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A review by quietluvr
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
3.0
I <3 epistolary format. At one point, I simply stopped looking at the dates bc the pacing was obviously going to be breakneck, whether it took place in the span of weeks or months or years.
Wish the twist related to Zoe being a man, considering her voice read as masculine. The way she expressed her sexuality felt more like a man enacting his fantasies than an insatiably (ostentatiously) horny lesbian. Which sucks, considering I believe the authour is enby themselves. This knowledge made the 'gay want baby but can't :(' trope even shittier. The trope itself is one of my least favourite in queer lit. When it's a lesbian couple it can often, especially in this context, read as misogynistic. For her to be family-oriented is one thing, but for her main desire to be maternal is utterly comical. A girl with mommy issues wants to be a mom but uh-oh, she's gay! The book starts in a queer forum, surely she could've found resources there?
But perhaps investment in these characters is the greatest draw for anyone getting into Eric's work: you get just enough info to become attached to the ideas they represent, regardless of their reprehensible actions. I don't care that Agnes dies, or about that stupid fucking tapeworm- but the tapeworm as a metaphor for unwanted pregnancy... that's kinda cool. We can do something with a parasitic pregnancy allegory, as well as the self-inflicted abortion. That was a slay-pussy-cunt move.
All in all, a 3.5 for me. Narrative and theme were dope. Characterization and pacing was meh.
Wish the twist related to Zoe being a man, considering her voice read as masculine. The way she expressed her sexuality felt more like a man enacting his fantasies than an insatiably (ostentatiously) horny lesbian. Which sucks, considering I believe the authour is enby themselves. This knowledge made the 'gay want baby but can't :(' trope even shittier. The trope itself is one of my least favourite in queer lit. When it's a lesbian couple it can often, especially in this context, read as misogynistic. For her to be family-oriented is one thing, but for her main desire to be maternal is utterly comical. A girl with mommy issues wants to be a mom but uh-oh, she's gay! The book starts in a queer forum, surely she could've found resources there?
But perhaps investment in these characters is the greatest draw for anyone getting into Eric's work: you get just enough info to become attached to the ideas they represent, regardless of their reprehensible actions. I don't care that Agnes dies, or about that stupid fucking tapeworm- but the tapeworm as a metaphor for unwanted pregnancy... that's kinda cool. We can do something with a parasitic pregnancy allegory, as well as the self-inflicted abortion. That was a slay-pussy-cunt move.
All in all, a 3.5 for me. Narrative and theme were dope. Characterization and pacing was meh.