Book Reviews

I've been reading even more than usual lately, because it's one of my most successful modes of escapism. This week I read:

• Jonathan Ned Katz's The Invention of Heterosexuality (very good book - not half as dry as your average queer theory book either; he actually has a writing style and could be considered reasonably entertaining)
• Douglas Coupland's Shampoo Planet (eh . . . it's not awful, but it doesn't live up to the fanatical Coupland-worship I've seen among his fans; this is my first Coupland book but I'm not inspired by it to want to read any others)
• Yukio Mishima's Acts of Worship (I tried to read his novel Confessions of a Mask in college after hearing that it was a hugely important classic of Japanese queer literature, but as hard as I concentrated, I just couldn't follow it at all . . . but Acts of Worship is definitely much better, so maybe my problem with the earlier book can be blamed on a really atrociously awful translator)
• Daniel Quinn's Ishmael (hmm . . . in a book that's supposed to be all about liberating us from harmful cultural paradigms, I find it very disturbing how the "universal" dialogue about the role of "Man" in the universe takes place between the two "universal" characters of a male human and a male gorilla and not once in the entire book does any female speak one single word; also, all the ranting about "overpopulation" completely fails to address the racism in how "letting people starve to death," as the book overtly recommends doing, conveniently means that only people in the "third world" will starve to death, and never anyone in the "first world")
• Amy Bloom's Love Invents Us (everyone must read this book immediately!! it's easily the best novel I've read in the last six months.)

Hey, look!

Ill Scientist just awarded me a certificate!