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Authority: Essays on Being Right
'A galaxy-brain-level thinker' Torrey Peters
'One of the most charismatic and original thinkers at work today' Brandon Taylor
'Thrilling... Authority reminds us we haven't yet felt all there is to feel' Kaveh Akbar
Since her canonical 2017 essay 'On Liking Women', the Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Andrea Long Chu has established herself as a public intellectual straight out of the 1960s. With devastating wit and polemical clarity, she defies the imperative to leave politics out of art, instead modeling how the left might brave the culture wars without throwing in with the cynics and doomsayers.
Authority brings together Chu’s critical work across a wide range of media—novels, television, theater, video games—as well as an acclaimed tetralogy of literary essays first published in n+1. As a critic, Chu places The Phantom of the Opera within a centuries-old conflict between music and drama; questions the enduring habit of reading Octavia Butler’s science fiction as a parable of slavery; teases out the ideology behind Hillary Clinton’s (fictional) sex life; and charges fellow critics like Maggie Nelson and Zadie Smith with a complacent humanism.
The unifying theme of the book is authority and taste in literature, art, culture and how do we decide what's good, and how do we convince others that our judgement is correct?
'One of the most charismatic and original thinkers at work today' Brandon Taylor
'Thrilling... Authority reminds us we haven't yet felt all there is to feel' Kaveh Akbar
Since her canonical 2017 essay 'On Liking Women', the Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Andrea Long Chu has established herself as a public intellectual straight out of the 1960s. With devastating wit and polemical clarity, she defies the imperative to leave politics out of art, instead modeling how the left might brave the culture wars without throwing in with the cynics and doomsayers.
Authority brings together Chu’s critical work across a wide range of media—novels, television, theater, video games—as well as an acclaimed tetralogy of literary essays first published in n+1. As a critic, Chu places The Phantom of the Opera within a centuries-old conflict between music and drama; questions the enduring habit of reading Octavia Butler’s science fiction as a parable of slavery; teases out the ideology behind Hillary Clinton’s (fictional) sex life; and charges fellow critics like Maggie Nelson and Zadie Smith with a complacent humanism.
The unifying theme of the book is authority and taste in literature, art, culture and how do we decide what's good, and how do we convince others that our judgement is correct?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 8, 2025
164 people are currently reading
5550 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Long Chu
10 books210 followersAndrea Long Chu is a writer, critic, academic living in Brooklyn. Her first book, published by Verso, is Females. As an essayist, her work has appeared in n+1, Boston Review, The New York Times, New York, New York Review of Books, Artforum, Bookforum, Jewish Currents, Chronicle of Higher Education, Affidavit, 4Columns, differences, Women and Performance, TSQ, and Journal of Speculative Philosophy. She is currently a doctoral student at New York University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
July 20, 2025
call me biased, but i love a mean book review.
absolutely nobody does criticism like andrea long chu. even when i disagree with her, even when she is taking on books or shows or movies i adore, i relish reading her devastatingly sharp and witty observations.
i'd read a few of these reviews before, and being able to add the reread of those and the discovery of others towards my reading challenge was a treat.
i think her essays lack the same brilliance, not following the same tight pathway with the same cleverness, but...the criticism more than made up for that.
bottom line: like getting reading challenge credit for reading viral articles.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
absolutely nobody does criticism like andrea long chu. even when i disagree with her, even when she is taking on books or shows or movies i adore, i relish reading her devastatingly sharp and witty observations.
i'd read a few of these reviews before, and being able to add the reread of those and the discovery of others towards my reading challenge was a treat.
i think her essays lack the same brilliance, not following the same tight pathway with the same cleverness, but...the criticism more than made up for that.
bottom line: like getting reading challenge credit for reading viral articles.
(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
May 2, 2025
3.5 stars
Some brilliant insights in this essay collection. I appreciated that Andrea Long Chu was willing to name names and offer, for the most part, substantial critiques of other writers’ work. While I found myself in general political and ideological alignment with Chu, some of her takes that I most resonated with included: 1) her critique of Rodham by Curis Sittenfeld and the limitations of representation politics (e.g., just because a woman or person of color is in power doesn’t necessarily mean women or people of color tangibly benefit), 2) her analysis of Ottessa Moshfegh’s frustratingly apolitical writing and positionality, and 3) her critique of Zadie Smith, who I harbor a lot of negative feelings toward after her horrible New Yorker essay where she minimized the Zionist genocide of Palestine (for more info on Smith’s absolute mess of an essay, see this take by Stacy Lee Kong).
My issue with this collection was I felt that Chu would often use a ton of words to describe an argument instead of simply just saying the argument. She’s clearly intellectually rigorous, I also wished she would be more direct in her writing. To me this essay collection contained moments of important critique amidst a lot of fluffy, abstract prose.
Also, while I did appreciate Chu’s critique of Celeste Ng and Jay Caspian Kang – I agree with her take that both these writers are oddly obsessed with mixed-race, specifically Asian/white characters – I wanted more of a straightforward counterargument to Ng and Kang’s perspectives. I think Chu alludes to this, but I’ll say it outright: there are a lot of Asian Americans who don’t care about being white or looking white or dating white people, and we should focus more on those stories instead of centering narratives in which Asian Americans are perpetually in proximity to white people. Anyway, for more on this you can check out my review of Kang’s The Loneliest Americans and I’d recommend the books Yolk by Mary Choi, Sea Change by Gina Chung, and Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou.
Some brilliant insights in this essay collection. I appreciated that Andrea Long Chu was willing to name names and offer, for the most part, substantial critiques of other writers’ work. While I found myself in general political and ideological alignment with Chu, some of her takes that I most resonated with included: 1) her critique of Rodham by Curis Sittenfeld and the limitations of representation politics (e.g., just because a woman or person of color is in power doesn’t necessarily mean women or people of color tangibly benefit), 2) her analysis of Ottessa Moshfegh’s frustratingly apolitical writing and positionality, and 3) her critique of Zadie Smith, who I harbor a lot of negative feelings toward after her horrible New Yorker essay where she minimized the Zionist genocide of Palestine (for more info on Smith’s absolute mess of an essay, see this take by Stacy Lee Kong).
My issue with this collection was I felt that Chu would often use a ton of words to describe an argument instead of simply just saying the argument. She’s clearly intellectually rigorous, I also wished she would be more direct in her writing. To me this essay collection contained moments of important critique amidst a lot of fluffy, abstract prose.
Also, while I did appreciate Chu’s critique of Celeste Ng and Jay Caspian Kang – I agree with her take that both these writers are oddly obsessed with mixed-race, specifically Asian/white characters – I wanted more of a straightforward counterargument to Ng and Kang’s perspectives. I think Chu alludes to this, but I’ll say it outright: there are a lot of Asian Americans who don’t care about being white or looking white or dating white people, and we should focus more on those stories instead of centering narratives in which Asian Americans are perpetually in proximity to white people. Anyway, for more on this you can check out my review of Kang’s The Loneliest Americans and I’d recommend the books Yolk by Mary Choi, Sea Change by Gina Chung, and Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou.
June 25, 2025
It’s tempting to slate a book of essays because you don’t align with all of the author’s viewpoints. But what made this book rate a four star is it was mostly provocative, and engaging and thoughtful.
Chu takes us through her perspectives on feminism, trans women, and popular culture, all of which are connected to the idea of authority.
The critic as authority on popular culture, the history of authority in literary criticism and feminism and Asian culture, and the approach to authority in the films and books she reviews.
She is witty and sardonic at times (upon a friend becoming disgruntled at a dinner party conversation, she notes “Dinner, it seems, is the greatest casualty of liberal fascism”.)
She expertly traces the idea of authority and taste in literary criticism from Roman days to Kant, Trilling, Wilde and Sontag.
There were essays that meandered and didn’t have much punch but overall I didn’t so much enjoy reading this as I was impressed by reading this.
Chu takes us through her perspectives on feminism, trans women, and popular culture, all of which are connected to the idea of authority.
The critic as authority on popular culture, the history of authority in literary criticism and feminism and Asian culture, and the approach to authority in the films and books she reviews.
She is witty and sardonic at times (upon a friend becoming disgruntled at a dinner party conversation, she notes “Dinner, it seems, is the greatest casualty of liberal fascism”.)
She expertly traces the idea of authority and taste in literary criticism from Roman days to Kant, Trilling, Wilde and Sontag.
There were essays that meandered and didn’t have much punch but overall I didn’t so much enjoy reading this as I was impressed by reading this.
June 13, 2025
This was so hit or miss for me. The takedowns are so so so good. Chu really knows how to trash a piece of art and artist. The newer pieces are fine, the title piece is weaker than the introduction. I got bored with some of the essays to the point of DNFing them. I also found myself wondering what it would be like to read a celebratory piece from Chu. I mean the woman can write, she is so funny and snarky and it comes through beautifully. The essays on trans identity and experience are also very very very good. Again, a real mixed bag for me.
October 5, 2025
the good lord shows everyone their life mission in their own time. for some people, it's self-improvement. for others, it's activism. and for me, it's getting my hands on a copy of this fucking book so help me god
August 5, 2024
ARC for review. To be published April 8, 2025.
A collection of previously published essays plus two new ones from this Pulitzer Prize winning essayist. Chu offers her opinions and analysis of the TV show “Yellowjackets,” (which I love) “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Last of Us,” (which, apparently, I am the last to know began life as a video game) the writer Ottessa Moshfegh, Joey Soloway, creator of “Transparent,” mixed Asian novels and more.
On author Hana Yanagihara, “If A LITTLE LIFE was opera it was not “La Boheme, it was “Rent.” I disagree…but funny!
On the #MeToo movement, “The thing is, it’s all of them. It’s every single last one of them. Not just the famous ones. Never let anyone persuade you otherwise….”
This…interesting statement that is worthy of loads of discussion, “It is undoubtedly true that race in America is created and maintained through racist violence.”
The collection is bookended by the two new essays, both of which deal with criticism itself, so there’s a fair amount of navel-gazing here. The first, “”Criticism is a Crisis” (I think. I can barely read my own bad handwriting) is long and, honestly, a bit yawn-inducing. It’s a huge, long history lesson nobody asked for. Critics will like it as it parses what they do and why they are superior to mere reviewers. “[W]e expect the good critic to leave his own values at the door but not his nose for valuing.”
I don’t know, after reading it, critics sound exhausting to me. Certainly they have their place, but if this essay is what being a critic is, then, well, I’m going to want to have that proverbial beer with a plain old reviewer why we talk about which “Seinfeld” episodes are the best. We have favorite Shakespeare plays, but they aren’t as fun to discuss.
The final essay in the book and the second new work is “Authority.” I’ll sum it up with saying that people look to true critics (versus reviewers) not for opinions but judgment. Agree and disagree on this, and I can point to an essay in this very book as an example. I have read and loved two of Hana Yanagihara’s books. I think it’s fair to say that whatever definition one uses of the term “literary fiction” both meet it and both of them could be and likely are (or will be) taught in university classes (I realize that alone doesn't give them merit, but what does?). Anyway, Chu is not impressed. I very much enjoyed reading her views on books I know fairly well even though they differ from mine. I’m not looking for her judgment to take the place of mine or reinforce my own. I still feel exactly the same.
So, to sum up, I thought the first essay would never end, but I quite enjoyed everything else. I don’t know if I’ve read Chu in the past; if I have I didn’t connect the name with what I was reading. I’ll look for her in the future.
A collection of previously published essays plus two new ones from this Pulitzer Prize winning essayist. Chu offers her opinions and analysis of the TV show “Yellowjackets,” (which I love) “Phantom of the Opera,” “The Last of Us,” (which, apparently, I am the last to know began life as a video game) the writer Ottessa Moshfegh, Joey Soloway, creator of “Transparent,” mixed Asian novels and more.
On author Hana Yanagihara, “If A LITTLE LIFE was opera it was not “La Boheme, it was “Rent.” I disagree…but funny!
On the #MeToo movement, “The thing is, it’s all of them. It’s every single last one of them. Not just the famous ones. Never let anyone persuade you otherwise….”
This…interesting statement that is worthy of loads of discussion, “It is undoubtedly true that race in America is created and maintained through racist violence.”
The collection is bookended by the two new essays, both of which deal with criticism itself, so there’s a fair amount of navel-gazing here. The first, “”Criticism is a Crisis” (I think. I can barely read my own bad handwriting) is long and, honestly, a bit yawn-inducing. It’s a huge, long history lesson nobody asked for. Critics will like it as it parses what they do and why they are superior to mere reviewers. “[W]e expect the good critic to leave his own values at the door but not his nose for valuing.”
I don’t know, after reading it, critics sound exhausting to me. Certainly they have their place, but if this essay is what being a critic is, then, well, I’m going to want to have that proverbial beer with a plain old reviewer why we talk about which “Seinfeld” episodes are the best. We have favorite Shakespeare plays, but they aren’t as fun to discuss.
The final essay in the book and the second new work is “Authority.” I’ll sum it up with saying that people look to true critics (versus reviewers) not for opinions but judgment. Agree and disagree on this, and I can point to an essay in this very book as an example. I have read and loved two of Hana Yanagihara’s books. I think it’s fair to say that whatever definition one uses of the term “literary fiction” both meet it and both of them could be and likely are (or will be) taught in university classes (I realize that alone doesn't give them merit, but what does?). Anyway, Chu is not impressed. I very much enjoyed reading her views on books I know fairly well even though they differ from mine. I’m not looking for her judgment to take the place of mine or reinforce my own. I still feel exactly the same.
So, to sum up, I thought the first essay would never end, but I quite enjoyed everything else. I don’t know if I’ve read Chu in the past; if I have I didn’t connect the name with what I was reading. I’ll look for her in the future.
did-not-finish
September 2, 2025This was truly some of the most insufferable writing I've ever had to slog through... not for me. RIP to the audiobook credit I used on her.
August 30, 2025
DNF @ ~30%
Coming out of the gate to say I am a big Andrea Long Chu fan! She's loved for her negative reviews but her other work here is just as good. I cannot find the source but I remember hearing someone accurately describe her writing as "identifying the source of the stench in the room". The standout of what I read here is by far her Phantom essay, simultaneously cutting and effusive. Simply: A joy to read.
I do wish that this was more than a collection of previously-published essays + 2 new. Many of these pieces are easy to track down online and have been in circulation for long enough that a collection this early in her career (which I believe is long and just getting started) doesn't feel quite warranted. The first of her newer essays, on the "crisis of criticism," is fine, but holds the same minor issue I have with a lot of her work, which is that she more often gestures at an idea than really hits it home. That being said, I appreciate how she invites me to think about her arguments, even if I don't always agree with them. The reason I DNFed this is because I struggle to sit down and read one essay after another, not as any reflection of their quality.
Please note that I work for Macmillan and opinions are my own. I am not involved in book production.
Coming out of the gate to say I am a big Andrea Long Chu fan! She's loved for her negative reviews but her other work here is just as good. I cannot find the source but I remember hearing someone accurately describe her writing as "identifying the source of the stench in the room". The standout of what I read here is by far her Phantom essay, simultaneously cutting and effusive. Simply: A joy to read.
I do wish that this was more than a collection of previously-published essays + 2 new. Many of these pieces are easy to track down online and have been in circulation for long enough that a collection this early in her career (which I believe is long and just getting started) doesn't feel quite warranted. The first of her newer essays, on the "crisis of criticism," is fine, but holds the same minor issue I have with a lot of her work, which is that she more often gestures at an idea than really hits it home. That being said, I appreciate how she invites me to think about her arguments, even if I don't always agree with them. The reason I DNFed this is because I struggle to sit down and read one essay after another, not as any reflection of their quality.
Please note that I work for Macmillan and opinions are my own. I am not involved in book production.
March 23, 2025
Major thanks to NetGalley and FSG for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:
"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴."
The kind of book to not only make you seem smarter, but actually try to be smarter to enrich critical thinking. I miss strong opinions. I miss the French. Heated conversations. Not debates. Just talks with passion.
"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮."
New work. Old work. Revisitations. Refinement. Opinions change, fleshed out more, built upon, and it’s seeing the progression and change that I think informs the work of a great critic. Because we are led to freedom. Freedom from the entrapments of buzz words and blanket words.
"𝘕𝘰𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺, '𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵' 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺."
Chu’s work master’s the ability to take stance and own it. The research is there. The bite too. It’s in the precision that a rhetoric is built, strong-willed and certain o provide a clarity to art.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳."
Tackling people on like Bret Easton Ellis, Maggie Nelson, Hanya Yanagihara, and even Otessa Moshfegh, I am led to fatigue now with brainless one-liners on a site for reviews. I am bothered by the lack of time spent on leaving others with food for thought.
"𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥; 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵."
As readers, we should do better. And as people we should do better. And I mean this mostly for America. Look now. Now, at the state of things. A crumbling republic with a great uncertainty that will drown out not only great thinkers, but great thinking. Critical thinking. All thinking.
"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴."
The kind of book to not only make you seem smarter, but actually try to be smarter to enrich critical thinking. I miss strong opinions. I miss the French. Heated conversations. Not debates. Just talks with passion.
"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮."
New work. Old work. Revisitations. Refinement. Opinions change, fleshed out more, built upon, and it’s seeing the progression and change that I think informs the work of a great critic. Because we are led to freedom. Freedom from the entrapments of buzz words and blanket words.
"𝘕𝘰𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘺, '𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵' 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵—𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺."
Chu’s work master’s the ability to take stance and own it. The research is there. The bite too. It’s in the precision that a rhetoric is built, strong-willed and certain o provide a clarity to art.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵, 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳."
Tackling people on like Bret Easton Ellis, Maggie Nelson, Hanya Yanagihara, and even Otessa Moshfegh, I am led to fatigue now with brainless one-liners on a site for reviews. I am bothered by the lack of time spent on leaving others with food for thought.
"𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥; 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘭𝘨𝘰. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵."
As readers, we should do better. And as people we should do better. And I mean this mostly for America. Look now. Now, at the state of things. A crumbling republic with a great uncertainty that will drown out not only great thinkers, but great thinking. Critical thinking. All thinking.
March 31, 2025
Thank you fsgbooks for the arc
There’s something to be said about how I eat up Chu’s writing while continuing to read and love my problematic authors . Go ahead and take down Hanya, Ottessa, and BEE (lord knows he deserves it), but I’ll still be reading them in peace, thanks. No matter what I’m reading, I’m looking for great writing and Chu is at the top of her game.
In a world where everyone feels the need to explain ad nauseam that all art is subjective and add so many caveats to their thoughts or experience, I look for writing that goes beyond that. It’s an understatement to say Chu doesn’t mind ruffling some feathers, just look through her reviews and count up how many pans there are, but when she does like something I take notice (even if said book has an embarrassingly low rating on GR).
I’m not looking for Chu, or any critic, to tell me what to think (is this me taking away their authority?) - I already know what I love and hate. While I can have my mind changed, it doesn’t come from someone telling me ‘NO this is GOOD’ or ‘you're WRONG’. Show me HOW you think, give me something to follow, dig deep, make me not stop thinking about the artwork. Of course I’m being a total hypocrite, when a critic agrees with me I give a little knowing nod, maybe a little HAH is let out.
What I’m trying to get at is that Chu is very analytical and incisive, while also being funny- sometimes dryly, sometimes darkly. That's what makes her essays an event. If you’ve never read her, get this! In a collection of 24 essays, including two new ones about the state and history of criticism itself. I don’t think I skipped any (that’s a lie, I saw the words Phantom of the Opera and moved on), my favorite ones being about gender or depression (China brain shows the aesthetic possibilities of the essay). It doesn’t matter that I’ll never watch Yellowjackets or read Celeste Ng’s latest, I just want to see how Chu’s mind works and how she will cut through the bull.
I wish we lived in a world where more critics had the support to really dive in and research a long form essay, but considering how reviews tank I’ll be waiting a while for the great essay comeback.
There’s something to be said about how I eat up Chu’s writing while continuing to read and love my problematic authors . Go ahead and take down Hanya, Ottessa, and BEE (lord knows he deserves it), but I’ll still be reading them in peace, thanks. No matter what I’m reading, I’m looking for great writing and Chu is at the top of her game.
In a world where everyone feels the need to explain ad nauseam that all art is subjective and add so many caveats to their thoughts or experience, I look for writing that goes beyond that. It’s an understatement to say Chu doesn’t mind ruffling some feathers, just look through her reviews and count up how many pans there are, but when she does like something I take notice (even if said book has an embarrassingly low rating on GR).
I’m not looking for Chu, or any critic, to tell me what to think (is this me taking away their authority?) - I already know what I love and hate. While I can have my mind changed, it doesn’t come from someone telling me ‘NO this is GOOD’ or ‘you're WRONG’. Show me HOW you think, give me something to follow, dig deep, make me not stop thinking about the artwork. Of course I’m being a total hypocrite, when a critic agrees with me I give a little knowing nod, maybe a little HAH is let out.
What I’m trying to get at is that Chu is very analytical and incisive, while also being funny- sometimes dryly, sometimes darkly. That's what makes her essays an event. If you’ve never read her, get this! In a collection of 24 essays, including two new ones about the state and history of criticism itself. I don’t think I skipped any (that’s a lie, I saw the words Phantom of the Opera and moved on), my favorite ones being about gender or depression (China brain shows the aesthetic possibilities of the essay). It doesn’t matter that I’ll never watch Yellowjackets or read Celeste Ng’s latest, I just want to see how Chu’s mind works and how she will cut through the bull.
I wish we lived in a world where more critics had the support to really dive in and research a long form essay, but considering how reviews tank I’ll be waiting a while for the great essay comeback.
May 16, 2025
I consider myself to be of modest intelligence. I'm not a genius, but I'm not uneducated. I try to speak, read and write continuously in a way that hopefully, challenges myself intellectually. I come from a family with poor education values, so my intelligence level, and being "smart enough" has been one of my lifelong insecurities.
I say all of this to segue into my thoughts about Andrea Long Chu's phenomenal essays book, Authority. Chu is a smarty pants. There are no two ways about it. She is sharp-tongued, cleverly witty, and concise with word choices. I thought the following while reading this book - her intelligence is astounding. Astounding! I am envious of her intelligence level. There, I said it! I know a great amount of research went into some of the essays for this book - (Chu even credits her researcher at the end) but to be able to take all of that raw material, weave it together, look at it critically, and then write cohesively on it? Again, astounding.
Chu takes us through her last 7 years or so of various essays she has written on many facets of literature, theatre, television, mental health, and gender issues. She even takes several pokes at the lowly book reviewer. She turns her keen eye on television shows such as The Last of Us, Yellow Jackets, and Yellowstone, and then turns around and criticizes the Phantom of the Opera. We hear her candid thoughts on her gender reassignment surgery, and her forays into TMS therapy prior to her bipolar II diagnosis. Her essay from n+1, "On Liking Women", is republished here in its entirety.
She looks at many authors and their works: Hanya Yanagihara, Bret Easton Ellis, Curtis Sittenfeld, Ottessa Moshfegh, Celeste Ng, Zadie Smith and Octavia Butler. My favorites were the essays on Hanya Yanagihara (she DOES put a lot of gay protagonists in her books) and Ottessa Moshfegh - I've only read My Year of Rest and Relaxation by her thus far, (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but now I am very intrigued and will be seeking out more of her work.
In her titular series of essays, Authority, she dives very deep into the history of literary criticism. In actuality, this was my least favorite of the entire collection. I recognize the importance of it, but it was rather dull and droned on maybe a bit excessively for my tastes.
I was gifted the audiobook version of this book from NetGalley and FSG (MacMillan Audio) - and I really enjoyed this version - it was read by Ms. Chu herself, and I think it added another level to the book that you might not achieve with the print version. You could hear in her voice those essays which she was most passionate about; the tonal inflections, the way she became slightly more animated with certain subjects.
I was unable to save many quotes since this was an audiobook, but I am sure like many other of my all time favorite books, I will eventually purchase a print copy and re-read. Highlighting can happen on the second go-around. The below quote did stand out to me, in both a comical and in an existentialism sort of way :
"All bodily pain begins with shock at the audacity of physical trespass. A kind of astonishment, at the frankly unbelievable insinuation that one is not, in fact, the center of the universe."
This was from her essay on her gender surgery, which was informative on the process itself. What a human being puts themselves through, just to feel something more like who they were meant to be. Much respect to the author.
Read this book. It will make you think. Really hard. And we all need more of that.
I say all of this to segue into my thoughts about Andrea Long Chu's phenomenal essays book, Authority. Chu is a smarty pants. There are no two ways about it. She is sharp-tongued, cleverly witty, and concise with word choices. I thought the following while reading this book - her intelligence is astounding. Astounding! I am envious of her intelligence level. There, I said it! I know a great amount of research went into some of the essays for this book - (Chu even credits her researcher at the end) but to be able to take all of that raw material, weave it together, look at it critically, and then write cohesively on it? Again, astounding.
Chu takes us through her last 7 years or so of various essays she has written on many facets of literature, theatre, television, mental health, and gender issues. She even takes several pokes at the lowly book reviewer. She turns her keen eye on television shows such as The Last of Us, Yellow Jackets, and Yellowstone, and then turns around and criticizes the Phantom of the Opera. We hear her candid thoughts on her gender reassignment surgery, and her forays into TMS therapy prior to her bipolar II diagnosis. Her essay from n+1, "On Liking Women", is republished here in its entirety.
She looks at many authors and their works: Hanya Yanagihara, Bret Easton Ellis, Curtis Sittenfeld, Ottessa Moshfegh, Celeste Ng, Zadie Smith and Octavia Butler. My favorites were the essays on Hanya Yanagihara (she DOES put a lot of gay protagonists in her books) and Ottessa Moshfegh - I've only read My Year of Rest and Relaxation by her thus far, (which I thoroughly enjoyed) but now I am very intrigued and will be seeking out more of her work.
In her titular series of essays, Authority, she dives very deep into the history of literary criticism. In actuality, this was my least favorite of the entire collection. I recognize the importance of it, but it was rather dull and droned on maybe a bit excessively for my tastes.
I was gifted the audiobook version of this book from NetGalley and FSG (MacMillan Audio) - and I really enjoyed this version - it was read by Ms. Chu herself, and I think it added another level to the book that you might not achieve with the print version. You could hear in her voice those essays which she was most passionate about; the tonal inflections, the way she became slightly more animated with certain subjects.
I was unable to save many quotes since this was an audiobook, but I am sure like many other of my all time favorite books, I will eventually purchase a print copy and re-read. Highlighting can happen on the second go-around. The below quote did stand out to me, in both a comical and in an existentialism sort of way :
"All bodily pain begins with shock at the audacity of physical trespass. A kind of astonishment, at the frankly unbelievable insinuation that one is not, in fact, the center of the universe."
This was from her essay on her gender surgery, which was informative on the process itself. What a human being puts themselves through, just to feel something more like who they were meant to be. Much respect to the author.
Read this book. It will make you think. Really hard. And we all need more of that.
May 30, 2025
Chu is too obsessed with her own style to write consistently good criticism. She also has a very clear cut form that, while effective in short bursts, seems unimaginative when read in sequence (the neutral introduction, the description of the art, the teasing first ad hominem strikes, some mush that's completely lost in her Tweet-like topic sentences, more aggressive ad hominem usage, and then a final paragraph where she says some variation of "To put it simply" or "My point is" where she writes something very beautiful and insightful that I'll probably write down somewhere.)
I enjoyed this, kind of, but I don't think the book was very focused--and it's not for a lack for talent. It's for a superabundance of ego.
(If you liked the tone of this review you'd probably enjoy the book!)
I enjoyed this, kind of, but I don't think the book was very focused--and it's not for a lack for talent. It's for a superabundance of ego.
(If you liked the tone of this review you'd probably enjoy the book!)
August 30, 2025
I first came across Andrea Long Chu's criticism via a devastating takedown of Hanya Yanagihara's writing in New York magazine and was intrigued enough to pick up this essay collection. The majority of the media reviewed in here is media I have not consumed (TV shows Yellowjackets, Yellowstone, The Last of US, On Freedom by Maggie Nelson, White by Bret Easton Ellis, or any novel by Ottessa Moshfegh, Zadie Smith, or Tao Lin) but I still read through this whole collection with rapt interest. I especially appreciated the pieces that revealed more of the author's own biography ("On Liking Women", on Valerie Solana's SCUM Manifesto and transphobia woven through the history of feminism; "Pink" on the pink pussy hat movement and vaginoplasty; and "China Brain" on transcranial magnetic stimulation, depression, and bipolar disorder). But the author's character and opinions run through every single piece in this collection, including the two new essays on the history of and purpose of literary criticism itself. For as much as I read, this isn't a subject I'm well versed on. I'll definitely be seeking out more Andrea Long Chu writing in the future!
Read
June 15, 2025Yep it rocked
June 18, 2025
Me, exercising my Goodreads-given authority to review Authority.
Andrea Long Chu can write. No argument there. The prose is sharp, confident, often audacious in the best way, like she’s perpetually smirking while dragging your favourite novelist through a hedge backwards. Authority wants to disrupt, to provoke, to show you that taste is political and criticism is a power move. And honestly? That premise rules.
But somewhere between the swagger and the wordplay, I found myself underwhelmed.
Let’s start with the structure—or, more accurately, the lack of it. The book is divided into parts, but the logic behind the sections is... elusive at best. The essays feel shuffled rather than curated, and while there's an entire essay smack in the middle that finally tries to define “authority,” it almost feels like a course correction rather than a centrepiece. As in: “Oh, right—we should probably talk about the title.”
Some essays bored me to the point of skimming, while others actually grabbed my attention. Chu’s style often outpaces her substance. She gestures toward critique-as-philosophy, but the philosophy doesn’t always show up to the party.
There’s also this strange evasiveness: for a book about authority—about who gets to speak, how, and why—it doesn’t do much excavation. Gender and power get mentioned, but not deeply unpacked. There’s a lot of posturing (again, sometimes brilliant), but not much reflection. It’s as if the book wants to dominate the conversation without having to slow down for an actual dialogue. The epilogue would have been a good opportunity to do so.
Still, respect where it’s due: it pokes, prods, and postures. But if criticism is about saying what’s good and what’s bad? I say: this one’s okay. Maybe two stars with style, maybe three if I squint. Either way: declined to endorse.
Andrea Long Chu can write. No argument there. The prose is sharp, confident, often audacious in the best way, like she’s perpetually smirking while dragging your favourite novelist through a hedge backwards. Authority wants to disrupt, to provoke, to show you that taste is political and criticism is a power move. And honestly? That premise rules.
But somewhere between the swagger and the wordplay, I found myself underwhelmed.
Let’s start with the structure—or, more accurately, the lack of it. The book is divided into parts, but the logic behind the sections is... elusive at best. The essays feel shuffled rather than curated, and while there's an entire essay smack in the middle that finally tries to define “authority,” it almost feels like a course correction rather than a centrepiece. As in: “Oh, right—we should probably talk about the title.”
Some essays bored me to the point of skimming, while others actually grabbed my attention. Chu’s style often outpaces her substance. She gestures toward critique-as-philosophy, but the philosophy doesn’t always show up to the party.
There’s also this strange evasiveness: for a book about authority—about who gets to speak, how, and why—it doesn’t do much excavation. Gender and power get mentioned, but not deeply unpacked. There’s a lot of posturing (again, sometimes brilliant), but not much reflection. It’s as if the book wants to dominate the conversation without having to slow down for an actual dialogue. The epilogue would have been a good opportunity to do so.
Still, respect where it’s due: it pokes, prods, and postures. But if criticism is about saying what’s good and what’s bad? I say: this one’s okay. Maybe two stars with style, maybe three if I squint. Either way: declined to endorse.
Read
September 28, 2025with any collection of criticism i've read, enjoyment of any particular piece is usually dependent upon your prior knowledge, interest, or experience with the thing being criticized (mostly, anyway) so i loved some of these essays and others not so much but that's okay! andrea is ruthless tho, if i ever wrote a book i would love it if she tore me to shreds like she does in 'hanya's boys' rip
Want to read
January 10, 2025i love andrea long chu in a religious worshipping sort of way.
thank you to fsg for the advanced copy!
thank you to fsg for the advanced copy!
May 23, 2025
I have too much to say about this excellent book therefore I will say nothing. Andrea Long Chewwwwwwwed!
May 22, 2025
No one is safe, not even Hanya’s boys, as we know. Chu, an equal opportunist, doles out scrutiny to all of her pieces’ subjects.
She styles her unforgiving, sometimes unrelenting, assessments with her philosophical training in the academy, which peeks out with random biblical themes. She will not leave the beloved untouched because even sacred things are worth honestly engaging with again. Sometimes, she opts for a complete reassessment. This can be a freeing experience, not because I believe deconstruction as such should always win the argument, but because she sets a pattern for careful engagement with authority structures. In this sense, Authority is a worthwhile experience pedagogically. This is my more charitable reading of Chu’s methodology and use of critical authority.
A less charitable interpretation is being mean for the likes because human sociality dies in the comment section: the yo’ mama jokes fester still. I take her tactic as the former one, even though she doesn’t seek to be charitable (I know correlation isn’t causation, but it’s notable to me that I’m naturally drawn to write this review in the negative after putting down her book). She’s not interested in canceling culturally significant things (maybe except for Yellowstone—fine by me). A negative result of publishing polemical writing as one’s trademark technique is that others may follow suit. I hope critics (even a rando reviewer like me on GR) would have the sense to discern which tone to use and when. Chu’s recent writings in this compilation evolve from the older mince and mangle to something closer to macerate.
I appreciate Chu’s straightforward approach to evaluation, and the writing isn’t too funny, thankfully. There’s just enough salt on the choco chip cookie to intensify the experience; wit in the wrong critic’s hands causes hypertension. Not to belabor the point, but I needed a neutralizing cup of milk after re-reading her essay on Yanagihara. I could write my own essay (which would not be worth your salt) because I disagree with Chu on some points (e.g, “[B]y the fifteenth time, you wish he would aim”—is this sarcasm?). However, I concede the oddity of Hanya’s obsession with men-loving men characters for which Yanagihara does not publicly account.
Except for Part III (save the essay, Votes for Woman), Chu’s opinions stick with me. Her take on video games and TV shows mostly kept my attention, but I relished her work on ethnicity, race, gender, and politics. I would have preferred a focused volume on East Asian American culture and writing, queer experiences, and fiction writing at large, and in this order. I rate Authority 3.5 stars.
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
She styles her unforgiving, sometimes unrelenting, assessments with her philosophical training in the academy, which peeks out with random biblical themes. She will not leave the beloved untouched because even sacred things are worth honestly engaging with again. Sometimes, she opts for a complete reassessment. This can be a freeing experience, not because I believe deconstruction as such should always win the argument, but because she sets a pattern for careful engagement with authority structures. In this sense, Authority is a worthwhile experience pedagogically. This is my more charitable reading of Chu’s methodology and use of critical authority.
A less charitable interpretation is being mean for the likes because human sociality dies in the comment section: the yo’ mama jokes fester still. I take her tactic as the former one, even though she doesn’t seek to be charitable (I know correlation isn’t causation, but it’s notable to me that I’m naturally drawn to write this review in the negative after putting down her book). She’s not interested in canceling culturally significant things (maybe except for Yellowstone—fine by me). A negative result of publishing polemical writing as one’s trademark technique is that others may follow suit. I hope critics (even a rando reviewer like me on GR) would have the sense to discern which tone to use and when. Chu’s recent writings in this compilation evolve from the older mince and mangle to something closer to macerate.
I appreciate Chu’s straightforward approach to evaluation, and the writing isn’t too funny, thankfully. There’s just enough salt on the choco chip cookie to intensify the experience; wit in the wrong critic’s hands causes hypertension. Not to belabor the point, but I needed a neutralizing cup of milk after re-reading her essay on Yanagihara. I could write my own essay (which would not be worth your salt) because I disagree with Chu on some points (e.g, “[B]y the fifteenth time, you wish he would aim”—is this sarcasm?). However, I concede the oddity of Hanya’s obsession with men-loving men characters for which Yanagihara does not publicly account.
Except for Part III (save the essay, Votes for Woman), Chu’s opinions stick with me. Her take on video games and TV shows mostly kept my attention, but I relished her work on ethnicity, race, gender, and politics. I would have preferred a focused volume on East Asian American culture and writing, queer experiences, and fiction writing at large, and in this order. I rate Authority 3.5 stars.
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
March 28, 2025
Five stars for the ottessa essay even though I knew it was gonna be here
April 25, 2025
Truly some of my favorite writing being written these days - angry, brilliant, brutal, and full of certainty when we've been told that's the worst thing in ideas. She cuts through so much bullshit so effectively, thoroughly, and thrillingly. I do not think I could adore Andrea Long Chu more, even when she is eviscerating something I love (maybe I love her most then). No one else is doing it like this!!!!!
Some of my favorites in this collection:
- "In truth, Jude is a terribly unlovable character, always lying and breaking promises, with the inner monologue of an incorrigible child. The first time he cuts himself, you are horrified; the fiftieth, you wish he would aim."
- "Perhaps my consciousness needs raising. I muster a shrug."
- "For years now, Bret Easton Ellis has been accused of being a racist and a misogynist, and these things are true; but like most things that are true of Bret Easton Ellis, they are also very boring." (honestly will be reading this essay "Psycho Analysis" when I am sad for all the laughs)
- "It is harder, and smarter, to ask if politics ever transcends adolescent fantasy. Ziggy uses the political as an excuse for belonging. Are you telling me you don't?"
Some of my favorites in this collection:
- "In truth, Jude is a terribly unlovable character, always lying and breaking promises, with the inner monologue of an incorrigible child. The first time he cuts himself, you are horrified; the fiftieth, you wish he would aim."
- "Perhaps my consciousness needs raising. I muster a shrug."
- "For years now, Bret Easton Ellis has been accused of being a racist and a misogynist, and these things are true; but like most things that are true of Bret Easton Ellis, they are also very boring." (honestly will be reading this essay "Psycho Analysis" when I am sad for all the laughs)
- "It is harder, and smarter, to ask if politics ever transcends adolescent fantasy. Ziggy uses the political as an excuse for belonging. Are you telling me you don't?"
May 9, 2025
An incredibly sound collection of essays and literary criticism. The characterization of Chu’s writing as “literary take downs” is disingenuous; before she is critical she is at first curious. She asks questions of art and artists, she does what all good artists want their audience to do, she pays attention. The “problem” is that she does not suffer fools.
Her intelligence is surpassed only by her (self admitted) penchant for cruelty. However, Chu herself is not excluded from this cruelty, she often cuts herself (metaphorically) with the same knife she uses on others.
If we are our own worst critics, imagine that critic being Andrea Long Chu, in essence I want you to imagine being Andrea Long Chu.
The brain that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for criticism is the same brain that is trying to kill her.
No one, especially not Chu is safe from her venom.
Her intelligence is surpassed only by her (self admitted) penchant for cruelty. However, Chu herself is not excluded from this cruelty, she often cuts herself (metaphorically) with the same knife she uses on others.
If we are our own worst critics, imagine that critic being Andrea Long Chu, in essence I want you to imagine being Andrea Long Chu.
The brain that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for criticism is the same brain that is trying to kill her.
No one, especially not Chu is safe from her venom.
May 23, 2025
There is nothing that gives me the warm fuzzies like a book review with some bite
May 2, 2025
A new favourite curmudgeon. Welcome back, Orson Welles. Andrea Long Chu drags Phantom of the Opera, Hanya Yanagihara, the producers of Yellowstone, Maggie Nelson ... Loved the elegant hater energy. I was cackling.
Imagine seeing this comment tossed off about a book you wrote: "Whether this is a literary accomplishment or not hinges on how well-written you think books should be." Damn.
I also enjoyed her cheerful hypocrisy! Some of Authority's ideas don't make sense, and that's okay. Chu complains about the emptiness of prose in popular books but gives us plenty of half-baked statements of her own, like: "Television is Westworld for people who can’t afford to leave their living rooms."
No theory is safe. I found her lack of hesitancy refreshing even when I didn't agree. Look at this spicy shot at intersectionality: "It is as if, having guiltily assimilated the impossibility of speaking on behalf of all women, feminism has resigned itself to the modest virtues of playing hostess for other, frankly more persuasive political discourses—most of whose constituencies are composed of women, of course, but never as women." Oof, just looked over my shoulder to make sure Patricia Collins wasn't reading.
In her longest essay, Chu gives us a detailed history of the philosophy of criticism, listing all the (implied, wrongheaded) arguments throughout the years; but is circular and coy about her own approach.
It's as if she's saying, I won't tell you what it is, but I know what it isn't. You know what? Good enough for me.
Imagine seeing this comment tossed off about a book you wrote: "Whether this is a literary accomplishment or not hinges on how well-written you think books should be." Damn.
I also enjoyed her cheerful hypocrisy! Some of Authority's ideas don't make sense, and that's okay. Chu complains about the emptiness of prose in popular books but gives us plenty of half-baked statements of her own, like: "Television is Westworld for people who can’t afford to leave their living rooms."
No theory is safe. I found her lack of hesitancy refreshing even when I didn't agree. Look at this spicy shot at intersectionality: "It is as if, having guiltily assimilated the impossibility of speaking on behalf of all women, feminism has resigned itself to the modest virtues of playing hostess for other, frankly more persuasive political discourses—most of whose constituencies are composed of women, of course, but never as women." Oof, just looked over my shoulder to make sure Patricia Collins wasn't reading.
In her longest essay, Chu gives us a detailed history of the philosophy of criticism, listing all the (implied, wrongheaded) arguments throughout the years; but is circular and coy about her own approach.
It's as if she's saying, I won't tell you what it is, but I know what it isn't. You know what? Good enough for me.
June 6, 2025
fave essays were “china brain,” “you must decide,” and “bad tv”
i think chu’s writing is strongest when she’s grappling with nuance, though it is incredibly satisfying and fun to watch her take (WELLWRITTEN AND CRITICALLY RIGOROUS) shots at easy targets like Bret Easton Ellis and Andrew Lloyd Weber. love having this collection in one place but would have loved to see more new essays (i follow her work closely on the internet)
i think chu’s writing is strongest when she’s grappling with nuance, though it is incredibly satisfying and fun to watch her take (WELLWRITTEN AND CRITICALLY RIGOROUS) shots at easy targets like Bret Easton Ellis and Andrew Lloyd Weber. love having this collection in one place but would have loved to see more new essays (i follow her work closely on the internet)
June 28, 2025
To be a really good hater, i aspire to andrea long chu's level of erudition when it comes to haterade.
May 14, 2025
Andrea Long Chu makes me laugh. She has such a knack for quippy, aphoristic speech. Yet her longer work really is the highlight of the collection. Her review of the history of criticism "in crisis," the new titular essay on authority/power, the longer memoiristic work, and, of course, her "takedowns" are the main pleasures here.
Interesting to see that, in a fairly comprehensive debut collection, Long Chu has elided what to me is one of her least successful essays of the last couple years: her takedown of Parade (though she loves Cusk). Hmm...
Interesting to see that, in a fairly comprehensive debut collection, Long Chu has elided what to me is one of her least successful essays of the last couple years: her takedown of Parade (though she loves Cusk). Hmm...
Read
December 23, 2025i was feeling sick last night. i couldn't watch spinal tap with my family --because i was also in a bad mood. i was tired, my eyes were closing, everything was frustrating. nonetheless i stayed up with andrea. i couldn't put her down. she is so smart. i just wanted to be around her smartness. even if i was skimming it with closing eyes. which i was.
i probably need to reread this because it is so smart. it is the exact opposite of claire's frog girl --she never draws the easy conclusion --of either liberalism OR woke radicalism. she eviscerates adrienne maree brown's lazy thinking about octavia butler as a Black imaginer of freedom (what if we are concerned with other things BEYOND/BESIDES freedom???). she tears apart zadie smith's humanism while simultaneously offering us pathways to an alternative way of thinking about novels & the idea that we must "write what we know." she is anarchist without even being an anarchist (?) (we just have to go out and "do" authority (?!?)). she is making me want to write better in response to her criticism. WWAT??! (what would andrea think)
it honestly just feels so great to be challenged beyond intellectual laziness which is like goading me at every turn & feels so within reach. ok andrea i'll try to be smarter. i am worried this may just make me more ornery, contrarian, and unlikable. but so it goes. probably good for a people pleaser like me anyway. and for society as a whole. she says what she means!
also --i had read on liking women previously bc of maggie's arena board but reading it now with more full attention BLEW MY MIND. oh my god it came at the perfect moment. i am reeling with its awesomeness. it is "piercing the given" (maggie you described it perfectly). it is perfect for thinking about conrad in the summer i turned pretty and gender generally and my chapbook and obsession and love and crushing.
- "it must be underscored how unpopular it is on the left today to countenance the notion that transition expresses not the truth of an identity but the force of a desire. this would require understanding transness as a matter not of who one is, but of what one wants. the primary function of gender identity as a political concept - and, increasingly, a legal one - is to bracket, if to not totally deny, the role of desire in the thing we call gender"
- "but now you begin to see the problem with desire: we rarely want the things we should" <33333
- re: affect thru eve kosofsky sedgwick, jose esteban munoz, & lauren berlant: "these were thinkers who taught us that thinking has feelings"
- "[butler's] work is sometimes called utopian, even as butler herself was a political pessimist with a lifelong aversion to utopian thinking, and scholars have praised her novels for being 'queer,' overlooking her relentless focus on sexual dimorphism and biological reproduction...in 2015, the editors of the fiction anthology octavia's brood went so far as to draw a straight line from butler's legacy as a Black science-fiction writer all the way back to 'our ancestors in chains dreaming about a day when their children's children's children would be free'"
(more good quotes all over but these were ones that prodded my laziness in helpful ways) (plus i was reading a library copy so couldn't underline)
i probably need to reread this because it is so smart. it is the exact opposite of claire's frog girl --she never draws the easy conclusion --of either liberalism OR woke radicalism. she eviscerates adrienne maree brown's lazy thinking about octavia butler as a Black imaginer of freedom (what if we are concerned with other things BEYOND/BESIDES freedom???). she tears apart zadie smith's humanism while simultaneously offering us pathways to an alternative way of thinking about novels & the idea that we must "write what we know." she is anarchist without even being an anarchist (?) (we just have to go out and "do" authority (?!?)). she is making me want to write better in response to her criticism. WWAT??! (what would andrea think)
it honestly just feels so great to be challenged beyond intellectual laziness which is like goading me at every turn & feels so within reach. ok andrea i'll try to be smarter. i am worried this may just make me more ornery, contrarian, and unlikable. but so it goes. probably good for a people pleaser like me anyway. and for society as a whole. she says what she means!
also --i had read on liking women previously bc of maggie's arena board but reading it now with more full attention BLEW MY MIND. oh my god it came at the perfect moment. i am reeling with its awesomeness. it is "piercing the given" (maggie you described it perfectly). it is perfect for thinking about conrad in the summer i turned pretty and gender generally and my chapbook and obsession and love and crushing.
- "it must be underscored how unpopular it is on the left today to countenance the notion that transition expresses not the truth of an identity but the force of a desire. this would require understanding transness as a matter not of who one is, but of what one wants. the primary function of gender identity as a political concept - and, increasingly, a legal one - is to bracket, if to not totally deny, the role of desire in the thing we call gender"
- "but now you begin to see the problem with desire: we rarely want the things we should" <33333
- re: affect thru eve kosofsky sedgwick, jose esteban munoz, & lauren berlant: "these were thinkers who taught us that thinking has feelings"
- "[butler's] work is sometimes called utopian, even as butler herself was a political pessimist with a lifelong aversion to utopian thinking, and scholars have praised her novels for being 'queer,' overlooking her relentless focus on sexual dimorphism and biological reproduction...in 2015, the editors of the fiction anthology octavia's brood went so far as to draw a straight line from butler's legacy as a Black science-fiction writer all the way back to 'our ancestors in chains dreaming about a day when their children's children's children would be free'"
(more good quotes all over but these were ones that prodded my laziness in helpful ways) (plus i was reading a library copy so couldn't underline)
June 1, 2025
Authority by Andrea Long Chu: Book Review
I was mesmerized by the cover of this book when it started floating around after its release. Upon finding a physical copy at a bookstore I frequent, I noticed it included an essay on Maggie Nelson—frankly ripping into her book On Freedom, a book I love, though not without glaring flaws. I haphazardly read the essay and quickly formed an opinion about Andrea—an opinion that clearly haunted me, because I couldn’t stop thinking about her or the book. I ended up getting the audiobook, because her voice is striking—strong, seductive, deliberate—something she herself has alluded to working on. And that in itself is fascinating. Despite owning the physical copy, for the first time in years, I preferred the audio version. The text doesn’t read quite as well on the page, unfortunately.
Andrea has clearly embraced the role of the mean critic. On the LARB Radio Hour podcast, she reflects—why not her? Why not be the person who says what others are only thinking, secretly? Her subjects often prompt the question: what is it about them that draws her in?
Her sharpest insights come through in a handful of essays:
• Authority — a masterful exploration of why critics are granted authority at all, when so often their social commentary is just that: one person’s opinion masked as universal truth.
• On Liking Women — her essay on Valerie Solanas’ SCUM Manifesto (Solanas being the woman who famously shot Andy Warhol), interwoven with Andrea’s own transition into trans womanhood. This piece is breathtaking, heartbreaking, and magical in equal parts. Written when she was just 24, it’s one of the best essays I’ve ever come across.
• Her takedown of Hanya Yanagihara’s trauma-drenched A Little Life, rightly calling out the bizarre obsession with gay male suffering—dragged through every possible horror, barely kept alive under the guise of “love.” It’s brutal, and it lands.
• China Brain — where Andrea examines the brain as a site of manipulation and suffering, from surgery to medication, interlaced with her own experiences of bipolar disorder. What emerges is beautifully rendered and cathartic.
When she’s in that space—porous, rigorous, unflinching—her essays soar. Which is why it’s all the more frustrating when she collapses into predictable takedowns that offer diminishing returns. The pieces on Zadie Smith, Ottessa Moshfegh (though this one was decent), and Bret Easton Ellis feel templated, almost formulaic. Andrea’s voice, once expansive, becomes boxed in by its own posture.
Still, having a writer willing to push collective thinking—and challenge both sacred cows and cultural mediocrity—is undeniably exciting. The book doesn’t quite reveal what Andrea actually enjoys, but maybe that’s not the point. I’m hopeful for more work from her in the future—especially if it resembles the essays I found absolutely blazing.
I was mesmerized by the cover of this book when it started floating around after its release. Upon finding a physical copy at a bookstore I frequent, I noticed it included an essay on Maggie Nelson—frankly ripping into her book On Freedom, a book I love, though not without glaring flaws. I haphazardly read the essay and quickly formed an opinion about Andrea—an opinion that clearly haunted me, because I couldn’t stop thinking about her or the book. I ended up getting the audiobook, because her voice is striking—strong, seductive, deliberate—something she herself has alluded to working on. And that in itself is fascinating. Despite owning the physical copy, for the first time in years, I preferred the audio version. The text doesn’t read quite as well on the page, unfortunately.
Andrea has clearly embraced the role of the mean critic. On the LARB Radio Hour podcast, she reflects—why not her? Why not be the person who says what others are only thinking, secretly? Her subjects often prompt the question: what is it about them that draws her in?
Her sharpest insights come through in a handful of essays:
• Authority — a masterful exploration of why critics are granted authority at all, when so often their social commentary is just that: one person’s opinion masked as universal truth.
• On Liking Women — her essay on Valerie Solanas’ SCUM Manifesto (Solanas being the woman who famously shot Andy Warhol), interwoven with Andrea’s own transition into trans womanhood. This piece is breathtaking, heartbreaking, and magical in equal parts. Written when she was just 24, it’s one of the best essays I’ve ever come across.
• Her takedown of Hanya Yanagihara’s trauma-drenched A Little Life, rightly calling out the bizarre obsession with gay male suffering—dragged through every possible horror, barely kept alive under the guise of “love.” It’s brutal, and it lands.
• China Brain — where Andrea examines the brain as a site of manipulation and suffering, from surgery to medication, interlaced with her own experiences of bipolar disorder. What emerges is beautifully rendered and cathartic.
When she’s in that space—porous, rigorous, unflinching—her essays soar. Which is why it’s all the more frustrating when she collapses into predictable takedowns that offer diminishing returns. The pieces on Zadie Smith, Ottessa Moshfegh (though this one was decent), and Bret Easton Ellis feel templated, almost formulaic. Andrea’s voice, once expansive, becomes boxed in by its own posture.
Still, having a writer willing to push collective thinking—and challenge both sacred cows and cultural mediocrity—is undeniably exciting. The book doesn’t quite reveal what Andrea actually enjoys, but maybe that’s not the point. I’m hopeful for more work from her in the future—especially if it resembles the essays I found absolutely blazing.
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