HILARIOUS! I read through these....and then started over and did it again! I enjoy this type of comedy a great deal, so I was thrilled to see this! It would make a wonderful gift and is sure to bring a smile to any woman's face!

It's really too bad my review can't simply be: Just yes, all around!
What else can I say? It's funny and anyone who has either experience these situations or even just read about them will agree accurate.
As an art fan I did enjoy the merger of art and humor, and this is definitely a book I'd want to have around.

Sometimes, you really just need a fun, short book to get your through a reading slump or let's be honest, to get you through the day. Men to Avoid in Art and Life is the perfect book for that. Each page features a piece of art where women look less than pleased with the men near her and includes a short quote about what ridiculous thing the men might be saying. 

The book is split up into five different categories of men: The Mansplainer, The Concern Troll, The Comedian, The Sexpert, and The Patronizer. As you can imagine or if you've been on Twitter or been a woman in public, the things these men say to women are words they should keep in their heads. And sadly, the things they say might be all too familiar to some of you.

Because of the looks on the women's faces and the clearly snarky tone to the book, this was really fun to read. I've been reading a few books lately that I haven't  loved (I just DNF'd one), so this felt like a breath of fresh air. 

I haven't read a truly funny book in a long time so it felt really good to laugh while reading. I've read so many great (and funny) threads on Twitter and it's interesting to see how this one was was turned into a book.

I'm giving Men to Avoid in Art and Life 4 out of 5 stars.

Men to Avoid in Art and Life comes out August 11, 2020.

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronical Books for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Very simple but funny to read all the paintings with captions. Art was fantastic. Quite simply great to bring a smile to your face.

Loved this so much! From the beginning to the end so relatable. What a great job putting together the tired nonsense we have been hearing since before those paintings were created I’m sure.

In under 100 pages, this amusing book splashes captions across historic European paintings, most of which depict men and women in couples or small groups, although the Virgin Mary is also subjected to mansplaining. The author’s commentary is a clever recontextualization of the interactions depicted in each painting. The humor aims more than a glancing blow, particularly when the images show social interactions in which gender roles appear clearly defined. The paintings appear in sections with titles such as “The Patronizer”, “The Concern Troll”, “The Comedian” and “The Sexpert” (“So many women don’t understand the essence of female sexuality”, one caption reads). The phrasing of these recall common excuses for dismissing women’s accomplishments and sense of agency.
Page 14’s marriage of image and words has an especially keen edge. The painting is At Mouquin’s by William Glackens. Observe the woman’s almost despairing facial expression. She leans her forearms on the table, her right shoulder turning her torso slightly away from the man seated at her left. His face is flushed -- overindulgence, or a blush? -- as he leans toward her, glass in hand, perhaps waiting for her response to something he’s said. The woman is someplace between perching near the edge of her seat and transferring her weight from her left hip to her right, as though prepared to stand and flee. The caption? “...and that is my long and unsolicited opinion on the things that is your area of expertise.”
Women that have been on the receiving end of similar comments may enjoy this book because of such pointed pairings of painting and words. No matter how often we hear similar stories from other women, most of us empathize. The story is sadly familiar but we can help each other. With that support comes personal development, and the toughness and insight that lets us laugh, better prepared to defang such put-down the next time we hear them.
I recommend this pleasingly subversive book for: your friends that like to analyze and deconstruct art and popular culture; students of women’s and gender studies; library collections; students of popular culture; your supportive friends.

It is really hard to determine what I laughed hardest to: the amazing content of this wonderful book or the men in the reviews whose feelings were hurt because of this book.

As a professional working woman and an educated individual, this book hit home on so many levels. In some cases it was funny - some quotes I have heard word by word not just once. In others, it made me angry and honestly a bit hopeless.

The book positions the men to avoid in five neat categories: the mansplainer, the concern troll, the comedian, the sexpert and the patronizer. How ridiculous is it that I did not even had to see any of the painting to know what type of behavior were they referring to? I know these men. I have heard those jokes. They are colleagues, acquaintances, friends, even family.

In what seems like a casual tone, this book raises up important aspects of the every day reality of women. The absolute amazement when a male doctor in ER tells you that you are being dramatic right before you pass out from pain because you have endometriosis. The confusion of being a professional woman who is either too pretty to be taken serious or too cold to be liked. The despair of being passionate about a topic but having that passion be perceived as being bossy and ultimately alienating.
My one criticism for this book is it focus purely on white women. White feminism has long excluded people of color and I would love to see a future edition that recognizes and includes their stories.
Some of my favorites:
"You might have a PhD in the subject, but according to this Wikipedia article I briefly perused..."
"Here's a song I wrote called 'If You Can't Orgasm from Vaginal Penetration You're Probably a Lesbian, Linda'."
"Let me explain to you something about the female body"
"Careful with all that equality talk. You don't want to grow up and be a feminist"

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

The situation with this book is what I imagine it's like when a kid draws you something terrible and hands it to you and you know you're expected to say how wonderful it is, but you just kind of grimace and move on.

I love these kind of memes. Some of the treasures people have dug up from art history are truly astounding. Some of the text they've slapped on them is HILARIOUS.

This book is not filled with those.

I appreciate that this seemed to (from the preface, anyway) come from the author's own experience with mansplaining, etc. in everyday life. But for these, the text was usually too long or didn't remotely go with the picture or was way too specific, to the point where you could tell it was probably something she'd been told.

Unfortunately, this is one to browse in the aisle, chuckle maaaaaybe once, and then put back.

A highly amusing collection of art memes - nothing you haven't seen on Twitter, but hilarious nonetheless. Would make a good coffee table book if you're ever in need of a laugh.

Such a hilarious take to classical art! On one side, you have outstanding works of classic art, on the other, their representations of women and men and that untold mystery surrounding them - especially because everything is left to your imagination. Both sides of the story are united in this book when words were added do ´explain´ some of the men attitudes. This cartoonish take on classical art - authored among others by Toulouse Lautrec, Louis David, Watteau, Degas, Jan Steer, Adrien van Ostade. The target are the men from the paintings - categorized into: The Mansplainer, The Concerned Troll, The Comedian, The Sexpert, The Patronizer - and their supposed attitude with the women around them. An example: ´I think you should let me present your idea/You´re so beautiful, it´s distracting`.
On a serious note, it may offer some hints about gender representation in classical works of art, but first thing first let´s have some healthy laugh.
My only regret is that there are still so many paintings that would have been great to have it in the book too

This was...okay. Parts of it were pretty funny!!! But it isn't something I would buy for myself or read again. I really loved all the art in it though.

<i>Men to Avoid in Art and Life</i> is a hilarious book where modern feminist commentary is put next to art pieces. My favourite part is the Sexpert and the book really took off when that section started.

All in all, if you look for a short book which has you laughing out loud, this is the book you need.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very funny book that pairs classical art with sayings that the most irritating men say. Its well-designed and obviously a very quick read. I liked it quite a bit!

This book has very expressive and funny art pictures of women and their faces when hearing outrageous one-liners from five types of men to avoid: "The Mainsplainer, The Concern Troll, The "Comedian", The Sexpert, and The Patronizer." I liked how the paintings here showed their emotional reactions to such behaviors, which can be found not only virtually but also on the everyday real world.

Such books are necessary and important. I imagine that most women can relate to it because at certain points in their lives they heard very similar phrases and were judged 'without a sense of humor' when they didn't humbly smile back. This book is not only about the past, but the present too.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Chronicle Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had downloaded this expecting it to be a kindle version. Exciting title and description but disappointed at not being able to access it.

Here’s a thing that can’t be said for many books: Men to Avoid in Art and Life started as a Twitter thread. In 2019, comedy writer Nicole Tersigni posted a series of tweets to her account where she paired classical paintings with phrases almost every woman will have heard at one point or another, when a man, unprompted, insists on explaining to you a subject you probably know far more about. Such is the art of mansplaining. From this idea, a book was born.

I couldn’t resist the title of this book, and the premise was so hilarious on its own
that I knew I had to get my hands on it immediately. The concept is original, and Tersigni has done a splendid job of finding images that perfectly reflect the feelings the accompanying captions provoke; it is always interesting to see classical imagery paired with modern themes, as by doing so this book emphasizes the tribulations women still have to experience every day, and how much still needs to change, regardless of how far we think we’ve come, when it comes to the treatment of women in society and how they are viewed by men as intellectually inferior. Unfortunately though, while the phrases in this book are depressingly relatable (which is very much the point), not all the jokes land, and some of the language could do with being a bit less on the nose to avoid becoming repetitive. Furthermore, as this is as much a visual experience as it is written, some more exploration on the design of the pages and variation/creativity in how the quotes are presented would’ve greatly enhanced the message and enjoyment of this book.

All in all, a fun read and ingenious concept that needs improvements to its execution.

This was a relatable and funny book. I laughed at most of the comments made in this book and found them to go perfectly with the art.

Nicole is a genius for connecting art with the things guys say to women.

Memes using captions added to famous artwork are a capital T Thing at the moment, and Nicole Tersigni has done an admirable job capitalizing on that moment in Men to Avoid in Art and Life, focusing here meme-like creations on the dreaded mansplainers and other toxic men found on the internet and sometimes even <eek!> in real life.

Some of the captions are more clever and apropos than others, and while some seem like a perfect fit with the paintings they’re paired with, others feel like a stretch or in a few cases, a complete mismatch.

Still, the overall concept is a good one, and the book is sure to provide a few guffaws to the viewer, though I’m not sure this will age well once memes are no longer all the rage.

This would be a fun gift for someone who loves art history and the feminist humor of the Reductress.

Best enjoyed in small doses, "Men to Avoid in Art and Life" would make a good coffee table book because as funny as some of the jokes are, not all of them land or match well with the images. References to Wikipedia and other modern concepts felt out of place and like the paintings were merely afterthoughts. Still, I had fun reading this one and I can name about ten friends who would definitely get a kick out of it.

I adore art history humor. The author was able to say so much with just a few words on each painting. Definitely will recommend to my female (and male) friends who want to take down the patriarchy!