mina's review against another edition
this was a lot. i cried so much. and still, i kept rereading certain passages (the ones on photography, on justice, on his youth) and crying over and over again. i really recommend this to everyone, especially if you don't have a good understanding of the aids epidemic in the 80s/90s. it was devastating to learn about in history classes, but even more so when reading the lived experiences of the people who were there. maybe this resonated with me even more since i live in new york? thank you david for your beautiful words, your boldness, and your love. hope you're resting in peace <3
_sfaye_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
now one of my favourite books of all time. this book did so much for me that i am not even going to try to explain in a little storygraph review. i love you david! smell the flowers while you can.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Incest
emsemsems's review against another edition
5.0
Wojnarowicz. Oh my days. Makes me want to scream, and/but also eat some fluffy marshmallows so I won't cry about it. The writing, oh the writing is absolutely fucking glorious. A proper RTC later. Considering this was given to me by one of my dearest, this book deserves more stars than all the stars adorning in the night skies.
jackieeejw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
4.5
Finishing took a lot out of me. It’s an exhausting but vital collection of essays, which jump around from topic to topic but feature absolutely incredible prose and is a unique, non linear and episodic approach to a memoir. Pretty insane how much David managed to do in the last year of his life, despite his diagnosis and the horror of “brush fires on the social landscape”, seeing his friends die one by one by one due to the negligence of government and religious orthodoxy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicide, and Terminal illness
monochrome_jo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
tboltkid's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE this book - as an activist, as a homo, and as an artist. REQUIRED READING.
paulataua's review against another edition
2.0
I became interested in his art a few years ago. As I found out more about him, I became fascinated by his life. Being someone whose greatest risks include not taking an umbrella when there is a ten percent chance of rain, I am always drawn to characters who lived their lives at the edge, and no one fits that description more than Wojnarowicz - gay , male prostitute, political activist, AIDS sufferer, and so on. I decided on the audiobook version, something I sometimes do with memoirs/ biographies, but It really didn’t work for me. I couldn’t easily get what I wanted from his constant playing with the language, a story not being a story unless it is presented a totally new artistic way. And so I switched to reading, which was better by far, but still not wholly satisfying. Lots of descriptions, zippers being unzipped, mouths being filled, sometimes two or three times an essay, but little focus on thoughts and feelings. A rant that got monotonous at times. There were moments that struck home, but it was a story really worth telling that suffered in the telling.
inesparis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
bookishbuket's review against another edition
It took me forever to finish this book. And I just don’t think I can rate something so personal and raw. A harrowing but poignant memoir on poverty, and being gay during the aids crisis, and watching the Reagan era and the war on drugs unfold (amongst many other things). It’s certainly not an easy read to digest both content and language wise. It’s horrifying how lgbt and poverty-stricken individuals and families were treated during those years but at least their stories get to be told here.