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genderqueer_hiker 's review for:
The Masterharper of Pern
by Anne McCaffrey
*rating edited from 4 stars to 2 on 12/19/18*
So growing up, I liked this book best among Anne McCaffrey's adult Pern books (though I have issues with her overall misogyny and heterosexist attitudes), and it was on my kindle so I gave it a quick re-read. The storyline is still mostly interesting, though it lags at times, getting pulled down into complicated politics that aren't fully explained. However, I totally missed the degree of ableism and fatphobia. The general attitude about intellectual disability was disgustingly paternalistic and enfantalizing, and centered on how hurt the parent felt about having a disabled child. They also used the R word, and this book was published recently enough that there wasn't an excuse. And one character's fatness is harped upon and held up as proof that she (of course, it's Anne Mccaffrey, has to be a shrew of a woman) is slovenly, lazy, boring, and pathetic. The author's clear commentary on these two aspects seriously detracted from the book, and left a bad taste in my mouth.
So growing up, I liked this book best among Anne McCaffrey's adult Pern books (though I have issues with her overall misogyny and heterosexist attitudes), and it was on my kindle so I gave it a quick re-read. The storyline is still mostly interesting, though it lags at times, getting pulled down into complicated politics that aren't fully explained. However, I totally missed the degree of ableism and fatphobia. The general attitude about intellectual disability was disgustingly paternalistic and enfantalizing, and centered on how hurt the parent felt about having a disabled child. They also used the R word, and this book was published recently enough that there wasn't an excuse. And one character's fatness is harped upon and held up as proof that she (of course, it's Anne Mccaffrey, has to be a shrew of a woman) is slovenly, lazy, boring, and pathetic. The author's clear commentary on these two aspects seriously detracted from the book, and left a bad taste in my mouth.