Reviews

Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

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amysteele's review against another edition

5.0

If you’re looking for an intense, intelligent and engulfing feminist thriller, you must read ANY MAN. Author Amber Tamblyn challenges rape culture and the problematic treatment of victims and glorification of violence and misogyny through this thriller about a female serial rapist. The novel follows six men: an English teacher, a struggling standup comedian, a bi-racial web designer, a high school student, an alt-right media personality and a transgender man. A uniquely irreverent and impressively original novel, social commentary and crime thriller meld with insightful, sharp prose and diverse writing styles. She weaves in tweets, poetry, internet chat room, a radio talk show. She also flips everything one expects in thriller. [As a companion read, I recommend Dead Girls by Alice Bolin-- an essay collection addressing society's infatuation with violence against women]. Whether she's using tweets or poetry or an internet chat room or journal entries, it grabs you from the first page and is impossible to put down. If you’re a woman who has been attacked on social media or elsewhere for expressing her opinion, you’ll really get it. Tamblyn wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times, "I'm Done with Not Being Believed," which cemented her place among influential feminists who are changing the narrative around trauma and victimization. I found myself nodding and smiling and cringing and marking passages while proclaiming Tamblyn’s genius and reading as fast as possible.

published here: https://entertainmentrealm.com/2018/07/02/book-review-any-man/

daddybabs's review

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4.0

“The human smile no longer makes sense to me. Why is it a sign of happiness? Who decided that?… Smile is the shape of my mouth my therapist looks for when she asks how I’m doing. It is the shape of my mouth Camilla wants to kiss when I return from a day’s work. The shape of my mouth my neighbours and colleagues desire to set them at ease. It makes others feel safe with my story. I practise this smiling, this mouth’s shaping, in the mirror. I do it for them.”