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persephonora's review
2.0
I don’t think this book deserves the hype it has. Tolentino was compared to Sontag by The Washington Post and I don’t think Trick Mirror is nearly groundbreaking enough to deserve that high praise. Some of the essays were interesting, but more than half of them sort of fell flat. I think this book would be great for like if Aliens came to earth and we needed to explain the last decade to them. But, for people who have lived through the 2010’s, and who, like Tolentino, use the internet on a regular basis, most of her observations feel pretty obvious. Here are my more detailed thoughts about which essays are worth the read.
* The I in internet – This chapter was pretty interesting, it deals with the way social media has affected our psychology, but because the internet moves so fast, I felt like parts of it were out of touch even now.
* Reality TV me – This was really just a personal narrative of her time on a reality show. In my opinion, it’s not a universal enough experience to be relatable, and it’s not a famous enough reality show/life changing enough experience, for it to be interesting to read about.
* Always be optimizing – This chapter was really good (and also super depressing). I think she wove her personal experience really well into the discussion of body image and beauty standards. I did think that some of the feminist discourse was a little derivative.
* Pure heroines – I actually liked this one, but only because I’m an English Major so I like hearing literary analysis, and also because I had read most of the books she cited so it made me feel good about myself. If you haven’t read most of the books though, I would stay away because there are major spoilers. I think she relied a lot on quoting other authors, though, and there wasn’t that much original work.
* Ecstasy – This one felt really pointless to me. Maybe you would get something out of it if you grew up super religious or have done ecstasy, but to me it felt really out of place in the collection.
* The story of a generation in seven scams – One of my least favorites. Most of the “scams” weren’t actually scams – one of her examples is the 2008 financial crisis. This chapter felt like she watched the Fyre Fest documentary and wrote a summary of it, and then did the same thing for the other 6 “scams.” Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the last 10 years would be familiar with nearly every scandal, and there is so much summary. I didn’t feel like her larger points were good enough to justify the amount of summary, especially because not all of the examples really constitute a “scam.”
* We come from old Virginia – This was an interesting chapter about rape culture and journalism in the #metoo era. Nothing that she said was groundbreaking, and I had kept up a lot with the UVA stories so I felt like I was just hearing a lot of summary that I knew already. But I thought some of her points towards the end were interesting.
* The cult of the difficult woman – This was so derivative. She’s articulating the pitfalls of “girls support girls,” as a way of silencing criticism of conservative women, and the fact that celebrity culture doesn’t reflect normal person life. But I found it a little too neoliberal, even though that seemed to be what she was trying to critique.
* I thee dread – This one was fine. I felt like the type of weddings she described are only the norm in very specific demographic circles. I found the historical background on wedding traditions to be interesting, but I felt like her tone was a little too judgey and not-like-other-girls-y
One final thought: Tolentino criticizes “professional opinion-havers” and the fact that social media has made us all think that our thoughts and opinions are worth sharing. And I get that critique. But it felt a little ironic given that so much of her work was really derivative. Like the Pure Heroines chapter was basically just her musings on some of her favorite books loosely told through a feminist lens. To me that chapter is a perfect example of “professional opinion-having.” And I didn’t dislike that chapter, I merely point this out because I think Tolentino falls into a lot of the traps that she outlines. I personally didn’t connect with her personal essays: “Reality TV and Me” and “Ecstasy” because they felt incredibly self-indulgent. Obviously she can do that if she wants to, it’s her book, but I didn’t enjoy reading about it. And it felt like reading a super long social media post from someone you only marginally know.
* The I in internet – This chapter was pretty interesting, it deals with the way social media has affected our psychology, but because the internet moves so fast, I felt like parts of it were out of touch even now.
* Reality TV me – This was really just a personal narrative of her time on a reality show. In my opinion, it’s not a universal enough experience to be relatable, and it’s not a famous enough reality show/life changing enough experience, for it to be interesting to read about.
* Always be optimizing – This chapter was really good (and also super depressing). I think she wove her personal experience really well into the discussion of body image and beauty standards. I did think that some of the feminist discourse was a little derivative.
* Pure heroines – I actually liked this one, but only because I’m an English Major so I like hearing literary analysis, and also because I had read most of the books she cited so it made me feel good about myself. If you haven’t read most of the books though, I would stay away because there are major spoilers. I think she relied a lot on quoting other authors, though, and there wasn’t that much original work.
* Ecstasy – This one felt really pointless to me. Maybe you would get something out of it if you grew up super religious or have done ecstasy, but to me it felt really out of place in the collection.
* The story of a generation in seven scams – One of my least favorites. Most of the “scams” weren’t actually scams – one of her examples is the 2008 financial crisis. This chapter felt like she watched the Fyre Fest documentary and wrote a summary of it, and then did the same thing for the other 6 “scams.” Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock for the last 10 years would be familiar with nearly every scandal, and there is so much summary. I didn’t feel like her larger points were good enough to justify the amount of summary, especially because not all of the examples really constitute a “scam.”
* We come from old Virginia – This was an interesting chapter about rape culture and journalism in the #metoo era. Nothing that she said was groundbreaking, and I had kept up a lot with the UVA stories so I felt like I was just hearing a lot of summary that I knew already. But I thought some of her points towards the end were interesting.
* The cult of the difficult woman – This was so derivative. She’s articulating the pitfalls of “girls support girls,” as a way of silencing criticism of conservative women, and the fact that celebrity culture doesn’t reflect normal person life. But I found it a little too neoliberal, even though that seemed to be what she was trying to critique.
* I thee dread – This one was fine. I felt like the type of weddings she described are only the norm in very specific demographic circles. I found the historical background on wedding traditions to be interesting, but I felt like her tone was a little too judgey and not-like-other-girls-y
One final thought: Tolentino criticizes “professional opinion-havers” and the fact that social media has made us all think that our thoughts and opinions are worth sharing. And I get that critique. But it felt a little ironic given that so much of her work was really derivative. Like the Pure Heroines chapter was basically just her musings on some of her favorite books loosely told through a feminist lens. To me that chapter is a perfect example of “professional opinion-having.” And I didn’t dislike that chapter, I merely point this out because I think Tolentino falls into a lot of the traps that she outlines. I personally didn’t connect with her personal essays: “Reality TV and Me” and “Ecstasy” because they felt incredibly self-indulgent. Obviously she can do that if she wants to, it’s her book, but I didn’t enjoy reading about it. And it felt like reading a super long social media post from someone you only marginally know.
stllyltc's review against another edition
The book started off exceptionally well, and I initially believed I would enjoy it thoroughly. However, I discovered that my interest was mainly captured by the first half of the story. The latter parts, while intriguing, didn't resonate with my preferences as much. Skimming through these sections proved futile and ultimately felt like a waste of time.
kingslam's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I first started this book when I was 18. I thought that Tolentino’s prose was masterful and that her critique was mind blowing. Back then, her articles were part of what introduced me to theory in relation to culture. Finishing this book three years into a social science degree, I found that I have more criticisms and disagreements with her essays. I still think her prose is great. There are some beautiful lines in these essays. But I’ve read so many essays and articles now. I’m able to see more flaws in her lines of reasoning. I can form thoughtful critiques of her subject matter. It’s strange how what once seemed to me like pinnacle of culture criticism now reads more like theory dumbed down for a general audience. Picking the book up again years later really showed me the level of growth I’ve had over the years.
I still enjoyed these essays. The one on religion and ecstasy was my favourite. I imagine myself going back to it. It does feel very dated to what people were thinking about in the mid- to late-2010s, but I find that being able to pinpoint the cultural atmosphere something was written in is not an inherently bad trait. I still read Tolentino’s articles from time to time. She has a unique voice and discernment that I find compelling.
I still enjoyed these essays. The one on religion and ecstasy was my favourite. I imagine myself going back to it. It does feel very dated to what people were thinking about in the mid- to late-2010s, but I find that being able to pinpoint the cultural atmosphere something was written in is not an inherently bad trait. I still read Tolentino’s articles from time to time. She has a unique voice and discernment that I find compelling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Bullying
kcrawfish's review
3.0
3.5 stars - a well researched, well worn look at life through the lens of being a woman and the past few years of Western title 9, Lulu lemon, and #metoo, with trips to 90s/2000s proto-reality television and the Peace-core that add variety to an otherwise Western look at women’s experience within the past decade.
There are well researched meditations on how each movement capitalizes on, consumes, simplifies, or complicates womanhood and our relation to it as a society. There is also an overly long essay on facebook, and a few paragraphs I would have slashed with an editing pen.
There are well researched meditations on how each movement capitalizes on, consumes, simplifies, or complicates womanhood and our relation to it as a society. There is also an overly long essay on facebook, and a few paragraphs I would have slashed with an editing pen.
johnchan's review
4.75
one of the essay collections that should be taught. this us how you write essays. didn’t personally connect with it very much, though