Reviews

The Breaks: An Essay by Julietta Singh

alicebilger's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

clar_a's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

i like middlecutie very much, thank you 

extase_3r1c's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.5

sara_shocks's review against another edition

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4.0

Compassionate meditations on mothering

carlavillalon's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

4.0

christina_with_ch's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

booksarentbinary's review against another edition

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5.0

For me, this essay was resonant beyond possible annotation! Every line sews an accessible thread into both the inherited and the imagined worlds.

Singh unfolded a cohesive theme of vulnerability politics, a cyclic transformation of ‘the breaks’ into mends that echo as we as actively discuss identity through the lens of accessibility with more societal awareness than ever before.

I appreciated the authors expression of explorative relationship structure and queer cohabitation, dwelling within safe spaces designed for adjacent living. The fertile representation of the other, the alternate is both plangent and inspiring.

With the essence of becoming, I will eagerly await a re-reading of this in aid of navigating the terrain of residence, chosen family, community presence and queer mothering for one’s own.

aimeewoodworks's review against another edition

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4.25

thought provoking

em_harring's review against another edition

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4.0

A meditation on race and the current state of America (or the world, in the case of the climate crisis) written by Singh to her daughter, in the same vein as "My Dungeon Shook" and Between the World and Me.

So much of this long essay is so beautifully, eloquently stated. It's clear that Singh is an academic not only through her references but just in the way that she writes and thinks. This is definitely a "thinky" essay, which means that it's a bit more distanced than either of the other works I mentioned above. I didn't feel as emotionally connected to the essay as I did to either "My Dungeon Shook" and Between the World and Me.

I'm also unsure that all the threads came together by the end. It's possible they weren't meant to, which I get. But some narratives felt out of place or didn't connect in a way that totally made sense to me in context. I did enjoy the fact that it was one long essay, not broken into sections, though. I think that made sense for what Singh did.

I also loved the discussion on queer collective living and queer architecture. I want an essay on that!

Overall, I'd highly recommend and will check out more by Singh.

pearlymilktea's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25