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danrue's review against another edition
3.0
I would give this book a 3.5 star rating if I could. I enjoyed the simplicity of an easy to read story, without the flashes and drama of fantasy and the facts of education novels. I loved how Molly invited us in to explore her life and the changes she’d followed. I love how she experimented with sexuality and with polygamy and both showed how marriage did and didn’t work and how a child is impacted and not impacted. Her honesty was beautiful and brave. I find memoirs to be so impactful and heartwarming because the authors open up their lives and let us in, insecurities and all.
asurges's review against another edition
2.0
This memoir needed a lot more time to sit and for the author to consider her stance on various topics. Many of her opinions of the queer community were so half-baked and behind the times that I felt like this book would have been groundbreaking in 1995. I sighed and had to shut the book several times from frustration.
A good memoirist also considers the responsibility they wield. Other characters were seen in ways that may be more nuanced—and fair—in time. Last point: you can’t read the Argonauts and think you’re going to copy the Argonauts. Parts of this book were an outright ripoff or, at the least, an effort to borrow the words from a more skilled writer.
A good memoirist also considers the responsibility they wield. Other characters were seen in ways that may be more nuanced—and fair—in time. Last point: you can’t read the Argonauts and think you’re going to copy the Argonauts. Parts of this book were an outright ripoff or, at the least, an effort to borrow the words from a more skilled writer.
smalltownbookmom's review
3.0
Interesting exploration of relationships and sexuality and the fluidity of individual sexuality.
lalunitalee's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer and Homophobia
elienore's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
maralyons's review against another edition
4.0
The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenberg is a thought-provoking memoir about the author’s decision to turn her marriage upside down. At the beginning, Wizenberg is a seemingly content wife, mother, writer, and co-owner of several successful Seattle restaurants. A chance interaction with a woman who greatly intrigues her causes her to question everything in her life. She embarks on a personal journey, and with her husband’s approval, begins dating women outside her marriage. The memoir is largely made up of her ruminations and what has been said by others about marriage, relationships, and sexual orientation. The segues can be a little awkward, but Wizenberg covers a myriad of topics. Some including: marriage, motherhood, sexual fluidity, sexual orientation, guilt, selfishness/selflessness, gender, privilege, etc. Her journey is very relatable and it caused me to ponder my own life, marriage, children, and decisions we’ve made as a couple. Overall, a very interesting memoir on marriage and Wizenberg’s personal journey.
Thank you Abrams and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
Thank you Abrams and NetGalley for providing this ARC.
arielamandah's review against another edition
4.0
I've loved Molly Wizenberg's writing since before she started publishing books. A couple years older than I am, she's someone who I find connection with through her words. If you were a blog reader in their hey-day, you know what I mean: there are people out there who you've never met, but somehow reading their personal, down-to-earth voice about the minutiae and mundanity of their lives helps you set a course through your own experience. "We're the same, you're normal, everyone's lives are weird, you're not the only one with a very specific odd-seeming interest." I've followed her writing throughout her career and jumped when I heard she was publishing a third memoir: The Fixed Stars.
Goodreads friends, it did not disappoint. This thoughtful investigation into herself and her realization in her mid-thirties that she wasn't straight, is braided through with her usual good humor, self-reflection (though not shoe-gazingly so), and generosity to those around her. Her writing is clear and lovely, though more complex in this book than in her prior two. Something here feels more grown up (no surprise, a life lived will do that to a person). At the same time, I feel this book is meant for people already familiar with her story and her writing. I can't imagine opening it and beginning to read had I not already been familiar with her story. Me? I loved it. I appreciated it. I devoured it. Thank you, Molly, for sharing your life and your family with us.
Goodreads friends, it did not disappoint. This thoughtful investigation into herself and her realization in her mid-thirties that she wasn't straight, is braided through with her usual good humor, self-reflection (though not shoe-gazingly so), and generosity to those around her. Her writing is clear and lovely, though more complex in this book than in her prior two. Something here feels more grown up (no surprise, a life lived will do that to a person). At the same time, I feel this book is meant for people already familiar with her story and her writing. I can't imagine opening it and beginning to read had I not already been familiar with her story. Me? I loved it. I appreciated it. I devoured it. Thank you, Molly, for sharing your life and your family with us.
texbooks's review against another edition
2.0
This is one vapid tale of someone blowing up their life. The author delivers helpings of cruelty to everyone around her with a distinct sense of entitlement that I can only compare to a disaffected
colonialist travel writer with no apparent self-awareness. It took me a while to decide how I felt about this book. I can’t get over how she bailed on her 3 yr old daughter to expatriate to queer-land and how hollow it all lands. Thud.
colonialist travel writer with no apparent self-awareness. It took me a while to decide how I felt about this book. I can’t get over how she bailed on her 3 yr old daughter to expatriate to queer-land and how hollow it all lands. Thud.