One of the best books of 2023. A unique reimaging of the American past, exploring the sectional divisions in the United States and the consequences it could have had had history progressed differently.

“X believed that making fiction was sacred—she said this to me many times, and mentioned it in her letters and journals and essays repeatedly—and she wanted to live in that sanctity, not to be fooled by the flimsiness of perceived reality, which was nothing more than a story that had fooled most of the world. She chose, instead, to live a life in which nothing was fixed, nothing was a given—that her name might change from day to day, moment to moment, and the same was true for her beliefs, her memories, her manner of dress, her manner of speech, what she knew, what she wanted. All of it was always being called into question. All of it was costume and none of it was solid. Not even her past was a settled matter, and though anything else around her might fluctuate, that unsettled core—her history—was to remain unsettled.”
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Biography of X exists as a mesmerizing labyrinth, a literary matryoshka wherein a tale within a tale emerges. The enigma of X, a mysterious artist who has departed from this world, becomes the focal point as her widowed spouse pens a biography against X's vehement objections. The initial intent of a mere literary endeavor swiftly metamorphoses into a relentless exploration, an excavation of the hidden recesses of X's existence and the veiled secrets she bore in her earthly sojourn. Laced within this narrative tapestry is an alternate history of America, fragmented into Northern, Southern, and Western territories, casting a shadow of intrigue and uncertainty over the unfolding drama. As C.M. Lucca, the bereaved partner, delves deeper into X's life, her own recollections and their shared relationship waver in uncertainty.
There’s lots going on in this book but I do believe Lacey did an amazing job at telling this story.
Another thing I liked was how Lacey boldly reveals the hidden aspects of the art world, making us question the truth and purpose behind the art we encounter. She leads us into a realm where the line between genuine intention and pretentiousness is blurred, encouraging us to find the truth within the intricate world of artistic expression.

Biography of X
Catherine Lacey

Format: Audiobook
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Rating: 4 stars

This truly unique story is told in the voice of CM Lucca, as she navigates and grieves the loss of her wife and begins to write the biography of her shape-shifting enigmatic wife known only as X. As she delves into X’s past, beginning with her Southern Territory upbringing, she begins to discover that X has many past ‘selves’ and it becomes clear that she never really knew her at all.

Not terribly surprising really when CM Lucca leaves a seemingly happy marriage for X, her journalism career, and very quickly starts a new life with her. One where everything revolves around X and her ‘art’. She just accepts X’s way of how things will be, without challenge. Never questioning why, her strange relationships, or even where she disappears to for long absences.

It is set in a fascinating fictitious alternative American, with divided areas and walled territories. The Southern Territories, where X was raised and eventually flees from, being an area of fundamentalist religious beliefs, limiting life choices and little freedom.

X has been many different people: a young mother, wife, revolutionary, singer, artist, writer, curator, and an entity just famous for being famous. Indeed she is even renown for her multiple identities, which are presented as a great piece of art in itself.

Along the way X has many strong bonds and relationships, based on love, or respect, or perhaps need. All seemingly not challenging or questioning X, accepting her way, until X just ... moves on.

I really enjoyed this book, though this waned about three quarters of the way in, when the character of X just became less and less likeable, more implausible, and then the story just felt a little drawn out. It is rather a long book. But it was certainly interesting and unlike anything I have read before. I will be watching out for other novels by Catherine Lacey. Big shout out to the narrator, Cassandra Campbell, who was also incredible

Thank you also to NetGalley, Catherine Lacey and RB Media for an advance audio edition of this book in exchange for an honest review of this fantastic novel.

Thank you to the publisher for this ALC. I preferred the physical book to the audio as I think it lends itself more to that format but I still adored this book.

This was a really touching story. I enjoyed the format of the fictional biography of the narrator's wife. It did feel somewhat clunky at times when the narrator explained things about this alternate reality that the reader would have naturally known if they were reading it in the fictional world. I also greatly enjoyed the audiobook's narrator - it was very well done. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

‘Biography of X’ by Catherine Lacey was Sunnys Book Club pick for April. I was given a NetGalley audio ARC (big thanks to them and the publisher Recorded Books for this!) The narrator Cassandra Campbell does an incredible job and I so enjoyed her embodiment of CM as I listened along to the physical book. What a wonderful experience.

THIS BOOK — GOD! I loved it. Talk about ambitious, this faux biography is complete with photos, scraps of paper, footnotes and more. I loved it. X’s life unfolds in a way that feels organic and had me theorizing till the end. CM, X’s widow, was an incredible narrator because she has a very complicated history and unique perspective on X… and it bleeds into the work, as you might imagine. It is told against the backdrop of an alternate United States and unpacks themes of queerness, revolution and religion (Christianity specifically), in that severed US. It also leans heavily into the discussion of Art vs Artist and the idea of an eccentric artist who is a WOMAN as opposed to a man. How much suffering, cruelty, violence and deceit is afforded a genius? Should it be! But X is also just a fascinating figure, I’d watch the documentary in a heartbeat.

What an achievement! Highly recommend.

one of the biggest disappointments of 2023. everything, from the prose, to the characters, strikes me as obnoxiously affected. the supposedly beguiling and ambiguous figure at the centre of this novel is beyond cringe.

What type of a person should you be for someone to tell your life story like this? Little bit of a rebel, little bit of a leader, little bit of crazy, little bit of eccentric. X was that kind of a person. She grew up in new dystopian southern federation where nothing was allowed but following the Bible. Then she joined rebel forces to break her chains. After an incident everyone thought that she was dead, she resurfaced in North as a totally different person.

On the other hand her life was so unbelievable, so dramatic; I had hard time believing she was a real person. She could very well be narrator's imagination or combination of lives she wanted to led. She was always dwarfed by the presence of X. She was like a sailor enchanted by siren X's song. X was all the accomplishments out there while she was a mere mortal. So did really exist or narrator created her to live what she couldn't.

I liked the style of this 'biography". Embellished with interviews, recordings, notes, it was more engaging. Having narrator's emotions weaved into the life of X made more real. It is one of my favorites this year.

This is a book that I will definitely need to sit down and read. The audiobook isn't doing it justice.

My first by Lacey and definitely won't be my last. Biography of X's faux biography format was such an engaging way to reflect on idolization, identity, and the world of art. The layers of complexity surrounding X that unraveled throughout the book somehow managed to get more and more interesting - my only one complaint being that the very initial setup was a bit slow for me. It was well worth the investment though!

I know there cannot be objectivity when it comes to art or literature BUT I feel like I can say this is an objectively good book. In it, we find a regular person who was leading a regular life that eventually became overwhelmed and defined by her late wife. Yet, as she's defined by her late wife, she's also plagued with the question: What was the definition of my wife? Who can really solve for X?

In trying to answer this question and defeat the equation, the reader explores the concepts of society and identity and, ultimately, how we try to reconcile the two.

The setting of this book takes place in alternate history of the U.S. I loved the speculative nature of the setting and the frame it gives us to analyze our current context.

This novel is written as a biography and the style of the writing is incredibly convincing of this. Every aspect of it, from the quotations to the citations, are flawless and create a very tangible world and life. It truly reads like a biography. Additionally, I listened to the audiobook version of this, and the narrator (Cassandra Campbell) was perfect for this. Anyone who is interested in investigative podcasts would enjoy the audiobook.

However, at some point I felt a contrast between the writing of the beginning and the writing of the end of the book. I remember feeling so struck by the first 20 pages and then, three-quarters through the book I noticed that it was starting to drag a bit. Regardless, I overlooked this nagging of lengthiness because the perspective of it was so valuable.

Thank you to NetGalley and RecordedBooks for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. You guys are gr8.

This was a really complex and multilayered investigation into the life of the artist X, the recently deceased wife of journalist C.M.

Set in an alternate US, C.M. peels away the various lies, omissions, and secrets that she's understood as facts about X. This novel was in turns fascinating and monotonous. X had SO many past iterations of herself that when explored show her as a con artist, a liar, and an abuser. Somehow through all these MANY interviews and investigations, I still never felt like we got to know X any better.

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for providing me of an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review. The narration was excellent.

I really enjoyed BIOGRAPHY OF X by Catherine Lacey (@catherine Lacey)! I loved the format of this book! It’s about CM, who is writing the biography of her late wife the artist X. This book includes photos and footnotes which is so fun. I loved the blurring of nonfiction and fiction. I loved the queer representation and the characterization of X. X is also a writer who wrote a book under a pseudonym. It was interesting to learn about her mysterious past and her interactions with famous people such as Susan Sontag, Frank O’Hara and David Bowie. I also listened to the audiobook narrated by Cassandra Campbell and it was very engaging. I loved the attention to detail in the hardcover!

This book answers the question: what if someone married the human manifestation of the phrase “Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss”?

This book has everything: [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], David Bowie, Connie Converse

This follows a journalist CM Luca, as she pieces together a biography of her late wife, an enigmatic artist named X. Someone who was so full of themselves, they refused to tell their spouse anything about their past life and used childlike diversions (running away, disappearing, changing the subject, asking existential questions) when confronted.

You quickly learn that C has been conned into some form of emotional Stockholm syndrome after she uses the whole novel to justify her wife’s narcissistic, and sometimes abusive, behavior.

The whole book is set against the backdrop of an alternate timeline where the north and south USA have schismed into two territories, split by a wall a la Berlin. While this was the most interesting part of the book, I felt like it could be seen as insensitive at times as it painted a picture of the south being some sort of ignorant, religious, fascist place, while the north was an artful wonderland of innovation and opportunity. The similarities between North & South Korea and the north and south US territories were too similar for me to see past the oppression p*rn (think handmaid's tale) that this was.

The narrator alludes to a big betrayal, and after 14+ hours of listening (I had this at 3x speed at one point) you are underwhelmed at what that betrayal was.

I would recommend reading it if you like this sort of domestic fiction, but don’t expect anything to “wow” you.
Despite my opinions of this book's contents, the narrator did a wonderful job.

Rating: 2.5/5 (rounded to 3 on GR)
Release: Out Now

Thank you Netgalley & RB Media for gifting me this ALC. all opinions are my own.

I loved this book. It was a slow-burn, totally involved narrative that went deep into the relationship and life of a woman's late wife, a mysterious author who went by the name of X. I was so incredibly involved with this and Cassandra Campbell's narration, which was brilliant. Her voice is heavenly to listen to, and really moved from voice to voice, excerpt to excerpt (the book is written often in little excerpts from books, interviews, articles, etc), and it's a wonderful read. It was moving, delightful, enticing, intriguing. I loved it. I will recommend this to everyone for years to come.

I loved Pew by Catherine Lacey, Lacey is clearly interested in identity, but identity through other people, in their eyes. But unfortunately this was a much lessor book than Pew, it lacked both the tension and the thought provoking nature of Pew. This unfortunately was a pretty boring, plotless character portrait, that didn't appeal to me.

Lacey however can write a sentence, she is talented. This book might be appealing to fans of authors such as Rachel Cusk. It is however disappointing after her last novel which was nothing short of amazing.

Dear The Biography of X,
You were such a different books and such a different concept for me. I wasn't really sure what to expect, except a wild ride, and you at least gave me that. Seeing X through her wife's eyes, as she discovered all of the hidden details of her spouses life was fascinating. X herself was endless fascinating as well. Her constant drive for reinvention, and trying to make every moment in life a new experience just exposernall of the holes she has inside of herself. CM was so hopelessly flawed as well, being so willing to give herself up in pieces for a person she could never really know. I loved that you were in an alternate version of the united states and the part that the alternate world played was big in your story. It leant a noir feeling to the story, making the country into another character. It gave your entire story an air of dystopia, which made your whole story darker and complex.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the audiobook ARC.

Biography of X is an abstract 'anti-biography' that is highly entertaining and mysterious. The protagonist, though dead from the beginning, maintains a 'larger-than-life' grip on the reader throughout. And the 'biographer' does a great job of revealing things piece by piece to prolong the suspense. Well written and wonderfully narrated.

Wow, when I started this listen I was immediately hooked! It has so many great themes, and a surprising twist in story. It is written smartly and very literary. It is very satirical, but sort of turns into a mystery. It is definitely provocative and sexy. The easter egg hunt of it all is very fun for anyone with a passing interest in art. It was really interesting to see so many greats be reimagined. A cheeky, smart, invigorating read that I will be recommending.

This book is set in an alternate version of the United States and it takes the form of a biography of a very famous artist named X, that lived a tumultuous life but was never open about her past to anyone. It is written by her last wife, CM, as she tries to cope with her grief and adapt to her new life as a widow. However, what initially started as trying to uncover one specific mystery about X, specifically who her family was, turns into so much more, leading her on a path of discovery and self-discovery. And it turns out she knew so little of the woman she loved and admired.

I fell in love from the very first chapter. The writing style was sublime and I wanted to memorize almost every paragraph.

The characters were incredibly fleshed out, and the main character's journey and development had me hooked.