and time in Germany as well as the surprisingly prominent scenes from their "memory palace." The sections from the latter are the most surreal and experimental in the book; readers are taken into Alani's mental map of their childhood home, populated with dozens of versions of their past selves and housing the array of traumas that have indelibly shaped their identity, no matter how badly they've tried to erase and escape them.
In many ways, Alani has lived a quietly tragic life, and I appreciated Stinzi's restraint in avoiding more boldly devastating blows that seem inevitable in another writer's hand. There is a pervasive loneliness and alienation that looms over the book, obviously related to Alani's estrangement with their mother but also with various loved ones in their lives and, most crucially, their own self. Stinzi's depiction of nonbinary gender identity here is particularly fascinating (and, obviously, not a monolithic representation of what that involves). Alani takes on a kaleidoscopic host of identities throughout their life, adopting the feminine personas of Allie, Sofia, and Hedwig (their mother) at times, binding and going as Al at others, and inhabiting Alani elsewhere. This is obviously a compelling expression of their gender identity, but it also speaks to the fracturing within Alani's sense of self, and I found the scenes in which their plurality (which almost feels like a pun on the use of non-gendered singular "they") is manifest through visions of other versions to be so striking and even eerie, as if they're being haunted by ghosts of their own self. (Spoiler: This dovetails beautifully at the end, as Alani recognizes the multiplicity of their mother as well, which seems to be a catalyst for their capacity to move towards true forgiveness.) The book is also, and even more so, a meditation on memory: the monuments we erect and destroy as a means of bearing witness, offering reminder, capturing a moment, editing it through the lens of our own experience. As someone who enjoys photography, I loved Stinzi's embrace of that motif in relation to this theme.
The remainder of the review has a few spoilers, so heads up. One thing I was really curious about was Stinzi's resistance to allowing for any seemingly satisfying closure between Alani and their mother, especially when two opportunities were explicitly raised. The nurse suggests Alani arrange for them to take their mother out of the home for a day, presumably to visit her former house one last time before it is sold, and to re-enter that space alongside Alani again...but this never happens, or is even addressed again. Similarly, we follow Alani's photographic endeavor, memorializing different parts of the house where old furniture once stood, which climaxes in them photographing their mother for the first time...only to expose the film to sunlight, rendering it blank. That moment in particular elicited a visceral reaction from me, and I wasn't sure what its motivation was, especially given that Alani seemed to reignite some tenderness towards their mother and didn't end the book wanting to forget her entirely. If you have thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them!
lovepoem4000's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As other reviewers have noted, this book isn’t an easy read. It’s dense and experimental, often surreal. But with the work of reading it comes valuable rewards. I’ve never seen the experience of being nonbinary captured as it is here. I think this book will be looked back on as a classic and a visionary work.
jenniechantal's review against another edition
DNF at 17%
Was not drawn into the story. Lacked emotional connection to the narrator. Found the prose a bit choppy.
Was not drawn into the story. Lacked emotional connection to the narrator. Found the prose a bit choppy.
lesbrarycard's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
4.0
Vanishing Monuments is a beautiful story about identity, and feeling invisible in the face of people who know and love you. It took a long time for me to get into this story but when it finally clicked, it clicked hard. I think this is a book that I would have rather read as a physical book and not an audiobook--while the audio was still gorgeous and the narrator did a fantastic job, there was something about the pacing that made it hard for me to focus. I can tell that there were whole passages I would have highlighted in a physical book as well. Alani is a vulnerable and fascinating character, and I loved the exploration of their identity as a nonbinary person. Their queer friends and relationships were so fulfilling to see and it's clear that the author put so much emotional quality into this story.