mirpanda277's review
4.0
Every woman should read this. Really, every woman should read as many feminist points of view as they can. Roxane Gay writes intimately, intellectually, humorously, pointedly, and illuminatingly. I could go on.
thesunandthesnow's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
kalliegrace's review
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I read Hunger first, this is my second book by the author. I loved both but for some reason it felt like they were written by different people? Maybe it's the tone, this one is a bit more lighthearted dealing with a lot of pop culture. I really enjoyed the easy way she writes intersectional feminism into every aspect of this. I think I read this just in time though, as many of the references are due to become quite dated. Some already are (Cosby). This didn't feel very convicting in any way, as something like Hood Feminism does. Maybe that's because she's trying to explain why she's a "bad feminist" instead of telling us we are.
findyourgoldenhour's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. A couple of the essays are good, but for the most part she doesn't offer anything new here and she often contradicts herself within the same essay. Disappointing.
burstnwithbooks's review
3.0
I liked this, but some of it is woefully out of date at this point. If you were super connected to pop culture in the early 2010s, you'll really enjoy this.
librarianmillie's review
3.0
3.5. I've read some of Gay's work before and I find her Twitter feed amazingly relatable, as such I was relatively excited to read this book. I find Gay shines in her feminist critiques I Was Once Miss America and Girls, Girls, Girls were especially insightful. I related to Gay's self-criticism of being a woman of color, but still really loving the perfect California suburbia of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. As a plus size women, I also immensely enjoyed Reaching for Catharsis: Getting Fat Right (or Wrong) and Diana Spechler's Skinny. I was also a fan of her essays dealing with race and entertainment.
However, I was not a fan of the essays dealing with literary criticism. Not that they weren't well composed, I'm just not a fan- it's why I studied History and not English. I was also not a fan of the essays dealing with men, but again mainly personal. I just simply did not agree with most of her insights. Gay is at times self-indulgent and narcissistic, which would work better if her essays were filled with more humor and self-deprecation. That might be out of the question however, since she is first and foremost an academic. Overall it was still an interesting and important read.
However, I was not a fan of the essays dealing with literary criticism. Not that they weren't well composed, I'm just not a fan- it's why I studied History and not English. I was also not a fan of the essays dealing with men, but again mainly personal. I just simply did not agree with most of her insights. Gay is at times self-indulgent and narcissistic, which would work better if her essays were filled with more humor and self-deprecation. That might be out of the question however, since she is first and foremost an academic. Overall it was still an interesting and important read.