Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Pageboy

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Pageboy by Elliot Page

249 reviews

nad_books623's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

“It is painful the unraveling, but it leads you to you.”

This book would be 5 stars if the timeline wasn’t so confusing. I had to constantly go back or think about the timeline. Due to Elliot mentioning something where he’s 10 for example and then when he’s 33. If it was in chronological order I think it would be easier to piece together.

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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Deciding to love yourself was the whole point of this book. All the ups and downs of life, the self discovery of a trans person. The pain of being trans and living in a world not built for trans people.

While some of the pacing was a bit awkward and the timeline was difficult to follow but I ended up loving listening to this; especially since the author was also the narrator.

I learned a lot about this author and I’m so happy that he was in a place to write this book and share it with the world. I also liked how he mentioned several times about his privilege in a very genuine way, actually acknowledging the problems with trans healthcare and other issues as well.

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halem13's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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lindsaymck's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

It feels odd to give a rating to a memoir, especially one that handles such sensitive experiences. I appreciated the insights EP was willing to share about coming of age in the movie industry and how he constantly navigated his gender inside their rigid expectations. His writing style is sometimes concise and simple, staying towards the surface level of reflection, and other times he includes some poetic prose and dives deep, truly changing my perceptions.

The non-linear structure took a minute to adjust to, but I tried to see that through the lens of natural storytelling as memories and details and revelations came to him. I wonder if a chronological storytelling could’ve helped me understand him better, but think it being non-linear lends itself to the chaos of his hard-fought journey towards his true self.

I am very glad I listened to the book rather than read it myself. Hearing him share his story increases my connection to it. That being said, there is still so much I feel like I don’t know about him, things that could’ve absolutely been explored. The book did take a very personal approach to all of the complex issues he has faced - identity, gender, sexuality, eating disorders, and mental health, among others - but I still felt like I didn’t know him at the end. That thought, though, made me check my own entitlement - I am not entitled to know anything about his experiences other than what he chooses to share - and I do appreciate what he does share for what it reveals about him and all that he has gone through to become who he is.

It seems to me that he did not want his book to be a voice for all transgender people or a source of education for those wishing to learn more about transgenderism. He could have just wanted it to be a cathartic collection of his own experiences, the act of putting them into words adding to the catharsis and giving him the freedom he deserves to feel.

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