Monsters

A Fan's Dilemma

By: Claire Dederer

Narrated by: Claire Dederer

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A timely, passionate, provocative, blisteringly smart interrogation of how we make and experience art in the age of cancel culture, and of the link between genius and monstrosity. Can we love the work of controversial classic and contemporary artists but dislike the artist?

"A lively, personal exploration of how one might think about the art of those who do bad things"—Vanity Fair • "[Dederer] breaks new ground, making a complex cultural conversation feel brand new."—Ada Calhoun, author of Also a Poet

From the author of the New York Times best seller Poser and the acclaimed memoir Love and Trouble, Monsters is “part memoir, part treatise, and all treat” (The New York Times). This unflinching, deeply personal book expands on Claire Dederer’s instantly viral Paris Review essay, "What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?"

Can we love the work of artists such as Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Miles Davis, Polanski, or Picasso? Should we? Dederer explores the audience's relationship with artists from Michael Jackson to Virginia Woolf, asking: How do we balance our undeniable sense of moral outrage with our equally undeniable love of the work? Is male monstrosity the same as female monstrosity? And if an artist is also a mother, does one identity inexorably, and fatally, interrupt the other? In a more troubling vein, she wonders if an artist needs to be a monster in order to create something great. Does genius deserve special dispensation? Does art have a mandate to depict the darker elements of the psyche? And what happens if the artist stares too long into the abyss?

Highly topical, morally wise, honest to the core, Monsters is certain to incite a conversation about whether and how we can separate artists from their art.

“Monsters leaves us with Dederer’s passionate commitment to the artists whose work most matters to her, and a framework to address these questions about the artists who matter most to us."—The Washington Post

A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, Vulture, Elle, Esquire, Kirkus

©2023 Claire Dederer (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED/BEST BOOK OF SPRING BY: The New York Times (twice!), BuzzFeed, Entertainment Weekly, TIME Magazine, Bustle, i-D, Nylon, Kirkus, The Millions, LitHub, Alta, Chicago Review of Books, The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Part memoir, part treatise, and all treat . . . nimble, witty . . . Her exquisitely reasoned vindication of Lolita brought tears to my eyes . . . This is a book that looks boldly down the cliff of roiling waters below and jumps right in, splashes around playfully, isn’t afraid to get wet. How refreshing.” —The New York Times

“Excellent . . . A work of deep thought and self-scrutiny that honors the impossibility of the book’s mission. Dederer comes to accept her love for the art that has shaped her by facing the monstrous, its potential in herself, and the ways it can exist alongside beauty and pathos. Go ahead, she tells us, love what you love. It excuses no one.” —The New Yorker

“[A] vital, exhilarating book . . . Although Dederer has done her homework, her style is breezy and confessional . . . Monsters leaves us with Dederer’s passionate commitment to the artists whose work most matters to her, and a framework to address these questions about the artists who matter most to us." —The Washington Post

Adresses my many questions

Great job narrating, even greater job critically thinking through this enormous problem. A many headed problem I haven’t been able to figure out. At least now I’ve thought through it in detail. Thank you to Jamie Ford for suggesting it.

"What do we do about the terrible people we love?"

It's a question near the end of this wonderful book of essays, and it's really what the entire book is attempting to answer—with no simple one provided.

I understand why some people are frustrated with the memoir + argument parts of the book, especially since it seems many others are looking for an "answer" or "solution" and Claire Dederer doesn't offer one. Well, except that she does, but it's not the one that people want since it implicates us all and says there is no easy answer. As she states in one of the final chapters, "under capitalism, monstrousness applies to everyone." Am I monstrous, are you? Yes. As she reiterates, this is really getting at "the problem of human love." A topic I'm intensely interested in and, I would argue, the majority of people are invested in pondering at some point, or all the time.

I listened to and read this book concurrently, and I enjoyed the process immensely in both formats. I liked having Claire narrate her work, and I liked going back and re-reading things so I could see the words on the page and reinforce the complicated analysis and narrative and then re-read again. This is a book that I will value for its writing, for its bravery, for its smartness, for its structure, for its simplicity and for its complexity for years to come. I've already discussed it in an essay writing class I taught this summer at the New School's creative writing program. And I've already recommended to many people who are grappling with this question, this problem, this reality and need to have others for support.

Recommending to everyone

I feel like this was the answer to a question I have had for years. She fleshes it out in heart rendering, tender and thoughtful detail. I am so grateful for this piece of excellent writing.

Of Monsters and Men

Incredibly well researched book, beautifully written that challenged me at every chapter. I loved the author’s narration. You won’t find any easy answers and your Monsters may be different. A perfect book club read for the variety of opinions likely to surface. And also? I want to go to Murfa, Texas.

The chapter on writers spoke my truth

Excellent , deep, raw , authentic analysis
On thinking about art, cancel culture, passion & addiction.
Brave & forceful!
Bravo!

Interesting, but…

This book meanders a little too much, but it’s interesting.
Not in its conclusions, because those are vague and ambiguous, but in its capacity to make the reader think on their own experiences with this problematic subject.
I found the narrator a bit flat, but ultimately it didn’t stop me from finishing.

Would I recommend?
If you’re interested in thinking about the subject more fully and tangentially as you digest the author’s ideas and their journey exploring this subject, sure.

If you’re looking for someone to spoon feed you the answer that you are too busy or lazy to come up with on your own, don’t bother.

*Kind’ve a spoiler from here on out, but…

This book is like therapy. It’s here to guide you towards multiple ways of considering the problem, not hand you the answer in a platter.
There’s a lot to think about, but at the end you’ll still need to make up your own mind.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.
It just might be frustrating if you go into this book looking for a definitive answer at the conclusion.

At times interesting, but not eye opening.

Many of the arguments made in this book are based on suppositions that actually strengthen the suppositions the author is struggling with. At times she has moments of real reckoning and calls herself on the problems of statements she has made, but mostly this is an author who is just barely beginning to do a deeper self examination. The basis of her most interesting points are riffs on Mark Fischer.

Brilliant!

So thought provoking with few easy answers. This book is dense with intellectual brilliance. It feels like some of her small tangents could still bloom into other brilliant books. Make sure you read it slowly because you’ll need a few moments to digest her spare-but-knock-you-to-the-ground sentences. I suspect we’ll be reading more from this author over the next few decades. A thought leader.

WOW - a must read!

This book is amazing, sad, enlightening - everything. Really. I learned so much, grieved the loss of a few artists and gained so much as a human. Such an interesting and enlightening perspective that many face on enjoying art and interacting with other people on a day to day basis. Thank you.

Excellent foray into our collective dilemma

Really enjoyed this book, and I think the author did a great job reading it. I listened at 1.9 speed so I don’t know if that made a difference in sound quality. I was challenged by her arguments for and against monsters, and I appreciated the connection to late stage capitalism.