Reviews

I Love Dick by Chris Kraus

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rebeccadoctor's review against another edition

4.0

Picking this book up from the communal bookshelf in a friend's shared house to find it intensely annotated, with brightly coloured tabs on many pages, I was intrigued. I downloaded the audiobook for the drive home and found myself completely compelled by Chris and her journey, her honesty, her relationships and her tangents. As a filmmaker (though I make little of my own work, instead committing my time to assist others in making sunday night television and rap music videos) I like to think I have something in common with Chris, or at least we have a lot of shared interests. Her reflections on art and polite society were greatly entertaining, and her draw toward this mysterious academic man being so intertwined with revitalising her fading relationship with her husband made for a complex and fascinating story.

bookgurl666's review

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2.0

this took me a month to read - not very compelling. i think if i binge read it would have been better, but the story wasn’t compelling enough not what tj do that, or really finish it. glad i did, ending became more interesting. the afterword helped gain needed perspective to appreciate the story line and nuances of her writing.

ferris_mx's review against another edition

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4.0

Selected as a followup to Old Flame, which discusses I Love Dick extensively.
A challenging (for me) work of art, where the author inserts herself as a character into a story she writes. Similar to Hannah Wilke (discussed in and discovered through I Love Dick), whose art features her naked body, this art features Kraus's naked soul. I can see why Dick (Hebdige) was uncomfortable *also* being featured in this performance art. But then, he didn't need to indulge or have sex with Kraus either.

The feminist angle seems a bit primitive from today's perspective, but definitely accurate and it feels like a positive influence on the evolution of feminist culture.

unidentifiedgemstone's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

stupidgoldfish's review against another edition

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Nothing happens in this book. I’m confused as to why it is praised as a feminist masterpiece when it’s just about someone infatuated with a man? Anyway I gave it til half way and couldn’t continue. Life is too short.

ichirofakename's review against another edition

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4.0

Somebody is trying WAY to hard. And preaching to a very small choir. Still, a nicely puzzling read. Perhaps better not to know that most of the characters are real people, under their real names.