A review by bookreviewswithkb
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee

2.0

i think i only finished this because by the time i realized i wasn’t liking it, i was too far in. the first couple of essays were more appealing to me, and i actually ended up liking the last one as well, but i found myself dreading picking it up most of the time 

Chee comes off a little…self-indulgent and unaware? almost like he was performing the act of profoundness. the lack of awareness around class privilege was unsettling - if you have access to live in an otherwise unaffordable apartment because your friend is able to let you stay there at an affordable price, you have some access to wealth, even if it doesn’t live in your bank account. some of  the essays also centered on such mundane things that i couldn’t care about even a little bit

is Chee a beautiful writer? absolutely. but i didn’t connect to a lot of the content and i didn’t feel drawn into his narrative