The book ostensibly tackles the question of what we do with the artists whose art we love who were pretty bad human beings. Definitely a post-#metoo bThe book ostensibly tackles the question of what we do with the artists whose art we love who were pretty bad human beings. Definitely a post-#metoo book, but historically broader and centered more on fans' and followers' emotional connection to the artwork -- in other words, how are *we* implicated in all this? -- than on the artists and the particular details of their badness. Dederer isn't satisfied with simple answers, and each chapter takes on a particular figure (Woody Allen, Pablo Picasso, Miles Davis) to unspool a particular thread of this ethical and emotional question. The writing is sometimes great, and sometimes seems fragmentary and half-baked. The section toward the end about monstrous female artists who 'abandoned' their children (abandoned being defined pretty broadly) belonged in another book. I realize she is underscoring that all humans can be pretty terrible sometimes and that art may require artists to often fail at relational commitments; I just didn't care that the author felt bad about being a writer and a mother. ...more
I'm of two minds on this one. Some of the essays in this collection are so incisive (specifically, on sexual violence and rape culture, and 'The Help'I'm of two minds on this one. Some of the essays in this collection are so incisive (specifically, on sexual violence and rape culture, and 'The Help' and 'Django Unchained') and others are just...meh, like the thought was only partially fleshed out. I really appreciate that Gay seems really comfortable in her own skin. Her writing is casual and off-the-cuff. But man, some of the sentences are clunkers. I guess I was surprised that the writing wasn't awesome. Still, a worthy read for anyone interested in feminism, black identity, and pop culture. ...more
This was my introduction to Ann Patchett, and I listened to most of it on the way to and from Thanksgiving in Ohio. Expectedly, the prose is lovely, eThis was my introduction to Ann Patchett, and I listened to most of it on the way to and from Thanksgiving in Ohio. Expectedly, the prose is lovely, exacting, and moving without veering into sentimentality. I did find the collection a bit uneven, and think it could have been pared down to about 15 of the best essays. Some of which I thought were the following:
-- Nonfiction: An Introduction (read this if you have ever put pen to paper not for school) -- How to Read a Christmas Story -- The Sacrament of Divorce -- The Love Between the Two Women Is Not Normal --This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (of course)
I loved hearing Patchett's voice, and some of the essays I listened to more than once. So now it's on to "Bel Canto" for me. ...more
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