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A review by riversnowdrop
In Defence Of The Act by Effie Black
1.0
Other reviewers have put this more eloquently. And I’m trying to be less mean in my reviews of books I really don’t like. Welp, maybe next time.
TW: suicide
I was pretty much off-board with this book when she described identifying as non-binary in your thirties as the equivalent of “mutton dressed as lamb” - as I’m about to be one of those myself, I find it really disappointing when someone (from the supposed “community”) shits on genderqueer rep in older adults, as I believe young people need that more than ever to see a future for themselves. She also used the term “Nbi” (as opposed to enby I guess?) and like,,, you know when someone is part of the queer community but not really part of the *queer* community? That. That for so much of this book tbh.
The author (character?) does not connect the dots to the wider systemic reasons behind suicide and instead individualises it to such a depressing degree. The main character is full of moral superiority that is insufferable: the fact that this hinges on one person’s subjective view of what makes a “good” or “bad” person (and so it follows, what makes a “just” or “unjust” suicide) is really the downfall of this book. Although she makes clear that this character has not been to therapy, I would argue that the complete lack of self-reflection makes for a compassionless story, devoid of any tangible emotion or relatability.
Sometimes queer people are just upholding the status quo, even when they believe they’re saying something radical. Sometimes queer people are still normative. That’s this book in a nutshell: not for me.
TW: suicide
I was pretty much off-board with this book when she described identifying as non-binary in your thirties as the equivalent of “mutton dressed as lamb” - as I’m about to be one of those myself, I find it really disappointing when someone (from the supposed “community”) shits on genderqueer rep in older adults, as I believe young people need that more than ever to see a future for themselves. She also used the term “Nbi” (as opposed to enby I guess?) and like,,, you know when someone is part of the queer community but not really part of the *queer* community? That. That for so much of this book tbh.
The author (character?) does not connect the dots to the wider systemic reasons behind suicide and instead individualises it to such a depressing degree. The main character is full of moral superiority that is insufferable: the fact that this hinges on one person’s subjective view of what makes a “good” or “bad” person (and so it follows, what makes a “just” or “unjust” suicide) is really the downfall of this book. Although she makes clear that this character has not been to therapy, I would argue that the complete lack of self-reflection makes for a compassionless story, devoid of any tangible emotion or relatability.
Sometimes queer people are just upholding the status quo, even when they believe they’re saying something radical. Sometimes queer people are still normative. That’s this book in a nutshell: not for me.