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redbirdwings's review
3.0
This is the first book I’ve read of the Object Lessons series, but I admire what the author attempts to invoke with the use of stickers throughout the narrative. As the author begins each section with a specific sticker design, they continue into a memory of their life and how the environment of their home town of Charlottesville, Virginia, has changed since the neo-Nazi rally that resulted in one woman’s death in 2017.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
elizelizeliz's review
4.0
This series of vignettes both gave me a sense of Charlottesville (i loved the mix of perspectives from childhood and adulthood) and built a picture of Hoke's life, especially coming of age as a queer kid. It was fun and easy to read and pulled me along, but with these moments of tenderness punctuating the book. I don't always like essay collections, but this felt like a mosaic of a memoir.
runningjenw's review
4.0
Part of a series of books that examine the ordinary life of everyday things, Sticker (Object Lessons) is so much more than I expected. Sticker is a memoir told in stickers. For those of us who grew up in the 80's and 90's, there are some especially fun throwbacks. Do you remember stickers from your childhood? What about the constellation stickers that were meant to go on a bedroom ceiling and mimic the night sky? What about the fruit sticker on the Chiquita brand banana? Did you ever buy a CD that came with the Parental Advisory sticker on the front? I bet most of you haven't given much thought to these stickers in quite some time. I hadn't either! This slim volume contains multitudes pulled from the every day banality of stickers and brings meaning into them in a unique way. Each sticker evokes a memory in the author, from something simple, like a sticker meant to signal harmful chemicals on household cleaners, to something meaningful like the 'HH' sticker that is most likely meant to represent a town, but instead, under the context of a white supremacist rally that the author is protesting, comes to mean "Heil Hitler". I was drawn in by the stories and the writing style. This book is a fast read, with a big punch.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-ARC.
sharondblk's review
4.0
I've read a bunch of the Object Lesson series. They are always about more than the purported subject, and they always have elements of gonzo journalism or experiential teaching included. this takes it up a notch and is more a madcap memoir of Henry Hoke than any provision of information about stickers. Henry himself advises the reader to look up Wikipedia if what you are after is a history of stickers. Each chapter focusses on an incident, metaphorically illustrated by a sticker. This book could have been made even better by each chapter starting with an illustration of the sticker - but I was reading a review e-copy (thanks netgalley) so maybe they will include this in the final edition.
fiendfull's review
4.0
Sticker is a a memoir told in 20 stickers, as Henry Hoke explores growing up in and being from Charlottesville, having a disabled parent, and sexuality all through the lens of particular stickers. From stickers never had to those more ubiquitous, each chapter using the sticker as a starting point, as Hoke explores childhood, violence, and legacy.
This is the first book from the Object Lessons series that I've read, and it was not what I might've expected, not a history or philosophical look at an object, but using the object in question to explore personal history and emotion. In particular, the book explores being from a place known for white supremacist violence, whose name became a byword for a fascist terrorist attack. Seeing as stickers are often used by neo-fascists to spread hate, this adds a layer of complexity to the idea of the object covered in the book: stickers are not just a site of childhood joy and sometimes pain, but also part of something larger. This is also true of other elements of the book, like not being able to have a sticker for giving blood if you're a man who has sex with men, and it's clever how Hoke manages to explore so many emotions and experiences organised around stickers.
The book's cover, with the unicorn and rainbow stickers, might not make it clear how much this book engages with what I don't want to call 'the darker side of stickers', but the elements of stickers that go beyond something cute to adorn notebooks with or give to a child. The concept of the book makes me wonder what objects you could view your life through and where objects have a lot more complexity than you might first think (so maybe I need to read more of the series). If you like reading short memoirs with overarching themes or structural conceits, Sticker is a book to give a go, particularly if you're interested in reading about experiences of being a white queer person in Charlottesville and consider how people are privileged or see things in certain ways.
This is the first book from the Object Lessons series that I've read, and it was not what I might've expected, not a history or philosophical look at an object, but using the object in question to explore personal history and emotion. In particular, the book explores being from a place known for white supremacist violence, whose name became a byword for a fascist terrorist attack. Seeing as stickers are often used by neo-fascists to spread hate, this adds a layer of complexity to the idea of the object covered in the book: stickers are not just a site of childhood joy and sometimes pain, but also part of something larger. This is also true of other elements of the book, like not being able to have a sticker for giving blood if you're a man who has sex with men, and it's clever how Hoke manages to explore so many emotions and experiences organised around stickers.
The book's cover, with the unicorn and rainbow stickers, might not make it clear how much this book engages with what I don't want to call 'the darker side of stickers', but the elements of stickers that go beyond something cute to adorn notebooks with or give to a child. The concept of the book makes me wonder what objects you could view your life through and where objects have a lot more complexity than you might first think (so maybe I need to read more of the series). If you like reading short memoirs with overarching themes or structural conceits, Sticker is a book to give a go, particularly if you're interested in reading about experiences of being a white queer person in Charlottesville and consider how people are privileged or see things in certain ways.
audreyapproved's review
2.0
A memoir as told by stickers… interesting idea, but this was honestly pretty boring/disjointed. I didn’t get a great sense of Hoke, nor was I impressed by the imagery or writing. I’m pretty sure I’ll remember almost none of this a month from now.
I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and Bloomsbury Academic in exchange for an honest review.
I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley and Bloomsbury Academic in exchange for an honest review.
jdscott50's review
funny
informative
sad
fast-paced
5.0
"I was thinking about all the rubbish, the flopping plastic in the branches, the shoreline of odd stuff caught along the fencing, and I half-closed my eyes and imagined this was the spot where everything I'd ever lost since my childhood had washed up..."
Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go
Objects can hold great personal power. It could be a toy from your childhood, your first, car, for Henry Hoke it is stickers. As our personal artifacts become increasingly digital, the power of small objects can tell the story of a life. In Henry Hoke's book, Sticker, he uses a series of stickers to detail his life and the community of Charlottesville, Virginia leading up to the deadly Unite The Right Rally in 2017.
Growing up in Virginia can make you unaware of the dark history within. This can be represented in how local holidays are celebrated. Lee-Jackson-King Day was celebrated (Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson, both Confederate War Generals celebrated on the same day as Martin Luther King Day from 1984 to 2000) instead of Martin Luther King Day. Hoke blends this local history and symbolism with his own. Hoke focuses on objects from his childhood. A constellation on the ceiling of his room or an anarchy sticker during a rebellious phase. Finally the Charlottesville sticker, a C-HEART-Ville to commemorate the community's resistance to the deadly White Suppremicist rally that led to violent clashes and death on August 12, 2017.
Each chapter focuses on a sticker with a story that follows, much like a writer's prompt. I liked this technique. It makes the experience very visceral. Some aspects felt very nostalgic for me (video stories, music choices, etc.) It is a very moving series of essays that are inspired by very small objects. Objects like these can carry powerful symbols both for evil and for good.
Kazuo Ishiguro Never Let Me Go
Objects can hold great personal power. It could be a toy from your childhood, your first, car, for Henry Hoke it is stickers. As our personal artifacts become increasingly digital, the power of small objects can tell the story of a life. In Henry Hoke's book, Sticker, he uses a series of stickers to detail his life and the community of Charlottesville, Virginia leading up to the deadly Unite The Right Rally in 2017.
Growing up in Virginia can make you unaware of the dark history within. This can be represented in how local holidays are celebrated. Lee-Jackson-King Day was celebrated (Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson, both Confederate War Generals celebrated on the same day as Martin Luther King Day from 1984 to 2000) instead of Martin Luther King Day. Hoke blends this local history and symbolism with his own. Hoke focuses on objects from his childhood. A constellation on the ceiling of his room or an anarchy sticker during a rebellious phase. Finally the Charlottesville sticker, a C-HEART-Ville to commemorate the community's resistance to the deadly White Suppremicist rally that led to violent clashes and death on August 12, 2017.
Each chapter focuses on a sticker with a story that follows, much like a writer's prompt. I liked this technique. It makes the experience very visceral. Some aspects felt very nostalgic for me (video stories, music choices, etc.) It is a very moving series of essays that are inspired by very small objects. Objects like these can carry powerful symbols both for evil and for good.
travelseatsreads's review
slow-paced
3.0
Sticker is essentially a memoir constructed of a series of essays all revolving around 20 stickers. The author, Henry Hoke, uses each of the 20 stickers to springboard into a story or memory from his past. As a concept this really intrigued me, I was definitely one of those kids who was obsessed with collecting stickers.
Overall it was an interesting read that gave a good insight into the authors upbringing but it didn't set my world on fire. There were some interesting stories but some others felt repetitive and rambling.
Overall it was an interesting read that gave a good insight into the authors upbringing but it didn't set my world on fire. There were some interesting stories but some others felt repetitive and rambling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism