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saareman 's review for:
Things Are Against Us
by Lucy Ellmann
Sometimes Cruel but Sometimes Funny & Thoughtful Rants
Review of the Galley Beggar Press buddies edition (2021)
[2.65] average bumped up to [3]
Fourteen essays by the writer of the 1000-page Booker nominated [b:Ducks, Newburyport|51932596|Ducks, Newburyport|Lucy Ellmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562268000l/51932596._SX50_SY75_.jpg|67454703] (2019), which I have made 3 unsuccessful attempts to read, usually giving up between pages 50 to 100. These bite-sized pieces are easier to get through and often funny, but in a cruel schadenfreude or bitter, envious curmudgeonly sort of way. Some are so over the top that it makes me think this is a persona adopted for comic effect only. i.e. can someone hate Americans, mystery novels, travel, electronic appliances etc. this much in real life?
1. Things Are Against Us. (2021) * A rant against THINGS, a proxy for anything that bedevils one's existence. A one-page joke that goes on for twelve pages.
2. The Underground Bunker. (2019, Irish Times [edited to include the Jan. 6, 2021 US Capital riot]) **** An anti-Trump & anti-deplorables rant, but funny. Rather brutally contemptuous about America. See 2 extended quotes below.
3. Trapped Family Fingers. (2019, Globe & Mail) **** More of the same as 2. See 1 short quote below. Bonus points for the Trapp Family Singers/The Sound of Music parody.
4. Three Strikes. (2015, The Baffler) ***** Inspired by [b:Three Guineas|18854|Three Guineas|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442463839l/18854._SY75_.jpg|3165312] (1938) by Virginia Woolf. This is the most interesting essay of the book and covers many of its themes e.g. money confiscation as in 14. It has an infuriating amount of footnotes printed in microscopic font, but you can read it online and save your eyes at The Baffler (March 2015).
5. A Spell of Patriarchy. (2019, NYTimes) *** Viewing Spellbound (1945) dir. Alfred Hitchcock in hindsight as a MeToo precursor movie.
6. Third-Rate Zeros. (2021) *** OK, we get it, you don't like Trump.
7. Consider Pistons and Pumps. (2016, The Baffler) ** Viewing everyday machine objects as phallic or vaginal symbols.
8. The Woman in the House. (2012, The Guardian) *** Reading The Little House on the Prairie series of books by [a:Laura Ingalls Wilder|5300|Laura Ingalls Wilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1347574987p2/5300.jpg] as a frontier feminist epic.
9. The Lost Art of Staying Put. (2017, The Baffler) ** A rant against world travellers.
10. Bras - A Life Sentence. (2000, Deliberately Thirsty) ** A rant against the title subject.
11. Morning Routine Girls. (2015, The Baffler) ** A cruel rant against the "morning routine" videos on YouTube. The idea of these make me feel pity rather than wanting to mock misguided young women.
12. Sing the Unelectric!. (2013, Aeon Magazine) **** Promoting minimalism and non-electric appliances.
13. Ah, Men. (2021) * A rant against men and then against the mystery and crime genre, which, as far as I appreciate it, was and is dominated by women writers esp. in the golden age 1920-1930s and in the present day.
14. Take The Money Honey. (2019, The Evergreen) *** More on the money confiscation theme.
I read Things Are Against Us in its limited edition grey-cover release available to supporters of the Galley Beggar Press' Galley Buddy subscription program.
Review of the Galley Beggar Press buddies edition (2021)
[2.65] average bumped up to [3]
Fourteen essays by the writer of the 1000-page Booker nominated [b:Ducks, Newburyport|51932596|Ducks, Newburyport|Lucy Ellmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562268000l/51932596._SX50_SY75_.jpg|67454703] (2019), which I have made 3 unsuccessful attempts to read, usually giving up between pages 50 to 100. These bite-sized pieces are easier to get through and often funny, but in a cruel schadenfreude or bitter, envious curmudgeonly sort of way. Some are so over the top that it makes me think this is a persona adopted for comic effect only. i.e. can someone hate Americans, mystery novels, travel, electronic appliances etc. this much in real life?
1. Things Are Against Us. (2021) * A rant against THINGS, a proxy for anything that bedevils one's existence. A one-page joke that goes on for twelve pages.
2. The Underground Bunker. (2019, Irish Times [edited to include the Jan. 6, 2021 US Capital riot]) **** An anti-Trump & anti-deplorables rant, but funny. Rather brutally contemptuous about America. See 2 extended quotes below.
3. Trapped Family Fingers. (2019, Globe & Mail) **** More of the same as 2. See 1 short quote below. Bonus points for the Trapp Family Singers/The Sound of Music parody.
4. Three Strikes. (2015, The Baffler) ***** Inspired by [b:Three Guineas|18854|Three Guineas|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442463839l/18854._SY75_.jpg|3165312] (1938) by Virginia Woolf. This is the most interesting essay of the book and covers many of its themes e.g. money confiscation as in 14. It has an infuriating amount of footnotes printed in microscopic font, but you can read it online and save your eyes at The Baffler (March 2015).
5. A Spell of Patriarchy. (2019, NYTimes) *** Viewing Spellbound (1945) dir. Alfred Hitchcock in hindsight as a MeToo precursor movie.
6. Third-Rate Zeros. (2021) *** OK, we get it, you don't like Trump.
7. Consider Pistons and Pumps. (2016, The Baffler) ** Viewing everyday machine objects as phallic or vaginal symbols.
8. The Woman in the House. (2012, The Guardian) *** Reading The Little House on the Prairie series of books by [a:Laura Ingalls Wilder|5300|Laura Ingalls Wilder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1347574987p2/5300.jpg] as a frontier feminist epic.
9. The Lost Art of Staying Put. (2017, The Baffler) ** A rant against world travellers.
10. Bras - A Life Sentence. (2000, Deliberately Thirsty) ** A rant against the title subject.
11. Morning Routine Girls. (2015, The Baffler) ** A cruel rant against the "morning routine" videos on YouTube. The idea of these make me feel pity rather than wanting to mock misguided young women.
12. Sing the Unelectric!. (2013, Aeon Magazine) **** Promoting minimalism and non-electric appliances.
13. Ah, Men. (2021) * A rant against men and then against the mystery and crime genre, which, as far as I appreciate it, was and is dominated by women writers esp. in the golden age 1920-1930s and in the present day.
14. Take The Money Honey. (2019, The Evergreen) *** More on the money confiscation theme.
I read Things Are Against Us in its limited edition grey-cover release available to supporters of the Galley Beggar Press' Galley Buddy subscription program.