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A review by carolinethereader
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
3.0
I'D put off reading this for a long time because I'm very rarely in the mood for serious books but I finally read it and ended up quite enjoying it. This is an interesting and critical memoir. Nelson references a number of other authors frequently as starting points for discussion about motherhood, love, feminism and identity which I really enjoyed.
There was a lot of interesting quotes and a lot to think about while reading this. The parts I enjoyed the most were those that dealt with motherhood (and step-motherhood) and those that addressed the fluidity of gender. Some super insightful observations were made, but there was also a lot of emotion and heart in them because of the personal experiences of the author. It was good to read.
I'm giving this a slightly lower rating because, despite enjoying the subject matter, the writing style just wasn't for me. I found it oddly tangental a number of times and felt as though I was struggling to keep up with Nelson's train of thought or something. There were times when a point would be built up and then it would go off on a different track and the point would never be wholly addressed again. It became a little frustrating and although it didn't ruin things for me, it definitely had an impact on my enjoyment.
There was a lot of interesting quotes and a lot to think about while reading this. The parts I enjoyed the most were those that dealt with motherhood (and step-motherhood) and those that addressed the fluidity of gender. Some super insightful observations were made, but there was also a lot of emotion and heart in them because of the personal experiences of the author. It was good to read.
I'm giving this a slightly lower rating because, despite enjoying the subject matter, the writing style just wasn't for me. I found it oddly tangental a number of times and felt as though I was struggling to keep up with Nelson's train of thought or something. There were times when a point would be built up and then it would go off on a different track and the point would never be wholly addressed again. It became a little frustrating and although it didn't ruin things for me, it definitely had an impact on my enjoyment.