Wow wow wow what a journey. I loved July's short story collection and was underwhelmed by her first n"Motherfucker... I was referring to life itself."
Wow wow wow what a journey. I loved July's short story collection and was underwhelmed by her first novel, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but it really resonated with me, especially as a feminist bisexual mom. There were a lot of insights that blew me away. I loved the protagonist’s relationship with her best friend, the subversion of the road trip story, the look at complicated birth trauma, and the sheer weirdness of it all.
Some favourite pasaages:
"But thoughts don't work like that. You don't pick them like pears from a tree, they just fall on your head."
"No reason was turning out to be a major theme in life. Generally speaking, when real pain was involved, there was no reason, no one to hold accountable, no apology. Pain just was. It radiated with no narrative and no end."
"We only felt right when we were saving a life together, fixing a flat tire by the side of the highway. We only became us against insurmountable odds. The rest of the time we respectfully forgave each other for utterly failing to be what we felt we deserved. And then some of the time we were fucking furious about this and it seemed impossible to continue."
"Without a child I could dance across the sexism of my era, whereas becoming a mother shoved my face right down into it, a latent bias internalized by both of us suddenly lept forth in parenthood. It was now obvious that Harris was openly rewarded for each thing he did while I was quietly shamed for the same things. There was no way to fight back against this, no one to point a finger at, because it came from everywhere. Even walking around my own house I felt haunted, fluish with guilt about every single thing I did or didn't do. Harris couldn't see the haunting and this was the worst part." ...more
Although in theory this book sounded great, the execution didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped. This is a YA with a BFFs to enemies to girlfriends subpAlthough in theory this book sounded great, the execution didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped. This is a YA with a BFFs to enemies to girlfriends subplot, with the main plot focusing on how the protagonist Ivy suddenly wakes up to find her fanfic version of Weston, the hero of her fav fantasy TV show, has come to life, with funny and then more serious consequences. I liked the material about the friend breakup and almost wished Ivy and Mac didn't get together, as there are so few stories that focus just on (queer!) friendship!...more
"For a delightfully queer historical romcom with equal parts humor and pathos and a delicate blend of romance and character growth, you really can’t do any better than Lex Croucher’s Trouble."
"I laugh at the idea of a heterosexual person reading this book and trying to brainstorm non-gay reasons for all the unexplained things Emily is trying to figure out."...more
A truly incredible essay collection, effortlessly weaving together personal narrative and (pop) cultural criticism. Themes include: motherhood, queernA truly incredible essay collection, effortlessly weaving together personal narrative and (pop) cultural criticism. Themes include: motherhood, queerness, pregnancy, true crime, horror movies, bisexuality / labels, patriarchy and men's violence. If you like Carmen Maria Machado's non-fiction (particularly her essay on the cult film Jennifer's Body from the queer horror anthology It Came from the Closet) and Melissa Febo's Girlhood, read this!
CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian
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