so-so#Booked2020 #Spring #MemoirAboutAParentAndChild
I think I‘ll be in the minority on this one, but I could only give it a so-so rating because I felt there were huge portions of the book that seemed to drag. Faludi receives an email from her father, who lives in Budapest (and with whom she‘s had little communication for 25 years) informing her of his sex-change operation that took place in Thailand. Steven, now Stefánie, invites Susan to visit, ⬇️
gradcat ⬆️ and he, now she, also invites her daughter to write her biography. Susan makes several trips over, beginning in 2004, until her father passes away in 2015. Faludi attempts to reconcile the somewhat menacing figure of her father with the now ultimately feminine woman she has become, and while she is perhaps not totally successful, Susan does manage to establish a relationship with a father from whom she was estranged. This book presents loads ⬇️ (edited) 4y
gradcat ⬆️ of opportunity for postmodernist thought, in that discussion of identity is paramount throughout the text. The portions that I felt were so slow, e.g., Susan‘s father‘s time growing up in anti-Semitic Hungary, show how Steven‘s Jewish identity had to be suppressed in order for him to stay alive. In later years, his own self-perception is at odds with how others see him or her, throughout his or her life and regardless of the myriad changes. ♥️ (edited) 4y
Cinfhen This was a so-so for me too. I just wasn‘t able to emotionally connect to this story. Even when I felt bad for Susan, I didn‘t particularly “care” for her. And Stephanie/Stephen was such a difficult personality 4y
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gradcat @Cinfhen I absolutely agree with everything you wrote here. Now why can‘t I just say that and be done with it, instead of being a such a long-winded bore?! At points in the story, I felt my skin crawl in disgust over their interactions. Then in the next moment, I scold myself for not being more sympathetic to their plight. Finally, I just felt that I was glad I read it, but equally glad that it was over and done with...humpf, oh well.... ♥️ 4y
Cinfhen I appreciate your eloquence 😘 4y
gradcat @Cinfhen Thank you. You are a kind soul. ♥️♥️♥️ 4y
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