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ju_li_corn 's review for:
The Argonauts
by Maggie Nelson
Love at second sight but one of my new favourite books.
Is this for everyone? Definitely not.
Is this a light read you can just skim over? No.
Would I recommend it? Depends.
At first I was put off by how much it felt like reading a scientific article with how much she quotes other authors and then relates their theories to her own lived experience(s). It was very personal and honest when it came to the memoir parts of Nelson's book.
At first it felt messy and unedited and unlike everything I have read before. She seemingly contradicts herself with her thoughts when she comes back to her original ones a few pages later.
And at first the book simultaneously felt like reading a queer feminist introduction while also giving me the impression that the reader should already be aware of all these persons she quotes. It is clear she comes from an academic background. The way the book is written can sound pretentious, especially when you watched some interviews with her prior to reading, but this just seems to be her style if thinking when writing.
This memoir is written in a stream of consciousness style. There are no chapters at all to give it structure or me as the reader some orientation in the text.
At second sight it made sense. Especially with the quote "In a culture frantic for resolution, sometimes the shit stays messy."
She keeps referencing the Argo. A ship whose parts were replaced overtime to preserve it. Is it still the original ship if all parts are removed? Yes and no. Both things can be true at once. Sometimes it is a matter of standpoint.
The same word spoken by someone else can change its meaning entirely.
She also keeps referencing language and its limits with this concept. Is language enough to explain our own personal definition of something? Are some thing better left unsaid? What does the unsaid contain.
Do we have to find terms and labels? This especially spoke to me as a queer person reading this book. The way she approaches gender identity, queerness and the transition of her trans spouse. How it changes their families conception as heteronormative, despite them still being a queer little family.
She also relates pregnancy to queerness (her own transformation and the transition of her spouse) and talks about her pregnancy and birth experience in a very open and honest way.
Her birthing experience of their child is ultimately reflected with a very personal bit of text from Harry, her spouse, and the death of his mother which almost brought me to tears in the subway.
This is for everyone who wants to read about queer identity, queer family, hetero- and(!) homonormativity, the limits and fluid nature of language and likes theory relating to these topics.
For myself, this book will stay with me for a long time as I reflect on everything and dive deeper into the books mentioned on here.
Loved it.
Is this for everyone? Definitely not.
Is this a light read you can just skim over? No.
Would I recommend it? Depends.
At first I was put off by how much it felt like reading a scientific article with how much she quotes other authors and then relates their theories to her own lived experience(s). It was very personal and honest when it came to the memoir parts of Nelson's book.
At first it felt messy and unedited and unlike everything I have read before. She seemingly contradicts herself with her thoughts when she comes back to her original ones a few pages later.
And at first the book simultaneously felt like reading a queer feminist introduction while also giving me the impression that the reader should already be aware of all these persons she quotes. It is clear she comes from an academic background. The way the book is written can sound pretentious, especially when you watched some interviews with her prior to reading, but this just seems to be her style if thinking when writing.
This memoir is written in a stream of consciousness style. There are no chapters at all to give it structure or me as the reader some orientation in the text.
At second sight it made sense. Especially with the quote "In a culture frantic for resolution, sometimes the shit stays messy."
She keeps referencing the Argo. A ship whose parts were replaced overtime to preserve it. Is it still the original ship if all parts are removed? Yes and no. Both things can be true at once. Sometimes it is a matter of standpoint.
The same word spoken by someone else can change its meaning entirely.
She also keeps referencing language and its limits with this concept. Is language enough to explain our own personal definition of something? Are some thing better left unsaid? What does the unsaid contain.
Do we have to find terms and labels? This especially spoke to me as a queer person reading this book. The way she approaches gender identity, queerness and the transition of her trans spouse. How it changes their families conception as heteronormative, despite them still being a queer little family.
She also relates pregnancy to queerness (her own transformation and the transition of her spouse) and talks about her pregnancy and birth experience in a very open and honest way.
Her birthing experience of their child is ultimately reflected with a very personal bit of text from Harry, her spouse, and the death of his mother which almost brought me to tears in the subway.
This is for everyone who wants to read about queer identity, queer family, hetero- and(!) homonormativity, the limits and fluid nature of language and likes theory relating to these topics.
For myself, this book will stay with me for a long time as I reflect on everything and dive deeper into the books mentioned on here.
Loved it.