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A review by meganmsmart
Most Famous Short Film of All Time by Tucker Lieberman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
(Won a copy in the Storygraph giveaway)
I don't think this kind of book is really for me. I'm not much of a philosopher, being a chemist and caring more about natural sciences, and I tend to find nonfiction pretty dull. It's distracting when half the chapters are asides referencing other people and other works, when I would be much more interested in Lev's story if that were the main focus. It gives the impression of pretension and pseudointellectualism that does nothing to draw me in, even if the author himself is clearly very knowledgeable. I don't want to read the notes for your philosophy dissertation, especially when they feel so tangential to what's happening in the story. It feels like literary alchemy (as Lev might put it) trying to mix fiction and nonfiction, with the end result being lead dust rather than hunks of gold.
One thing I did very much like is the discussion of being trans (which is why I entered the giveaway in the first place), especially the part of cis and trans just being different ways to experience gender. I wanted to enjoy this book and get more insight onto being trans, so that I can be a more informed ally, but all the philosophical asides and allusions really bogged down the experience for me.
Maybe it gets better at 21% of the book, but I feel like if I'm not engaged at all after 100 pages, I'd rather just move on to a book that I'll be able to better appreciate.
I don't think this kind of book is really for me. I'm not much of a philosopher, being a chemist and caring more about natural sciences, and I tend to find nonfiction pretty dull. It's distracting when half the chapters are asides referencing other people and other works, when I would be much more interested in Lev's story if that were the main focus. It gives the impression of pretension and pseudointellectualism that does nothing to draw me in, even if the author himself is clearly very knowledgeable. I don't want to read the notes for your philosophy dissertation, especially when they feel so tangential to what's happening in the story. It feels like literary alchemy (as Lev might put it) trying to mix fiction and nonfiction, with the end result being lead dust rather than hunks of gold.
One thing I did very much like is the discussion of being trans (which is why I entered the giveaway in the first place), especially the part of cis and trans just being different ways to experience gender. I wanted to enjoy this book and get more insight onto being trans, so that I can be a more informed ally, but all the philosophical asides and allusions really bogged down the experience for me.
Maybe it gets better at 21% of the book, but I feel like if I'm not engaged at all after 100 pages, I'd rather just move on to a book that I'll be able to better appreciate.