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lesbiangrandpa's review against another edition
5.0
Dang. I am so thankful Alexander Chee and this book exist. Chee clearly remains an activist for so many people and reasons and manages to do some exemplary work in the worlds of personal emotional labor and empathy and intelligence. Here, the reader (and writer) get answers to the question: "What is even the point?" through a writing around and connecting of the fragments, of an identity continually in the making.
youngthespian42's review against another edition
4.0
I read this essay collection for a book club of mine. While some of the essays are interesting and hit harder than others the collection overall is strong. More impressive than the content is the structure of the collection. This book feels structured around a memoir or consistent narrative even though it is a collection of essays. Highly recommend especially to those aspiring writing or people interested in the craft.
issieread's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
servemethesky's review against another edition
Wasn’t actually about how to write an autobiographical novel. So boring. Found the author insufferable.
mikayladlewis's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Absolute perfection. Some essays hit harder than others but loved this collection.
abasdeo's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Chee, maybe unintentionally, really illuminated how self conscious I feel about writing or even thinking about my life, the stories I have, and the terror I have of sharing them. By sharing his life, the less talked about parts of money, shame, abuse, and work within the context of so many hyphenated identities- opening the words we use to describe ourselves into intimate vignettes. He shows us how to do a thing that appears easy at first, underestimating the pulping of self reflection, that peels out like the heart of a mango. I loved the taste of this book. I only wished I could have known at the beginning what I found out at the end but in a miracle of writing- isn’t that just life?