Alexander Chee

A great collection of essays- thoughtful, personal, intimate. Though many pieces appeared individually elsewhere (with some expansions here), this collection pulls together a portrait of who Alexander Chee is, in several lenses of his life: as an activist, as a teacher, as a lover, as a mixed race American. I haven't read his fiction before, but now I feel I need to, especially after reading how he worked from experiences to create [b:Edinburgh|272433|Edinburgh|Alexander Chee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438828929l/272433._SX50_.jpg|264139] ([b:The Queen of the Night|17912498|The Queen of the Night|Alexander Chee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460425080l/17912498._SX50_.jpg|2923071] is on my to-reads, but probably got there because historical fiction/POC author, and isn't discussed as much except when he mentions trying to figure out the second novel after pouring so much of himself into his first). Beyond that, Chee's prose is beautiful- moving and aesthetically pleasing.… (mais)

I struggled to get through this book. I liked it enough to want to finish but not enough to want to read it. I gave up on it a few times, only to come back and grind through for a while longer. The writing is at times beautiful, at times so determined to be profound that it's meaningless. The setting was the best thing by far, an interesting time and place to spend some reading time, though sometimes bogged down in detailed description that detracted even from this one strength. The main character was entirely unsympathetic for me. Aside from the early scenes when she lost her family, I never felt anything for her. The tone of the whole novel is very emotionally remote, which is appropriate for this first person story about an emotionally remote woman, but it makes it difficult to enjoy reading a dense, long, convoluted book. The story itself is implausible and ridiculous at times, again appropriately for the intended parallels with opera but again making it difficult for me to enjoy. I was relieved to have finished. I'm unlikely to read anything else by this author.… (mais)