{"product_id":"monsters-9781399715034","title":"Monsters","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Funny, lively and convivial\u003c\/b\u003e... \u003cb\u003ehow rare and nourishing this sort of roaming thought is and what a joy to read'' MEGAN NOLAN, \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''An exhilarating, shape-shifting exploration of the perilous boundaries between art and life'' JENNY OFFILL\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e is extraordinary \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e- \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eengaging, enraging, provocative, and brilliant'' ANN PATCHETT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA passionate, provocative and blisteringly smart interrogation of how we experience art in the age of #MeToo, and whether we can separate an artist''s work from their biography.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat do we do with the art of monstrous men? \u003c\/i\u003eCan we love the work of Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson, Hemingway and Picasso? \u003ci\u003eShould\u003c\/i\u003e we love it? Does genius deserve special dispensation? What makes women artists monstrous? And what should we do with beauty, and with our unruly feelings about it?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClaire Dederer explores these questions and our relationship\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat a treat it is: funny, lively and convivial, constantly in argument with itself \u003c\/b\u003e. . .\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eDederer's tone and willingness to be wrong and confused, along with her seductive, intimate style, bring the subject to new life . . . \u003cb\u003ehow rare and nourishing this sort of roaming thought is and what a joy to read\u003c\/b\u003e. How moving, too, the underpinning adoration that allows the difficult questions to be asked. You are left wishing Dederer would apply her generous mind to every other niggling unfinished hang-up that haunts our culture -- Megan Nolan * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eIn a world that wants you to think less - that wants, in fact, to do your thinking for you - Monsters is that rare work, beyond a book, that reminds you of your sentience. \u003cb\u003eIt's wise and bold and full of the kind of gravitas that might even rub off\u003c\/b\u003e -- Lisa Taddeo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePersonal, open-hearted and intellectually playful\u003c\/b\u003e -- 50 of this year's best non-fiction books * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWitty and conversational \u003c\/b\u003e. . . It's a book full of the nuance that the cancel culture debate so often lacks -- *Books of the Year* * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eEnthralling, challenging and downright unsettling . . . smart and provocative . . . \u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea vital book for our times\u003c\/b\u003e, and it offers so much rich food for thought -- Martin Chilton * Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThrilling\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eA properly \u003cb\u003ehonest and passionate\u003c\/b\u003e book that will help set this debate alive -- Andrew Marr * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003eAn exhilarating, shape-shifting exploration of the perilous boundaries between art and life. This timely book inhabits both the marvellous and the monstrous with generosity and wit -- Jenny Offill\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eExhilarating\u003c\/b\u003e -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExcellent \u003c\/b\u003e. . . Frank . . . A work of deep thought and self-scrutiny that honors the impossibility of the book's mission\u003c\/p\u003e -- Melissa Febos * The New Yorker *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003eis an incredible book, the best work of criticism I have read in a very long time.\u003c\/b\u003e It's thrillingly sharp, appropriately doubtful, and more fun than you would believe, given the pressing seriousness of the subject matter. \u003cb\u003eClaire Dederer's mind is a wonder, her erudition too\u003c\/b\u003e; I now want her to apply them to everything I'm interested in so I can think about them differently -- Nick Hornby\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003ehot and urgent\u003c\/b\u003e monologue structured around a problem without a solution . . . The conclusion to this immersive and doubtlessly important book is both tentative and bold -- Frances Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart memoir, part treatise, and all treat\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003cb\u003enimble, witty\u003c\/b\u003e . . . her exquisitely reasoned vindication of Lolita brought tears to my eyes . . . This is a book that looks boldly down the cliff of roiling waters below and jumps right in, splashes around playfully, isn't afraid to get wet. \u003cb\u003eHow refreshing\u003c\/b\u003e * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003eA timely interrogation of the eternal question: can you separate the art from the artist? It showed me my bookshelves, my record collection, the pictures and films I love - even myself - in a new, unflinching light.\u003cb\u003e I'm pressing it into the hands of everyone I know.\u003c\/b\u003e -- Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton Key\u003cbr\u003eNuanced and exploratory . . . \u003cb\u003eWith verve and empathy\u003c\/b\u003e, she asks if we can - if we should - separate the work from the biography -- Suzanne Harrington * Irish Independent *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHumming with originality, clarity and humour\u003c\/b\u003e . . . The book's questions might be zeitgeisty, but it is far more satisfying than the circular arguments about cancel culture that abound in Twitter threads. It sketches a Venn diagram of creativity and depravity before plunging into its intersection - dangerous water, but one I emerged from reinvigorated . . . * i News *\u003cbr\u003eDederer asks, with witty self-deprecation, how we should respond to art from artists guilty of morally squalid deeds . . . Instead of rushing to the barricades of ongoing culture wars, Dederer offers - and enacts - a way of thinking that acknowledges the ever growing diversity of intellectual and moral life -- Pankaj Mishra, summer reads * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSane and nuanced - even refreshingly brave.\u003c\/b\u003e This is no dry compendium of intellectual arguments about artistic meaning, but rather an emotional journey through audience experience told with engaging chattiness from an insider's perspective -- Kathleen Stock * The Times *\u003cbr\u003eAn incredibly nuanced and human work -- Barry Pierce * Big Issue *\u003cbr\u003eIn this book you may not find the answer, but you will find \u003cb\u003eheaps of wit and wisdom\u003c\/b\u003e - on monsters, victims, hate, love, and the big grey area in between -- Chloë Ashby * Spectator *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eClever and provocative\u003c\/b\u003e * Daily Telegraph *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA lively, personal exploration of how one might think about the art of those who do bad things\u003c\/b\u003e . . . It's such a pleasure to stretch out in a big, nuanced conversation about a topic that can be so easily flattened into wrong and right, good and bad; it's a pleasure to be asked to think * Vanity Fair *\u003cbr\u003eDederer's exploration offers up no easy answers, but the journey is never less than \u003cb\u003eilluminating\u003c\/b\u003e -- Summer holiday reads * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e is a dazzling book\u003c\/b\u003e . . . If you too love the work of Polanski - or Picasso, Hemingway, Allen, Davis, and so on - sticking with Dederer on her curlicued journey might be \u003cb\u003ethe best gift you can give yourself\u003c\/b\u003e. The final chapter feels its way toward a conclusion that burns clean, though it hurts a little too -- Stephanie Zacharek * Time *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eVital, exhilarating\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Although Dederer has done her homework, her style is breezy and confessional . . .\u003ci\u003e \u003cb\u003eMonsters \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eleaves us with Dederer's passionate commitment to the artists whose work most matters to her, and a framework to address these questions about the artists who matter most to us\u003c\/b\u003e * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn exciting read . . . I was shaken to my core\u003c\/b\u003e * Los Angeles Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerceptive and engaging\u003c\/b\u003e * ArtReview *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003eis both a nimble exploration of fan culture and \u003cb\u003ea spirited call to action\u003c\/b\u003e -- Ruth Madievsky * GQ *\u003cbr\u003eA blisteringly erudite and entertaining read. Dederer holds the moral ambiguity of her subject matter, landing her arguments with precision and flair. It's a book that deserves to be widely read and will provoke many conversations -- Nathan Filer\u003cbr\u003eDederer provides a fascinating new way of looking at how the work and lives of problematic artists are bound together. She poses so many topical questions, plays with so many pertinent ideas, that I'm still thinking about this book long after I finished -- Claire Fuller, author of \u003ci\u003eUnsettled Ground\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eConversational, clear and bold without being strident \u003c\/b\u003e. . . Dederer showcases her critical acumen . . . In this age of moral policing, Ms. Dederer's instincts to approach such material with an open mind - and heart - are laudable * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eAn invigorating, engrossing, and deeply intelligent book. By guiding us through her critical dilemmas, Dederer performs an act of generosity: she allows the reader the space and encouragement to interrogate their own beliefs. \u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003emade me laugh, argue, tear up, and most importantly, think -- Julia May Jonas, author of \u003ci\u003eVladimir\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eExcellent. Erudite and unpretentious, ruthlessly honest\u003c\/b\u003e, a searching self portrait as well as moral inventory of good artists doing bad things -- Stephanie Danler, author of \u003ci\u003eSweetbitter\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThoughtful -- Susie Goldsbrough * The Times *\u003cbr\u003ePunchy and sharp . . . Exploring her own relationship to art made by shitty men, the book moves beyond tedious cancel culture discourse to interrogate ethics, art and fandom with nuance and compassion -- Katie Goh, Books to be excited for in 2023 * i-D *\u003cbr\u003eThe book is \u003cb\u003etangled and fascinating, chasing down arguments and questions that can't always be easily resolved\u003c\/b\u003e. Dederer's shrewd, vivid descriptions of movies and books suggest just how much they mean to her and how deeply any sacrifices on the altar of contemporary sexual ethics might cut * Slate *\u003cbr\u003e[Dederer] just keeps getting better and smarter . . . it's \u003cb\u003eabsolutely exhilarating\u003c\/b\u003e to read the work of someone so willing to crumple up her own argument like a piece of paper, throw it away and start anew. She's constantly challenging her own assumptions, more than willing to find flaws in her own thinking * San Francisco Chronicle *\u003cbr\u003eI flat-out admire her book and want to share it with my students. As a thinker, \u003cb\u003eDederer is smart, informed, nuanced and very funny\u003c\/b\u003e -- Maureen Corrigan, NPR Fresh Air\u003cbr\u003eThe rare polemic that's full of greedy love for the good stuff in this world, \u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e is an expansion of Dederer's instant classic \u003ci\u003eParis Review\u003c\/i\u003e essay from 2017, 'What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men.' With a larger canvas, she lets both her cast of monsters and our culpability grow, and manages to one-up herself over and over again. \u003cb\u003eCooly pensive on an overheated subject, Dederer writes powerfully about art's ability to move us, teach us, and entrap us\u003c\/b\u003e * Bustle *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003eis like having the best version of the \"good art by bad people\" conversation. Dederer writes like your wisest, most compassionate friend, helping to guide you to your own thoughts and generously offering her own. I loved it -- Lizzy Stewart, author of \u003ci\u003eAlison\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSlyly funny, emotionally honest, and full of raw passion, Claire Dederer's important book about what to do when artists you love do things you hate breaks new ground, making a complex cultural conversation feel brand new. \u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003eelegantly takes on far more than 'cancel culture' - it offers new insights into love, ambition, and what it means to be an artist, a citizen, and a human being -- Ada Calhoun, author of \u003ci\u003eAlso a Poet\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe asks important questions . . . \u003cb\u003eSubtle and adroit\u003c\/b\u003e * The Atlantic *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDauntless, cannily reasoned and barn-burning\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e isn't just the book that art-loving feminists have been waiting for; it's the book that anyone determined to live an intentional life owes it to themselves to read * Shelf-Awareness *\u003cbr\u003eNuanced and incisive . . . Dederer's candid appraisal of her own relationship with troubling artists and the lucidity with which she explores what it means to love their work open fresh ways of thinking about problematic artists. Contemplative and willing to tackle the hard questions head on, this pulls no punches * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSharp and unflinching\u003c\/b\u003e . . . In \u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e, Dederer produces an \u003cb\u003eentirely original and self-aware\u003c\/b\u003e contemplation on the psychological reverberations of living in a biographical age * AnOther *\u003cbr\u003eBringing erudition, emotion, and a down-to-earth style to this pressing problem, Dederer presents her finest work to date * Kirkus Reviews *\u003cbr\u003eWhile Dederer sets out to write about the art of monsters, she ended up writing about what it means to be human -- Camille Sojit Pejcha * Document Journal *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e has crystalline intellectual force\u003c\/b\u003e . . . Dederer has fashioned a book of depth and candor about what it is to be heartbroken by an artist whose work we also happen to love . . . So on point is \u003ci\u003eMonsters: A Fan's Dilemma\u003c\/i\u003e about the historical moment in which we currently find ourselves, \u003cb\u003eyou want to carry it around with you and whip it out at every bar or dinner party\u003c\/b\u003e -- Tom Shone * Avenue Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eSmart * People *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpectacular \u003c\/b\u003e. . . A work of pop-culture criticism that's fun to read, \u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003ewill for sure help us have deeper conversations around the perennial question of whether it's possible and OK to separate the work from the art and what it really means to be a fan. This is a book we plan to return to again and again - and to press on all our friends * Apple.com *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonsters \u003c\/i\u003eis a good companion, working away at the problem from various perspectives, always explaining patiently what it is trying to do and keeping it interesting by participating more energetically than just steepling the fingers * Strong Words *\u003cbr\u003eSmart and engaging, never dogmatic or pious, I loved this. -- David Nicholls\u003cbr\u003eDespite the heavy subject matter, \u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e is neither rant nor sermon. Dederer is not only an incisive researcher and writer, she's also \u003cb\u003econversational, approachable and funny\u003c\/b\u003e . . . \u003ci\u003eMonsters\u003c\/i\u003e is \u003cb\u003ea worthy addition to contemporary literary criticism, but more than that, it's a very enjoyable book\u003c\/b\u003e about a thorny, elusive subject * BookPage *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProfoundly cathartic\u003c\/b\u003e. The book feels simultaneously like having the deepest, artiest conversation with the smartest people you know and like having an intense shit-talking session with your closest friends * Alta *","brand":"Hodder \u0026 Stoughton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48738919055703,"sku":"9781399715034","price":17.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781399715034.jpg?v=1720050582","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/monsters-9781399715034","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}