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A review by elinordashwood
An Unauthorised Fan Treatise by Lauren James
5.0
4.75 stars
wow. just wow.
Told through blog posts, Tumblr messages, and tweets, An Unauthorized Fan Treatise is internet culture done right. I have been involved in fan culture for a not-insignificant portion of my life, and every depiction so far has fallen flat in my eyes (check my “fan-culture” shelf for proof). But Lauren James nails fan culture to a t. I felt actively uncomfortable reading some of the chapters, seeing the somewhat-obsessive behavior that occurs in actual fan communities depicted.
I worried initially that I was meant to like Gottie, the protagonist and author of the aforementioned blog posts, and that the book would turn out to be a defense of slash culture. I have spoken at length about my distaste for slash culture, and I was fully planning on dnf this if that was how it turned out. But in Chapter 2, Gottie brushes off a Tumblr message asking her about the fetishization of slash relationships, and I knew then that I would love this book.
As a mystery, the book is well thought out, but it’s when it becomes a thriller that things start to get interesting. I read the whole thing in one exhilarating setting, and was on tenterhooks the whole time, waiting for the next plot twist. I wasn’t ever truly scared, but I did feel a need to know what happened next.
Overall, this book takes a much-needed critical look at our relationship to fame, and whether we truly know the people we idolize. It only takes a couple of hours to read, it’s available on the author’s website, and it’s free, so do yourself a favor and check it out!
wow. just wow.
Told through blog posts, Tumblr messages, and tweets, An Unauthorized Fan Treatise is internet culture done right. I have been involved in fan culture for a not-insignificant portion of my life, and every depiction so far has fallen flat in my eyes (check my “fan-culture” shelf for proof). But Lauren James nails fan culture to a t. I felt actively uncomfortable reading some of the chapters, seeing the somewhat-obsessive behavior that occurs in actual fan communities depicted.
I worried initially that I was meant to like Gottie, the protagonist and author of the aforementioned blog posts, and that the book would turn out to be a defense of slash culture. I have spoken at length about my distaste for slash culture, and I was fully planning on dnf this if that was how it turned out. But in Chapter 2, Gottie brushes off a Tumblr message asking her about the fetishization of slash relationships, and I knew then that I would love this book.
As a mystery, the book is well thought out, but it’s when it becomes a thriller that things start to get interesting. I read the whole thing in one exhilarating setting, and was on tenterhooks the whole time, waiting for the next plot twist. I wasn’t ever truly scared, but I did feel a need to know what happened next.
Overall, this book takes a much-needed critical look at our relationship to fame, and whether we truly know the people we idolize. It only takes a couple of hours to read, it’s available on the author’s website, and it’s free, so do yourself a favor and check it out!