The Snarling Girl and Other Essays

by Elisa Albert

In sixteen essays published over the past decade, acclaimed novelist Elisa Albert considers everything from the creative process to reproductive justice, ambition to Ani DiFranco, Judaism to the ethos of punk, all in the midst of making a home in the strange city of Albany, New York. 

With wit and wariness, skepticism and surrender, this collection offers a first-of-its-kind window into the life and mind of an author Shalom Auslander once called “Bukowski with a vagina and a motherf*cker of a hangover.” 

Whether writing about doula training, struggling to embroider local community, art vs commerce, antisemitism, or growing up in the shadow of Hollywood, Albert is heartfelt, rigorous, and delightfully self-aware.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Jewish

206 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 27, 2024

About the author

ELISA ALBERT, author of The Book of Dahlia and a collection of short stories, has written for NPR, Tin House, Commentary, Salon, and the Rumpus. She grew up in Los Angeles and now lives in upstate New York with her family.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Moralism in art can eat every dick in hell. (Nothing against dick eating.”

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays, about coming of age, and then living as the person you have become, lives up to its excellent title. I mean, who hasn't been a snarling girl? One of the main characters through this book is the city of Albany, NY, the run-down, bedraggled capital of New York State. Its story might have overshadowed some of the others, or maybe I'm partial to it, the once-proud, once-prosperous Dutch-founded city, where I went to college and lived downtown across the street from beautiful Washington Park. Albert traces its struggles and hopes. Her life there after leaving Brooklyn is a major arc in her essays. And even if you don't know Albany, if you've ever lived in a small city that's seen better days, one that's right next door--or across the river--from another small city that's done everything right to remake itself--hello, Troy!--a seedy, rundown city at the head of the beautiful Hudson Valley, parts of which have undergone a steady journey towards repurposing itself as a lovely place to live, to be an artist, to have a second home, the story might interest you, too. And, of course, if you've ever been a snarling girl, you could meet your younger self here.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed and connected to many of these essays. I very much did not with others. In general, I love and connected to this author’s thoughts and experiences. I love her humor, her views, her perspective. I did not love how judgey the writing felt sometimes. Like, she made fun of people name-dropping dropping after spending a whole essay name-dropping. I also did not love essays about books which felt like long book reviews.

[Amelia Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Albert's writing. So precise and so full of feeling. A++++

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Art can change you; it can move and validate and shift and bait and wreck and kindle you in the best way.’

So grateful that I randomly found Elisa Albert’s art ~20 years ago. It has done all this for me and more.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these essays. The topics are interesting. The tone is engaging. I'd say it reads a little bitter (not without reason) in a way that is relatable and funny. I liked the author's attitude. I liked how she sometimes spoke to the reader. I'd be open to reading more from her.

[Noelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[Cindy H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this collection of essays.