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pajge's review against another edition
5.0
woah. this’ll be a long review
i have an incessant need for lesbian literature. i read and research so much of it for many personal reasons, and in all my obscure finds, all my google searches, i have never, ever seen carson mentioned as a lesbian writer or anything, not even a nod to ‘the member of the wedding’, which sounds incredibly queer coded--is code even the right term? it sounds like it’s just there. anyhow, i haven’t read it, i never read carson because i just didn’t know. i found this particular book while sleepily scrolling the new yorker one night. i’m so grateful for that. it’s about the author coming into her own with her discovery of carson’s identity, an identity that’s been intentionally scrubbed and obscured in other biographies. it approaches the ‘reveal’ of what was always there in plain sight, unacknowledged by other biographers, with tactful and careful prose. jenn shapland also hits on the nuances of her undeniable self serving quest to prove carson’s identity in beginning to realise and actualize her own. her anecdotes on discovering herself were just as delightful as those on carson.
carson and mary literally sent each other emily dickinson poems. like, it’s all right there and i can’t imagine how infuriating it must’ve been to research all this and have all these claims made in contradiction to the plain evidence! why aren’t carson and mary regarded as emily and sue, or vita and virginia?
there’s one part i really liked on shapland telling people she was working on this: “But when the person does know Carson’s work, they reply to my mention of her name with a look, a sort of swoon. Isn’t she wonderful? I am never sure how to answer this; yes, I am writing a book about her? I love her, they say, as if this is possible. As I grew closer to Carson through research, it became more and more obvious that I was not alone in my sense of possession, of being possessed.”
Those who saw me reading this, who had read carson, it was that same exact reaction. now i sit alone on my porch having just finished this in the sunlight. feeling so many feelings. appreciation for one. gratitude. love. just read this, read this and tell everyone about it
villagebooksmith's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Reading this after reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was really interesting. There was definitely a lot of Carson in all the major characters in her first published novel, and I definitely want to read more of Carson McCullers’ work in the future.
While this book wasn’t a favorite, I’m glad to have read it. I wish it had gone a bit more in depth into Carson’s politics and how that related to her experience as a queer and disabled/chronically ill person, but I understand Shapland’s focus here, as this biography by means of memoir focused on Shapland’s own lived experiences.
While this book wasn’t a favorite, I’m glad to have read it. I wish it had gone a bit more in depth into Carson’s politics and how that related to her experience as a queer and disabled/chronically ill person, but I understand Shapland’s focus here, as this biography by means of memoir focused on Shapland’s own lived experiences.
ktaylorhurley's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book because it was a National Book Award finalist. I knew nothing about it. And, before starting this book, I didn’t know who Carson McCullers was. Ultimately, none of that matters. This book is direct and honest, but with a lyrical quality. It’s not like anything I’ve ever read, but it’s not avant-garde. The approach is just so personal to the author, it’s impossible for it not to be unique.
pattricejones's review against another edition
Some people will like this a lot. I felt irritated on nearly every page.
The author rightly chastises previous biographers for turning Carson McCullers' female friends/lovers into minor characters in her story. And then the author makes Carson McCullers herself into a minor character in her own banal voyage of discovery, which doesn't even delve deeply into what led her to be so far behind her own times.
And then there are the incessant false comparisons between the author and McCullers, who was very much ahead of her own times. To have been closeted on campus at a time when nearly all colleges had LGBTQ centers or at least organizations, when LGBTQ struggles were on the front pages of newspapers, is exactly the opposite of being boldly queer anyway years before such cultural fixtures existed. I'd have liked this book a lot better if the author had honestly explored those differences rather than constantly seeing herself in someone so unique. In my view, she significantly flattened McCullers by stretching for such comparisons.
The author rightly takes previous biographers to task for presenting the relationship between McCullers and her abusive husband as a great romance. But then the author treats a subsequent relationship with her psychotherapist (!) as a great romance rather than yet another horrific abuse of power within an intimate relationship. Carson "fell in love with" her therapist Mary. Yes, that's what happens, very commonly, within therapy. It's called transference, and the ethical thing for a therapist to do is talk about those feelings in a way that furthers healing -- not act on them!!!
The tragedy, for me, was that the author really did make some amazing and useful discoveries about the life and relationships of Carson McCullers in the course of her research. If only her own preoccupations had not distracted her from doing so, she might have made a major contribution to our understanding of McCullers and her times. There are a few truly gleaming moments when it is possible to see what this book could have been, including but not centering author's own thoughts/feelings as she worked.
The author rightly chastises previous biographers for turning Carson McCullers' female friends/lovers into minor characters in her story. And then the author makes Carson McCullers herself into a minor character in her own banal voyage of discovery, which doesn't even delve deeply into what led her to be so far behind her own times.
And then there are the incessant false comparisons between the author and McCullers, who was very much ahead of her own times. To have been closeted on campus at a time when nearly all colleges had LGBTQ centers or at least organizations, when LGBTQ struggles were on the front pages of newspapers, is exactly the opposite of being boldly queer anyway years before such cultural fixtures existed. I'd have liked this book a lot better if the author had honestly explored those differences rather than constantly seeing herself in someone so unique. In my view, she significantly flattened McCullers by stretching for such comparisons.
The author rightly takes previous biographers to task for presenting the relationship between McCullers and her abusive husband as a great romance. But then the author treats a subsequent relationship with her psychotherapist (!) as a great romance rather than yet another horrific abuse of power within an intimate relationship. Carson "fell in love with" her therapist Mary. Yes, that's what happens, very commonly, within therapy. It's called transference, and the ethical thing for a therapist to do is talk about those feelings in a way that furthers healing -- not act on them!!!
The tragedy, for me, was that the author really did make some amazing and useful discoveries about the life and relationships of Carson McCullers in the course of her research. If only her own preoccupations had not distracted her from doing so, she might have made a major contribution to our understanding of McCullers and her times. There are a few truly gleaming moments when it is possible to see what this book could have been, including but not centering author's own thoughts/feelings as she worked.
samasteiner's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
1.5
The book can be summarized as this: wealthy author co-opts a Southern writer (she hadn't previously read) to meander through her own boring life and uninspired reflections of sexuality, and on the way makes some seriously classist and prejudiced comments and assumptions about the South.
thewordwitch's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.25
lsparrow's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book - part biography part memoir - an exploration of ourselves and what parts of us are untold/hidden/explained. About how in particular queer relationships and identity and chronic illness are retold. I am always interested in queer histories that get lost. And like all books I love - I ended this book with so many more books to read.