A review by annietaber
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

“Unlike any novel I’ve ever read,” says one reviewer on the cover of this book— which is certainly true, given this is simply a fictionalized boring, boring biography of an unlikeable and ripped-off character. I understand that this is a genre feat in and of itself, by re-imagining the US with a seceded South (which was a shallow attempt, in my opinion —

A white supremacist Bernie Sanders presidency? Enough

), combining real life events and people (which ended up being unbelievable rather than clever —

songwriting for David Bowie??

) around a single iconic figure, and using the form of biography as fiction. This is meant as a meditation on the self and life as performance, but I couldn’t be brought to care because both X and CM were so unlikeable and I compelling (X for her pathological cruelty in the name of some perverted “truth” and CM for her total lack of identity and character). Even the satire of genre-pushing art people by X herself fell flat, as the larger project of the book felt like a shock-mongering yet somehow still boring imitation of some modernist/absurdist 20th century work.