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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
3.5. Good collection, one for Nelson fans and completists.
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
a really fascinating and discursive series of essays and conversations - definitely some artists to follow up on, although the third conversation, for whatever reason, didn't really click for me and had to power through it a bit. i think being aware of these thoughts of nelson when i inevitably read through their collected works will be interesting, as normally you would read a book like this after more familiarity than a single title read.
pretty bummed about this one. there are some brilliant moments in this because maggie is brilliant, but i am so frustrated by the form of this book.
we are living in a moment where content is repackaged in order to produce new “value” for it (something nelson herself reflects on with eileen myles in the final conversation of this book). we are constantly fed ten installments of a film franchise; social media content riffs on the same joke for weeks on end; musicians release a slew of remixes, LP variants, and rereleases with “bonus content” so their super fans can collect what have now inevitably become tchotchkes. as sianne ngai has helpfully theorized, we are living in the moment of the gimmick.
and unfortunately, this book is a gimmick. you can find all of these essays and conversations online or in magazines, probably mostly for free… or you can pay $32 for all of these in a book. i’m not necessarily saying there is no value in anthology, but most of these essays read like early-hipster-insider-new-york pieces that, out of context, do more to confuse than to reveal. i won’t go on, but i am confused about why maggie nelson decided to compile this. maybe she needed to fulfill a contract with her publisher and she was struggling to pull something new together. i think that would be incredibly understandable. so this review isn’t meant to whine about maggie nelson not giving me “original” content, but more to lament the economy of hyper-circulation that prioritizes volume over anything else. and so we are often served mush by those who are capable of much more, all in service of breaking records, doing “the most,” and satisfying the insatiable craving for more.
we are living in a moment where content is repackaged in order to produce new “value” for it (something nelson herself reflects on with eileen myles in the final conversation of this book). we are constantly fed ten installments of a film franchise; social media content riffs on the same joke for weeks on end; musicians release a slew of remixes, LP variants, and rereleases with “bonus content” so their super fans can collect what have now inevitably become tchotchkes. as sianne ngai has helpfully theorized, we are living in the moment of the gimmick.
and unfortunately, this book is a gimmick. you can find all of these essays and conversations online or in magazines, probably mostly for free… or you can pay $32 for all of these in a book. i’m not necessarily saying there is no value in anthology, but most of these essays read like early-hipster-insider-new-york pieces that, out of context, do more to confuse than to reveal. i won’t go on, but i am confused about why maggie nelson decided to compile this. maybe she needed to fulfill a contract with her publisher and she was struggling to pull something new together. i think that would be incredibly understandable. so this review isn’t meant to whine about maggie nelson not giving me “original” content, but more to lament the economy of hyper-circulation that prioritizes volume over anything else. and so we are often served mush by those who are capable of much more, all in service of breaking records, doing “the most,” and satisfying the insatiable craving for more.
Like "Accidental Astronomy," this is an audiobook that has no subdivisions for easy navigation. It was just one giant "Opening" section. This made it difficult to remind myself what essay I was in the middle of and to gauge how much longer I had before a good stopping point.
I also felt like the narration didn't do much to make the text easy to follow, especially during the interview portions. I would have like those sections more if the interviewer and interviewee were differentiated in some way, either through the one narrator modulating their voice or through a second narrator stepping in to be the non-Maggie Nelson person, since it was easy to lose track of who was saying what. At times, it felt like I was using a text-to-speech program, with none of the intimacy and artistry of narration that you see in audiobooks such as "Somewhere Beyond the Sea."
Content-wise, these essays were a mixed bag for me. At times, I really enjoyed what Maggie Nelson was saying and was intrigued to learn more. These were usually the portions that were autobiographical and talked about her lived experiences or those of her friends. The sections that I enjoyed the least were the ones that got a bit too dense in terms of theory. I was able to understand each sentence on its own, but when it came to the big picture of "why" this is being discussed, I was a bit stumped.
It reminded me of Judith Butler's "Parting Ways," which I read earlier this year. Similar to this essay collection, there were certainly moments and remarks that resonated with me. But most of the time, the theory felt like an unnecessarily complicated way of saying something relatively simple.
I respect people who enjoy and engage in critical theory, and I've had a decent amount of exposure to it in college, meaning that I can probably tolerate it more than a lot of people. But it doesn't wow me the way that I often hope it will or significantly change my mindset about anything. It's usually the bits around the theory that compel me the most: the personal anecdotes and life experiences rather than the lofty observations and academic-sounding conclusions.
I also felt like the narration didn't do much to make the text easy to follow, especially during the interview portions. I would have like those sections more if the interviewer and interviewee were differentiated in some way, either through the one narrator modulating their voice or through a second narrator stepping in to be the non-Maggie Nelson person, since it was easy to lose track of who was saying what. At times, it felt like I was using a text-to-speech program, with none of the intimacy and artistry of narration that you see in audiobooks such as "Somewhere Beyond the Sea."
Content-wise, these essays were a mixed bag for me. At times, I really enjoyed what Maggie Nelson was saying and was intrigued to learn more. These were usually the portions that were autobiographical and talked about her lived experiences or those of her friends. The sections that I enjoyed the least were the ones that got a bit too dense in terms of theory. I was able to understand each sentence on its own, but when it came to the big picture of "why" this is being discussed, I was a bit stumped.
It reminded me of Judith Butler's "Parting Ways," which I read earlier this year. Similar to this essay collection, there were certainly moments and remarks that resonated with me. But most of the time, the theory felt like an unnecessarily complicated way of saying something relatively simple.
I respect people who enjoy and engage in critical theory, and I've had a decent amount of exposure to it in college, meaning that I can probably tolerate it more than a lot of people. But it doesn't wow me the way that I often hope it will or significantly change my mindset about anything. It's usually the bits around the theory that compel me the most: the personal anecdotes and life experiences rather than the lofty observations and academic-sounding conclusions.
emotional
reflective
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Like Love is primarily a collection of conversations with artists/thinkers with some essays included along a similar vein. Maggie Nelson is someone who is constantly challenging form and structure, and here what she's able to do is put twenty years of conversations into further conversation with one another. It's like a time capsule tracing twenty years of discourse on art, power, detournement, affect, sex, violence, trauma, and freedom. I particularly loved the sections with Bjork - who I love - and Carolee Schneemann - who I hadn't known about. This collection offers a lot to think about and brings to light some subversive artists that aren't necessarily garnering mainstream attention.
Anyone who has an interest in queer, transgressive art will find some moving conversations in this collection.
I thank NetGalley and Graywolf Press for this arc.
Anyone who has an interest in queer, transgressive art will find some moving conversations in this collection.
I thank NetGalley and Graywolf Press for this arc.
guys I promise I will get back to this, impulsively bought bc I had a giftcard and was excited, but it's not time yet
I don't always understand Maggie Nelson's writing but I always find something in what she writes that is richly rewarding of my time and patience and thought. This is a series of essays and conversations with other authors, writers, makers and artists that give a different perspective or 'in' to another world and way of seeing. I really enjoyed the conversations with artists, in particular the essay about going to visit Carolee Schneeman and Schneeman's thoughts about her artistic career. Subversive, thoughtful, strange and clever. I really enjoyed this.