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mpayne18's review against another edition
2.0
interesting i guess but gets a little annoying. if you’re gonna be unhinged do it creatively.
parksystems's review against another edition
2.0
the core summary concept of the book is SO GOOD, and then reading the actual book is SO BAD - moments of lucidity interrupting an endless ocean of jingoist beat poet masturbatory declarations - TECHNOSEXOPHARMAPORNOGRAPHIC. If someone isnt an academic they likely wouldnt be able to understand the tangled mess of academic references woven with the authors (boring) dear diary diatribes. i think many people rate / promote the main concept but dont actually close read this garbage drivel. or maybe they dont know a lot of the academic work hes referencing and in that, proclaim "impressed" when they are in fact surrendering to self-debased confusion. i wanted to like this, had considered it an important reference for so many years, so i tried so hard and just found it such a painful read, dragging myself thru it. Sometimes a painful read is worthy, but this one was unproductive, offering nothing beyond what one can get from the synopsis, so - SAVE YOURSELF. read the summary, wow at the profundity and move along.
adammm's review against another edition
3.0
great Foucauldian analysis with a fascinating contribution to the literature with pharmacopornographic biopower (i.e., we are formed based on our experience with drugs, gender, and sex; our very subjectivities are defined by them; yet all of this is controlled by the state)
meets
very uneven autotheory approach in which some chapters are almost stream of consciousness, complete with loose citations and hand-drawn charts and images of drugs, while others are very lucid, clear historical timelines, engaging with the likes of Derrida and Butler (etc)
the issue? this style doesn't really work for me.
a quote, just to give you an idea of what to expect from the autotheory side of things:
"Victor is an impassable 'bottom.' He can take everything I find. He smiles when he comes and never tires out. Every day, at 5:30 p.m., bus 69 takes him to his work as a linguistic masturbator. When he leaves the house, his skin is hyperoxygenated, but his legs are trembling." (126)
meets
very uneven autotheory approach in which some chapters are almost stream of consciousness, complete with loose citations and hand-drawn charts and images of drugs, while others are very lucid, clear historical timelines, engaging with the likes of Derrida and Butler (etc)
the issue? this style doesn't really work for me.
a quote, just to give you an idea of what to expect from the autotheory side of things:
"Victor is an impassable 'bottom.' He can take everything I find. He smiles when he comes and never tires out. Every day, at 5:30 p.m., bus 69 takes him to his work as a linguistic masturbator. When he leaves the house, his skin is hyperoxygenated, but his legs are trembling." (126)
jowixx's review against another edition
5.0
Paul B. Preciado zapisuje mocną biopolityczną teorię ciałem i w ciele, odnajduje farmakopornografię zarówno we własnych afektach i działaniach, jak i w historii XX wieku, raz po raz wykracza poza konstrukt płci swoim doświadczeniem i demaskacją dyskursów, ale przede wszystkim grzebie ukochanego, a przeżywając żałobę, uprawia queerowy seks jako filozofię i fikcję wcieleń.
A robi to po mistrzowsku. Tak że dech zapiera i nic nie jest już takie samo.
A robi to po mistrzowsku. Tak że dech zapiera i nic nie jest już takie samo.
howard's review against another edition
4.0
I both learned an incredible amount from this book and also didn't understand a single thought that Preciado put to page.
I don't really understand the choice to alternate chapters between hardcore academia and experience's from Preciado's own life but I find myself glad they were included. I very much enjoyed the break from theory and I also highly related to the sex, self-discovery, and love that explode during a period of significant grief. Relatable, yet also, ???
I don't really understand the choice to alternate chapters between hardcore academia and experience's from Preciado's own life but I find myself glad they were included. I very much enjoyed the break from theory and I also highly related to the sex, self-discovery, and love that explode during a period of significant grief. Relatable, yet also, ???
caedocyon's review against another edition
4.0
FINALLY MADE IT. The trick with this one was to not read sentences more than twice (and ideally not more than once). Didn't have any idea what the fuck they were talking about? Fuck it, press on! I still can't use the word necropolitics in a sentence but I learned some interesting shit about the Pill being tested on PR women and I got the outlines of Preciado's gender theory.
And the interpersonal drama, and lots of details and intellectualizing about Preciado's sex life and drug use, and so on and so forth. I don't think that was the point, but you know what, it wasn't contrary to the point either, and I'm here for it.
Either the translator or Preciado himself does not know what "cis" means; I understood more when I realized that every occurrence of "cis woman" was supposed to be "dyadic female-assigned person." There's a limit to how much of the confusion between those two things you can chalk up to Preciado being in denial about being trans at the time he wrote it; some of those sentences just don't make sense otherwise.
And the interpersonal drama, and lots of details and intellectualizing about Preciado's sex life and drug use, and so on and so forth. I don't think that was the point, but you know what, it wasn't contrary to the point either, and I'm here for it.
Either the translator or Preciado himself does not know what "cis" means; I understood more when I realized that every occurrence of "cis woman" was supposed to be "dyadic female-assigned person." There's a limit to how much of the confusion between those two things you can chalk up to Preciado being in denial about being trans at the time he wrote it; some of those sentences just don't make sense otherwise.
edenlnc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
3. This kept my attention but I feel it was written for someone who is equally as familiar with Foucault, etc.