A review by neenthefiend
Make It Scream, Make It Burn: Essays by Leslie Jamison

3.0

I think all of the critiques lobbed at this work are valid. Jamison comes to basic conclusions through metaphors and stories that utilize exposition for far too long to get to the meat of her arguments. Even then, her arguments lack nuance and flirt with the political but seemingly shy away once she is faced with comprehensively confronting what she continually hints at or briefly mentions. It’s a book that centers the narrative and opinions of a liberal, not necessarily leftist, white cis heterosexual woman. The potentiality for her to scrutinize the contours of discomfort in her narratives and experiences comes close but no cigar. I think she has intentions to engage and deconstruct humanity and their role in narratives, both in a literary and informal context, but waxes poetics about other individuals works rather than her own conclusions. Even then, her conclusions cut to the quick with a blunt blade; it attempts to reveal a raw, poignant, and uniquely loud musing, but ultimately feels like basic revelations. However, in the midst of burnout this book was a quick and fun bite in a quest for consumption serving escapism. Its conclusions were sometimes trite and redundant, but I barely have time to parse through my own feelings, so having a middle man synthesize basic emotions sated me. I honestly was more continually captivated by this work than Tolentino’s “Trick Mirror.” I think Tolentino does embark on dissecting political topics with a critical lens towards the issue itself and her own biases, but the language is inaccessible and almost feels self aggrandizing. This is all said with the proximity of 5 years post the publishing of both works. “Make it scream, make it burn,” felt a bit more authentic even if it was steeped in a dominant, problematic, limiting paradigms. However, I say this as a white individual who attended an all girls Catholic highschool and then proceeded to come out as trans and queer, so maybe I have a tendency for self flagellation and find comfort in the lukewarm “radical” takes she puts forward despite the fact I know they are tone deaf. Either way, I’m keeping my copy on my bookshelf and will probably read it again.