Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Pageboy

It's hard to rate memoirs and I think Elliot has the right to share his story however he feels best represents what he has to say. But in my opinion this book fell really flat. I felt that it would have benefited from a linear storyline and found jumping from one age to another without any indication of doing so really confusing and disjointed. I also just felt that it lacked introspection. We heard incredibly graphic depictions of homophobia, abuse, and his sexual exploits, but it felt like we got the pain without the resolution or growth from it. And hey, maybe that is where he's at in his life! Maybe he is still processing all this pain and still has growing and reflection to do. I guess I just struggled with /why/ he wrote the book. I can see how it would be cathartic for him to let all this out, but I'm not sure what the reader has to gain from it. Overall, I appreciate that he shared his story and I'm glad I read it, it just really left me wanting more in the bad way.

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kelisabeth's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.25

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moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

I really loved this! It seems like the nonlinear story telling is something that folks seem really divided on, but I thought he did it really well. I enjoyed the way he wrote generally speaking, but also specifically the nonlinear narrative.

I really resonated with the way he described some more internal experiences - as a fellow pisces, that internal escapism is unfortunately quite a mood (especially re: the closet and gender dysphoria). I really enjoyed the different aspects of relationships he discussed in here and the discussion of boundaries and autonomy. There were definitely some hard parts to read emotionally, but it was all really well done and I really liked this book!

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hotwaterbottle's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

3.5

Disclaimer: I'm not much of a memoir reader.

Enjoyed:

- Seeing glimpses of Elliot's experience in the film industry, including responses to his queerness and the behind the scenes of a handful of his projects

- Following the long road to accepting his transness, untangling family dynamics, and addressing

an eating disorder

- Better understanding of the predatory people and violent queerphobia Elliot has survived

- A comparison of coming out as gay versus coming out as trans (though I would have been interested in more depth)

Did not enjoy:

- Awkward inclusion of random facts (the height of trees in a park, the year the word "permaculture" was coined)

- Constant jumping back and forth in time, which made it difficult to understand the sequence of events and how Elliot's experiences shaped him

- Lack of reflection on or time spent with his life and career after coming out as trans

- A jarringly private mention of a sexual encounter with a fellow actor

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alastair_james's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

3.0

Loved reading about his story, but I could barely follow the writing at times. He jumps around in time so much I can't quite understand what he's talking about. And some passages are quite triggering, with no warning offered beforehand.

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jnestwd's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

"It was too much to play a role on-screen when the role I played in my personal life was suffocating me already."

Pageboy by Elliot Page sheds light on the cruel, messy, and often torturous experience of growing up transgender in the Hollywood spotlight.

As a life-long fan of Elliot's acting work, and as a fellow queer, I was excited to read this as part of a queer book club.

I devoured the pages, feeling mostly extraordinarily uncomfortable by the pain and shockingly relatable emotional abuse that Elliot endured as a child from those meant to love and support him, finding few moments of joy and laughter as I annotated my copy of the book.

Rating this book is tricky, as on one hand, I deeply related to, and understood much of Page's pain. But on the other, found, at many times, the prose to be overly self-indulgent and often lit with cliches. As with many of the other reviews, I agree that the writing could have been tightened up. Elliot's search for catharsis through the writing of this work bleeds through the page and whilst I applaud his openness and vulnerability from a lifetime of keeping his true thoughts and feelings bottled up inside, it has a tendency to read like a diary entry.

The timeline jumps back and forth without a common thread or obvious purpose, and in my view the book is best read as a collection of personal essays rather than a linear memoir.

THAT BEING SAID! I genuinely enjoyed this book and felt deeply moved by it. The anecdotes on the different healthy relationships Elliot has made throughout his life were beautiful and inspiring, and I enjoyed chuckling along with certain queer tendencies that exist no matter your gender (immediately falling in love. amirite.)

Honestly, go off Elliot. You deserve to have your voice heard, multiple references to shitting and all. Love you xoxoxo

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rizzykaye's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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