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fyoosha 's review for:
The Geek Feminist Revolution
by Kameron Hurley
I was falling into a bit of a reading slump this month, but this book took me right out of it. It's fast, conversational, very readable, and so directly relevant to all of my interests. It touches on a variety of topics - feminism, the science fiction and fantasy industry, geek culture, internet bullying, and more. There's an entire essay all about True Detective, featuring the kind of feminist media criticism I live for. She discusses her experience with a chronic illness and how it has changed her outlook on life. And, of course, she talks about writing as a young woman in science fiction and fantasy.
I don't generally read personal essay collections, but I really enjoy reading such collections by fiction writers, because it provides such a deep insight into their work (I've had the same experience with Roxane Gay). I've read two of Hurley's fiction books - one I kind of liked, one I very much disliked. Now, having read about her thought process in creating these works, I find that I understand them better. I still don't think Hurley's style meshes with what I look for in books, but I admire her desire to create something new and different. And I'm still interested in her work, even if I'm not sure I would necessarily enjoy reading it. I just requested her very first book from my library, because I'd like to read it with all of this background info about her in mind and see if that changes my reading experience.
Hurley's writing is straightforward and forthright; she pulls no punches. Even if I didn't always agree with her conclusions, I could understand where she was coming from and respected her logic. I think my one criticism of her style, and the collection in general, is that it's not as meaty as I would have liked it to be. Hurley discusses so much, but much of it she only skims over, when I would have liked more details and a richer discussion. I'm not sure how much of a criticism this is, though, since what I'm actually saying is that I find her an eminently fascinating writer who has lived a very fascinating life and I would love to read more nonfiction from her.
I don't generally read personal essay collections, but I really enjoy reading such collections by fiction writers, because it provides such a deep insight into their work (I've had the same experience with Roxane Gay). I've read two of Hurley's fiction books - one I kind of liked, one I very much disliked. Now, having read about her thought process in creating these works, I find that I understand them better. I still don't think Hurley's style meshes with what I look for in books, but I admire her desire to create something new and different. And I'm still interested in her work, even if I'm not sure I would necessarily enjoy reading it. I just requested her very first book from my library, because I'd like to read it with all of this background info about her in mind and see if that changes my reading experience.
Hurley's writing is straightforward and forthright; she pulls no punches. Even if I didn't always agree with her conclusions, I could understand where she was coming from and respected her logic. I think my one criticism of her style, and the collection in general, is that it's not as meaty as I would have liked it to be. Hurley discusses so much, but much of it she only skims over, when I would have liked more details and a richer discussion. I'm not sure how much of a criticism this is, though, since what I'm actually saying is that I find her an eminently fascinating writer who has lived a very fascinating life and I would love to read more nonfiction from her.