emelynreads's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
She's the ultimate cool girl. And she's so much smarter than me.
My standouts were: Girl on a Motorcycle, We Are Orphans Here, In the Company of Truckers, Not with the Band, Is Prison Necessary?, and the title essay, The Hard Crowd.
My standouts were: Girl on a Motorcycle, We Are Orphans Here, In the Company of Truckers, Not with the Band, Is Prison Necessary?, and the title essay, The Hard Crowd.
rebeccaamir's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.75
cwalsh's review against another edition
4.0
Overall I think this collection suffers from being a bit uneven, but luckily there are more bangers than duds. While I enjoyed her essays on literary and art criticism, I much preferred Kushner's essays on her life and personal experiences.
Favorites: Girl on a Motorcycle, We Are Orphans Here, Made to Burn, Is Prison Necessary?, and The Hard Crowd.
Favorites: Girl on a Motorcycle, We Are Orphans Here, Made to Burn, Is Prison Necessary?, and The Hard Crowd.
allisonreadsabook's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
cchristensen's review against another edition
4.0
Rachel Kuscher exudes cool-tough-girl energy.
With this collection of true stories, she recounts the people she’s met or grown up with. Titling this “the Hard Crowd” is entirely accurate. Stories range from misunderstood artists, drugged out hippies, to the American justice system in a way that can’t help but hold your attention.
I am in awe of Rachel’s way to write stories in such a feminine yet hard way. While she might claim to be the soft one in a hard crowd, she’s the most badass author I’ve read in a while.
With this collection of true stories, she recounts the people she’s met or grown up with. Titling this “the Hard Crowd” is entirely accurate. Stories range from misunderstood artists, drugged out hippies, to the American justice system in a way that can’t help but hold your attention.
I am in awe of Rachel’s way to write stories in such a feminine yet hard way. While she might claim to be the soft one in a hard crowd, she’s the most badass author I’ve read in a while.
andy5185's review against another edition
4.0
Rachel Kushner is SO COOL. These essays just prove it. Such interesting varied topics written in a thoughtful, smart way. She's like the Steve McQueen of writers.
szmay's review against another edition
4.0
If you have read The Flamethrowers and The Mars Room and liked the subject matter and writing style of both, then you will most likely enjoy this collection of seemingly unconnected and previously published essays. However, if you are new to Kushner’s work, start with one of her novels instead. If you identify with the themes in Mars Room or Flamethrowers and/or identify with any parts of those stories, then come back to this.
Many of the critiques of this book focus on the lack of connection between the essays and the themes covered. This is the result of assembling a group of essays that have all been published elsewhere over the past 20 years. But as Kushner makes clear in the preface, they are connected to one another via…. her. Basically, this is a survey of her work and the ideas and themes central to her writing and career . Motorcycles + 1970s Italy + late 20th century punk / drug / underground subcultures and art scenes + prisons = unrelated subjects linked together by their involvement or presence in Kushner’s world.
Fwiw, I picked this up solely for the Denis Johnson and Ruth Wilson Gilmore essays. But I enjoyed the rest of it enough that I tore through the whole book in an afternoon. It’s a fairly light read and there is beautiful writing throughout the collection. I wasn’t especially interested in some of the essays - eg. The 1970s Italian Labor movement - but subject matter is not what’s meant to drive this collection. Instead, what drew me in - and held my interest - was the opportunity to observe Kushner’s mind at work while tackling such broad subject matter.
Many of the critiques of this book focus on the lack of connection between the essays and the themes covered. This is the result of assembling a group of essays that have all been published elsewhere over the past 20 years. But as Kushner makes clear in the preface, they are connected to one another via…. her. Basically, this is a survey of her work and the ideas and themes central to her writing and career . Motorcycles + 1970s Italy + late 20th century punk / drug / underground subcultures and art scenes + prisons = unrelated subjects linked together by their involvement or presence in Kushner’s world.
Fwiw, I picked this up solely for the Denis Johnson and Ruth Wilson Gilmore essays. But I enjoyed the rest of it enough that I tore through the whole book in an afternoon. It’s a fairly light read and there is beautiful writing throughout the collection. I wasn’t especially interested in some of the essays - eg. The 1970s Italian Labor movement - but subject matter is not what’s meant to drive this collection. Instead, what drew me in - and held my interest - was the opportunity to observe Kushner’s mind at work while tackling such broad subject matter.
helenajcassels's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5