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A review by larajgriff1
Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Unfortunately my expectations and hopes for this book were vastly different than what I experienced. I wanted a more broad view of how "monstrous" artists affect their fandom and what the group as a whole or individually moves forward. This book is much more personal to the writer and more of a memoir of her life and how she relates to different artists than the effect of their actions on the world.
However, I cannot fault the author for the book not being what I hoped. It is written very well and does make some good points about how these moments and artists affect us. Though in the middle of the book she seems to be "existential crisis-ing" in circles and it doesn't feel like there is momentum again until the last few chapters.
However, I cannot fault the author for the book not being what I hoped. It is written very well and does make some good points about how these moments and artists affect us. Though in the middle of the book she seems to be "existential crisis-ing" in circles and it doesn't feel like there is momentum again until the last few chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicide, Racism, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abortion, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Rape, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
this is a book about people who do terrible things. It is hard to avoid anything, but I did skip a full chapter because I was so uncomfortable with the crimes of an artist.