Overview

'Funny, lively and convivial... how rare and nourishing this sort of roaming thought is and what a joy to read' MEGAN NOLAN, SUNDAY TIMES 'An exhilarating, shape-shifting exploration of the perilous boundaries between art and life' JENNY OFFILL 'Monsters is extraordinary - engaging, enraging, provocative, and brilliant' ANN PATCHETT A passionate, provocative and blisteringly smart interrogation of how we experience art in the age of #MeToo, and whether we can separate an artist's work from their biography. What do we do with the art of monstrous men? Can we love the work of Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson, Hemingway and Picasso? Should we love it? Does genius deserve special dispensation? What makes women artists monstrous? And what should we do with beauty, and with our unruly feelings about it? Claire Dederer explores these questions and our relationships with the artists whose behaviour disrupts our ability to understand the work on its own terms. She interrogates her own responses and behaviour, and she pushes the fan, and the reader, to do the same. Morally wise, deeply considered and sharply written, Monsters gets to the heart of one of our most pressing conversations. *BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK* 'A blisteringly erudite and entertaining read . . . It's a book that deserves to be widely read and will provoke many conversations' NATHAN FILER 'Wise and bold and full of the kind of gravitas that might even rub off' LISA TADDEO 'An incredible book, the best work of criticism I have read in a very long time' NICK HORNBY

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9781399715034

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Reviews

Punchy and sharp . . . Exploring her own relationship to art made by shitty men, the book moves beyond tedious cancel culture discourse to interrogate ethics, art and fandom with nuance and compassion -- Katie Goh, Books to be excited for in 2023 * i-D *

Monsters is an incredible book, the best work of criticism I have read in a very long time. It's thrillingly sharp, appropriately doubtful, and more fun than you would believe, given the pressing seriousness of the subject matter. Claire Dederer's mind is a wonder, her erudition too; I now want her to apply them to everything I'm interested in so I can think about them differently -- Nick Hornby An exhilarating, shape-shifting exploration of the perilous boundaries between art and life. This timely book inhabits both the marvellous and the monstrous with generosity and wit -- Jenny Offill A blisteringly erudite and entertaining read. Dederer holds the moral ambiguity of her subject matter, landing her arguments with precision and flair. It's a book that deserves to be widely read and will provoke many conversations -- Nathan Filer Punchy and sharp . . . Exploring her own relationship to art made by shitty men, the book moves beyond tedious cancel culture discourse to interrogate ethics, art and fandom with nuance and compassion -- Katie Goh, Books to be excited for in 2023 * i-D * Slyly funny, emotionally honest, and full of raw passion, Claire Dederer's important book about what to do when artists you love do things you hate breaks new ground, making a complex cultural conversation feel brand new. Monsters elegantly takes on far more than 'cancel culture' - it offers new insights into love, ambition, and what it means to be an artist, a citizen, and a human being -- Ada Calhoun, author of <i>Also a Poet</i> Bringing erudition, emotion, and a down-to-earth style to this pressing problem, Dederer presents her finest work to date * Kirkus Reviews *

Punchy and sharp . . . Exploring her own relationship to art made by shitty men, the book moves beyond tedious cancel culture discourse to interrogate ethics, art and fandom with nuance and compassion -- Katie Goh, Books to be excited for in 2023 * i-D * Slyly funny, emotionally honest, and full of raw passion, Claire Dederer's important book about what to do when artists you love do things you hate breaks new ground, making a complex cultural conversation feel brand new. Monsters elegantly takes on far more than 'cancel culture' - it offers new insights into love, ambition, and what it means to be an artist, a citizen, and a human being -- Ada Calhoun, author of <i>Also a Poet</i>

Author Information

Claire Dederer is the author of Love and Trouble, and the New York Times bestselling memoir Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses. A book critic, essayist and reporter, Dederer is a long-time contributor to The New York Times and has also written for The Atlantic, Vogue, Slate, The Nation and New York magazine. She lives near Seattle with her family.

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