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.