Reviews

The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry

chb113's review against another edition

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3.75

Very interesting read however the chapters had no real switch in context and the facts quoted weren't referenced at all

coronaurora's review

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4.0

Impassioned and well-argued plea to all current and prospective men to take on their gender role with more emotional literacy, openness to failure and adaptability rather than donning the straitjackets handed down to them. I can't fault that one bit as the whole gender-as-learned-performance thesis has always had more traction for me than the overstated biological differences. It's filled with pithy dissection of the social mores, the "normal" defined and thrusted through cultural outlets by the Default White Man including the cinematic "gaze", the pathological habits in imprinting gender habits and tragicomic ways in which contemporary men seem to botch fitting themselves into the mould of the "Ideal Man". The extrapolations to societal and political disorder from problematic gender inhabitation gave me much to think about. Perry draws a lot from his own experiences and work which gave his opinions weight and I agreed with his informed little manifesto for manhood's future.

tdanskin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

raelovestoread's review

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4.0

This was an interesting examination of masculinity and its wider impact on society.

I will admit that (intuitively) I am more of an individualist than is fashionable at the moment, but Grayson Perry makes some excellent points and this was an eloquent, readable work that provided me with lots of food for thought.

Recommended for those interested in gender dynamics and the moving Zeitgeist.

emily_burchell7's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

rachelisreading_'s review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative medium-paced

3.5

nikki_deanmarshall's review

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3.0

3.5. Good book and worth a read. Would have been good to have known where he was getting the numbers from. Enjoyed the cartoons and he has an engaging and easy writing style

ellentaylor's review

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3.0

I agreed with most of the points made, but I don’t think they were always communicated well and I would have liked to see more evidence to back up the claims. But overall an enjoyable read.

ceejcook's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective fast-paced

3.75

lottie1803's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25