As a casual reviewer it feels daunting to leave a review on the works and critiques of such an accomplished critic, but I will try.

I really loved this essay collection, which seems to be just and anthology of Chu's previously published articles and critiques. I'm sold on her writing and definitely interested in seeking out more.

She can be harsh in some of her critiques but in the most entertaining way possible. Her points are incredibly intelligent, analytical, and made using logic and sound reasoning. Not that there isn't bias in her judgements as there is for anyone. But her witty presentation and framing forgive her any heat for the hot takes she makes.

I listened to the audio version of this and while I LOVE books read by the author (non-fiction in particular), and this book was no exception, I also felt a slight struggle to keep up sometimes that I don't think I'd have had if I were physically reading the book. But I think hearing her burns in her own voice was probably worth it. Some of the clever jabs she makes had me laughing out loud.

I highly recommend for anyone looking for essays on criticism, art, books, feminism, and the trans experience.

I consider myself to be of modest intelligence. I'm not a genius, but I'm not uneducated. I try to speak, read and write continuously in a way that hopefully, challenges myself intellectually. I come from a family with poor education values, so my intelligence level, and being "smart enough" has been one of my lifelong insecurities.

I say all of this to segue into my thoughts about Andrea Long Chu's phenomenal essays book, Authority. Chu is a smarty pants. There are no two ways about it. She is sharp-tongued, cleverly witty, and concise with word choices. I thought the following while reading this book - her intelligence is astounding. Astounding! I am envious of her intelligence level. There, I said it! I know a great amount of research went into some of the essays for this book - (Chu even credits her researcher at the end) but to be able to take all of that raw material, weave it together, look at it critically, and then write cohesively on it? Again, astounding.

Chu takes us through her last 7 years or so of various essays she has written on many facets of literature, theatre, television, mental health, and gender issues. She even takes several pokes at the lowly book reviewer. She turns her keen eye on television shows such as The Last of Us, Yellow Jackets, and Yellowstone, and then turns around and criticizes the Phantom of the Opera. We hear her candid thoughts on her gender reassignment surgery, and her forays into TMS therapy prior to her bipolar II diagnosis. Her essay from n+1, "On Liking Women", is republished here in its entirety.

She looks at many authors and their works: Hanya Yanagihara, Bret Easton Ellis, Curtis Sittenfeld, Ottessa Moshfegh, Celeste Ng, Zadie Smith and Octavia Butler. My favorites were the essays on Hanya Yanagihara (she DOES put a lot of gay protagonists in her books) and Ottessa Moshfegh - I've only read My Year of Rest and Relaxation by her thus far, (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but now I am very intrigued and will be seeking out more of her work.

In her titular series of essays, Authority, she dives very deep into the history of literary criticism. In actuality, this was my least favorite of the entire collection. I recognize the importance of it, but it was rather dull and droned on maybe a bit excessively for my tastes.

I was gifted the audiobook version of this book from NetGalley and FSG (MacMillan Audio) - and I really enjoyed this version - it was read by Ms. Chu herself, and I think it added another level to the book that you might not achieve with the print version. You could hear in her voice those essays which she was most passionate about; the tonal inflections, the way she became slightly more animated with certain subjects.

I was unable to save many quotes since this was an audiobook, but I am sure like many other of my all time favorite books, I will eventually purchase a print copy and re-read. Highlighting can happen on the second go-around. The below quote did stand out to me, in both a comical and in an existentialism sort of way :

"All bodily pain begins with shock at the audacity of physical trespass. A kind of astonishment, at the frankly unbelievable insinuation that one is not, in fact, the center of the universe."

This was from her essay on her gender surgery, which was informative on the process itself. What a human being puts themselves through, just to feel something more like who they were meant to be. Much respect to the author.

Read this book. It will make you think. Really hard. And we all need more of that.

i spent a lot of time trying to think why this book made me uncomfortable. i think the answer is very complicated. one, i probably wasn't personally in the mood for a book this critical. i love mean things, but probably not this back to back. i took a break and came back to it, and that breather helped and i see that there are some great points in here, and the author is so smart and has thought very deeply about each of the things she's talking about. she's also an excellent writer.
but at the end, like any "collection" (of essays/short stories/poems etc)., some, I really liked, others, not so much.

I had only read one peace by Andrea Long Chu ("The Hanya Yanagihara Principle") prior to this collection. It's relatively cohesive, given that many of the essays here are about media, though the few about queer history were welcome. Unfortunately, I found the titular essay (new for this collection) interesting but too short to have real depth and somehow still much more boring than the other essays. Otherwise, it was a solid essay collection, a definite recommendation for people who like snappy thoughtful media criticism.

While I wish there had been more new essays in this collection (something Chu acknowledges in the books opening), I did enjoy hearing the essays read aloud by the author. The writing is captivating, and it translated very well to audiobook form.

I’ll be honest: I went into this collection hoping it might convert me into an “essay person.” You know, the kind who quotes critics mid-conversation and actually enjoys reading about books they’ll never touch. There were flashes—especially in the essay about A Little Life—which probed something tender and raw in a way that stayed with me longer than I’d like to admit. But overall, my attention kept drifting. Perhaps it was the audio narration, which came off flat, or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to be intellectually seduced by essays that assume I care about The Phantom of the Opera.

Still, I get the appeal. Chu’s writing is incisive and bold; she doesn’t waste time with endless disclaimers. Instead, she challenges you to think critically without spoon-feeding opinions. I wasn’t always up for the challenge, but when I was, it felt worthwhile. I can’t say this made me fall in love with the essay form, yet I walked away with a renewed respect for the craft and a hope for more critics who are unafraid to voice strong opinions.

<u>Authority</u>
Andrea Long Chu

ALC courtesy of MacMillan Audio and NetGalley.

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. With the internet and social media, these opinions, qualified or otherwise, abound. More often than not, review sites become fora of popularity contests and, unfortunately, a reader wanting to just find out if he or she will like a book before buying it often has to plow through a briar patch of bullshit to get anywhere.

Andrea Long Chu’s view, in the title essay, that people look to critics not for opinions, but for judgement, is on point. Criticism is in itself an art form. Sadly, many reviews even in the institutions we previously looked to for literary guidance such as the New York Times and the New Yorker, stay in the middle of the lane for fear of hampering sales and antagonizing sponsors. Sometimes, we just want to hear the verdict, from a qualified, authoritative judge.

Bravo.

There’s something to be said about how I eat up Chu’s writing while continuing to read and love my problematic authors . Go ahead and take down Hanya, Ottessa, and BEE (lord knows he deserves it), but I’ll still be reading them in peace, thanks. No matter what I’m reading, I’m looking for great writing and Chu is at the top of her game.

In a world where everyone feels the need to explain ad nauseam that all art is subjective and add so many caveats to their thoughts or experience, I look for writing that goes beyond that. It’s an understatement to say Chu doesn’t mind ruffling some feathers, just look through her reviews and count up how many pans there are, but when she does like something I take notice (even if said book has an embarrassingly low rating on GR).

I’m not looking for Chu, or any critic, to tell me what to think (is this me taking away their authority?) - I already know what I love and hate. While I can have my mind changed, it doesn’t come from someone telling me ‘NO this is GOOD’ or ‘you're WRONG’. Show me HOW you think, give me something to follow, dig deep, make me not stop thinking about the artwork. Of course I’m being a total hypocrite, when a critic agrees with me I give a little knowing nod, maybe a little HAH is let out.

What I’m trying to get at is that Chu is very analytical and incisive, while also being funny- sometimes dryly, sometimes darkly. That's what makes her essays an event. If you’ve never read her, get this! In a collection of 24 essays, including two new ones about the state and history of criticism itself. I don’t think I skipped any (that’s a lie, I saw the words Phantom of the Opera and moved on), my favorite ones being about gender or depression (China brain shows the aesthetics of the essay). It doesn’t matter that I’ll never watch Yellowjackets or read Celeste Ng’s latest, I just want to see how Chu’s mind works and how she will cut through the bull.

I wish we lived in a world where more critics had the support to really dive in and research a long form essay, but considering how reviews tank I’ll be waiting a while for the great essay comeback.

As for the audiobook narration: I loved that Chu herself brought the essays to life. You can hear her wink and nod in a way.

Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for the advanced audio book.

I keep wanting to be the kind of person who enjoys reading essay collections...but I'm not. So even though there were moments that piqued my interest (e.g. the essay on Hanya Yanagihara's A LITTLE LIFE), I found my interest lacking overall. Combined with the narrator, whose voice had a monotone quality that didn't help in maintaining my interest, this ended up not being the thing for me.