Reviews

Questo è il piacere by Mary Gaitskill

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missdaisy17's review against another edition

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dark funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

tilda_bookworm's review against another edition

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3.0

Other reviewers have suggested this is anti-"me too" or belittling of women calling out rape culture but I disagree. I also saw one that mentioned that the female characters blended together, but I think that's the point; from Quin's perspective women aren't distinct or probably even human. I thought it was interesting seeing Margot trying to distance herself from the "other girls" but finding it hard to justify how she is different, even to herself. I liked that Quin was portrayed as self-centred and such a dickhead and lacking any self-awareness whatsoever, because I do think many men who do things like this also don't see themselves as the problem and sort of think of themselves as not like the other (bad) men as well. I often like novellas but I would have preferred this to be a bit longer for some more exploration of the themes and room for more character growth from Margot.

emilybilodeau's review against another edition

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4.0

Oh yeah, everyone should read this too

hannahinpages's review against another edition

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idk what to think here.

leahrenz's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fantastic short story investigating #MeToo themes through the lens of a ~20 year friendship. Very believable characters and very well-written.

Quin - though outrageous, and I'm not sure I've met someone like him - feels like a very real person, and the inability to understand how him 'being himself' might hurt (not only offend, but hurt) other people also feels very accurate to his type. They cannot disconnect their inner motive, which is not evil, which the way in which their actions are felt by others.

Margot too feels like a real person who can hold in tension their disapproval, and again real pain at her friend's actions, with her defense of him. The fact that Quin is largely unaware of Margot's feelings on this front also seems accurate, and her inability in the moment to mention it because it's all said so fast - I've been in situations like this myself.

I don't think that Gaitskill is trying to defend men like Quin or people who have pinched bottoms or made provactive sexual statements in the office. For me, this was not what many reviewers have described as "the other side of #MeToo". I feel it's assumed that the reader will agree, for the most part, that Quin behaved horribly and ought to be ostracised.

I do see however how someone might come at this as "political correctness gone too far" defense - but I would argue that this person would not have read the book in all it's complexity, particularly Margot's feelings towards Quin. The way in which Quin sometimes describes or defends his encounters also indicates a clear 'other side' to the story - how 'willing' was she? Is Quin *really* a defender of freedom and honesty? Etc etc.

I think this novel also makes the important point that bad people can do/support good things and vice versa, or perhaps that someone can simultaneously be causing pain and bringing pleasure, through very similar methods. At least, that's my reading of it. I think there's much else you can take away from it, which is part of what makes it such a great short story.

micheleamar's review against another edition

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4.0

I didn’t feel anger. I don’t remember what I felt, exactly, except a strange, muted combination of incredulity and acceptance. It didn’t occur to me to say anything to him about it until much later. He didn’t remember the conversation, but he apologized anyway; he didn’t understand why I was upset. “I was just trying to find something positive in it,” he said. And I imagine that was true. But inside I stayed angry. At the same time, I still loved him. I still leaned on him for support and counsel. I was like the women who didn’t stop him and who acted like his friends even as they grew angrier and angrier. It wasn’t because he had more power than I did; that didn’t really matter. And it wasn’t because I’m like a horse. I don’t know why I behaved the way I did, and I kept doing it; he kept doing it. The little jabs and jokes he’d always made, artfully woven in with his habitual flattery, stung, like the bites of an invisible insect (“I think it’s interesting that you pay so much more attention to your appearance than you did even just five years ago”). And though I might once have easily brushed them away, suddenly I could not. Nor could I confront him. The conversation moved too quickly.

I literally want to scream into a pillow and never stop, thank you so much for making me lose my sanity.