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graveyardpansy's reviews
555 reviews
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
2.0
meh, at best. it’s quite repetitive without any actual analysis or critique, it underplays the impact of intersectionality, and overall neglects large general trends while focusing more on anecdotes and quotes. i crave any sort of analysis of cause and effect, claims on why and how this class structure exists and has been maintained. this book didn’t provide that. on top of that, it isn’t very well organized, and there’s no character or personality in the writing style, so it fails as both a more personable history and as a more analytic, factual one. oh and damn does the author REALLY have to use so many slurs??
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
5.0
i didn’t expect to read this in one sitting, or to feel so many things. beautiful, personal, and would highly recommend.
Against Equality: Queer Revolution, Not Mere Inclusion by Kenyon Farrow, Eric A. Stanley, Kate Bornstein, Katie Miles, Ryan Conrad, Mj Kaufman, Craig Willse, Kate and Deeg, Erica Meiners, John D'Emilio, Cecilia Cissell Lucas, Yasmin Nair, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Dean Spade
4.0
as i've said before in reviews, it's hard to rate anthologies b/c of their nature, but I still thought this was a pretty good one! definitely repetitive, but there are a lot of unique perspectives that I learned from. overall, i'd say this is pretty 101 when it comes to radical queer politics, but it's a great place to start for anyone with an open mind, and it'd absolutely be thought-provoking for more liberal/centrist gays. i do want to buy a copy of this at some point, it'd be a great reference for the three basic radical queer concepts it covers. 7.5/10.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
5.0
I haven’t given a book 5 stars in quite a while.
“Americanah” is a wonderful novel, and I found myself enjoying it even though it isn’t typically the genre that I read. The pacing was just slow enough for beautiful detail and just quick enough to keep me interested. The characters are well-fleshed-out and, by the end of the book, feel like friends. I’m often wary of books that time-jump and skip around different settings/plot lines, but Adichie accomplishes it SO well and I didn’t have an issue following along. The writing is lovely and detailed but not too pretentious, and I adore the way Adichie weaves together a narrative about change and love with smaller blog articles on race.
“Americanah” is a wonderful novel, and I found myself enjoying it even though it isn’t typically the genre that I read. The pacing was just slow enough for beautiful detail and just quick enough to keep me interested. The characters are well-fleshed-out and, by the end of the book, feel like friends. I’m often wary of books that time-jump and skip around different settings/plot lines, but Adichie accomplishes it SO well and I didn’t have an issue following along. The writing is lovely and detailed but not too pretentious, and I adore the way Adichie weaves together a narrative about change and love with smaller blog articles on race.
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
5.0
“Never underestimate the power of fiction to tell the truth.”
This novel is painful and raw and vulnerable, but easily one of the most important things I’ve ever read. I think, if I grew up when Feinberg or Jess did, we would’ve been very similar. Lesbian history is beautiful, trans history is beautiful, and I wish more people recognized how common it is for them to intertwine. I don’t think this story will ever fall out of relevancy.
This novel is painful and raw and vulnerable, but easily one of the most important things I’ve ever read. I think, if I grew up when Feinberg or Jess did, we would’ve been very similar. Lesbian history is beautiful, trans history is beautiful, and I wish more people recognized how common it is for them to intertwine. I don’t think this story will ever fall out of relevancy.