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Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus: Introduction to Schizoanalysis
Eugene W. Holland provides an excellent introduction to Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's Anti-Oedipus which is widely recognized as one of the most influential texts in philosophy to have appeared in the last thirty years.
He lucidly presents the theoretical concerns behind Anti-Oedipus and explores with clarity the diverse influences of Marx, Freud, Nietzsche and Kant on the development of Deleuze & Guattari's thinking. He also examines the wider implications of their work in revitalizing Marxism, environmentalism, feminism and cultural studies.
He lucidly presents the theoretical concerns behind Anti-Oedipus and explores with clarity the diverse influences of Marx, Freud, Nietzsche and Kant on the development of Deleuze & Guattari's thinking. He also examines the wider implications of their work in revitalizing Marxism, environmentalism, feminism and cultural studies.
176 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 1999
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730 people want to read
About the author
Eugene W. Holland
10 books20 followersEugene W. Holland is Professor of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University, USA. He specializes in social theory and modern French literature, history, and culture. In addition to a number of articles on poststructuralist theory and particularly the work of Gilles Deleuze, he has published a book on Baudelaire and Schizoanalysis: The Sociopoetics of Modernism (Cambridge University Press, 1993) and an Introduction to Schizoanalysis (Routledge, 1999), and is currently working on books on citizenship and perversions.
- compiled from https://projectnarrative.osu.edu/peop...
http://www.bloomsbury.com/author/euge...
- compiled from https://projectnarrative.osu.edu/peop...
http://www.bloomsbury.com/author/euge...
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 17, 2008
This book saved my life...
...well not really, but it did help make the hours and hours and hours I spent reading "Anti-Oedipus" a much more fullfilling, meaningful experience, and for that, I am extremely grateful.
Listen, swallow your pride, even if you do make it all the way through "Anti-Oedipus" without any help, you are probably doing yourself a disservice; there are so many elements in this work at, unless you are truly a genius, and have read multitudes of arcane philosophy tomes, you might not be getting everything out of this books which you could be.
For instance, have you read "Difference and Repeition" by Guattari? How about "Masochism: An Interpretation of Coldness and Cruelty" also by Guattari? Why? The themes and points made in those books are used in "Anti-Oedipus" extensively, and, as the author Eugene W. Holland points out, it is taken for granted you already know that stuff.
I read a lot to prepare for "Anti-Oedipus," but it is practically impossible to have read and comprehended everything that is referenced by Deleuze and Guattari. For instance you must have Freud down cold (especially his theory of the Oedipus complex, the death instinct, and stuff on the drives), Lacan, anti psychiatrists like R.D. Laing, you must know Bataille, you must have read Schreber "Memoirs of my Nervous Illness," Willhelm Reich (such books as "The Function of the Orgasm" and "The Mass Psychology of Fascism"), Herbert Marcuse (such as "One Dimensional Man" and "Eros and Civilization"), you should have read Levi Strauss, I would recommend reading Gad Horowitz's "Repression: Basic and Surplus Repression in Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud, Reich, Marcuse," you should also be very aware of the themes of post structuralism, such as the de-centered subject, and you must know Marx (and I mean really know Marx) (if you consider yourself a Marxist, this book is a real treat), plus innumerable other books and texts and poets and philosophers.
I just have to admit that, although I have read all of what I listed above, I was still not fully prepared for "Anti-Oedipus" (though I certainly knew enough to make "Anti-Oedipus" a real thrill once I got it), which occured somewhere around page 160 of this guidebook.
This book brings it all together, in clear exposition, and it is like a breath of fresh air, my friends. It is no replacement for reading the actual book, but it is a necessary supplement. If you finish the chapters in "Anti-Oedipus" on the Connective Synthesis of Production, the Disjunctive Synthesis of Recording, and the Conjunctive Synthesis of Cunsumption-consummation and still are not so sure what the **** they are talking about, stop right there because you need to read this book. It will all be so much clearer afterwards.
I would recommend that you read as much of "Anti-Oedipus" as you can get through, if you get through the whole thing right off the bat, Bravo! But then get this book and consume it. Then, finish up the book, or just reflect, and you efforts will be greatly rewarded.
I am very thankful to Mr. Holland, and if I weren't an atheist, I'd say, GOD BLESS YOU SIR! I salute you and thank you for making my journey that much more of a victory...
...cause Anti-Oedipus is a real trip, but like the Tibetans after death you need your guide and guide book and you now have it. Make sure you don't go into the light (because it is so very bright).
"Anti-Oedipus" is a guide book to non fascist living. In these times, it is greatly needed. Get help, NOW! And then get some Schizoanalysis...
...well not really, but it did help make the hours and hours and hours I spent reading "Anti-Oedipus" a much more fullfilling, meaningful experience, and for that, I am extremely grateful.
Listen, swallow your pride, even if you do make it all the way through "Anti-Oedipus" without any help, you are probably doing yourself a disservice; there are so many elements in this work at, unless you are truly a genius, and have read multitudes of arcane philosophy tomes, you might not be getting everything out of this books which you could be.
For instance, have you read "Difference and Repeition" by Guattari? How about "Masochism: An Interpretation of Coldness and Cruelty" also by Guattari? Why? The themes and points made in those books are used in "Anti-Oedipus" extensively, and, as the author Eugene W. Holland points out, it is taken for granted you already know that stuff.
I read a lot to prepare for "Anti-Oedipus," but it is practically impossible to have read and comprehended everything that is referenced by Deleuze and Guattari. For instance you must have Freud down cold (especially his theory of the Oedipus complex, the death instinct, and stuff on the drives), Lacan, anti psychiatrists like R.D. Laing, you must know Bataille, you must have read Schreber "Memoirs of my Nervous Illness," Willhelm Reich (such books as "The Function of the Orgasm" and "The Mass Psychology of Fascism"), Herbert Marcuse (such as "One Dimensional Man" and "Eros and Civilization"), you should have read Levi Strauss, I would recommend reading Gad Horowitz's "Repression: Basic and Surplus Repression in Psychoanalytic Theory: Freud, Reich, Marcuse," you should also be very aware of the themes of post structuralism, such as the de-centered subject, and you must know Marx (and I mean really know Marx) (if you consider yourself a Marxist, this book is a real treat), plus innumerable other books and texts and poets and philosophers.
I just have to admit that, although I have read all of what I listed above, I was still not fully prepared for "Anti-Oedipus" (though I certainly knew enough to make "Anti-Oedipus" a real thrill once I got it), which occured somewhere around page 160 of this guidebook.
This book brings it all together, in clear exposition, and it is like a breath of fresh air, my friends. It is no replacement for reading the actual book, but it is a necessary supplement. If you finish the chapters in "Anti-Oedipus" on the Connective Synthesis of Production, the Disjunctive Synthesis of Recording, and the Conjunctive Synthesis of Cunsumption-consummation and still are not so sure what the **** they are talking about, stop right there because you need to read this book. It will all be so much clearer afterwards.
I would recommend that you read as much of "Anti-Oedipus" as you can get through, if you get through the whole thing right off the bat, Bravo! But then get this book and consume it. Then, finish up the book, or just reflect, and you efforts will be greatly rewarded.
I am very thankful to Mr. Holland, and if I weren't an atheist, I'd say, GOD BLESS YOU SIR! I salute you and thank you for making my journey that much more of a victory...
...cause Anti-Oedipus is a real trip, but like the Tibetans after death you need your guide and guide book and you now have it. Make sure you don't go into the light (because it is so very bright).
"Anti-Oedipus" is a guide book to non fascist living. In these times, it is greatly needed. Get help, NOW! And then get some Schizoanalysis...
July 15, 2015
This is a very comprehensive and to-the-point, although traditional and not-to-Deleuze-and-Guattari's-liking, explanation of Deleuze and Guattari's main concerns in Anti-Oedipus. It's probably the most understandable guide to Anti-Oedipus, besides Ian Buchanan's (thanks to Tom for the mention). Anyway, it sometimes gets factual and reportative - and thus boring! I guess you can try the book if you want. Holland doesn't let you down for sure. But for those who, like me, think this can help adopt the ideas for a pure literary analysis of some literary text, I must say, you'll regret the time you'd want to spend on this great introduction. You can only familiarize yourself with groundbreaking philosophical concepts - groundbreaking against two of the greatest modern models of the human offered by Freud and Marx. So you can thrill and you can chill.
January 30, 2023
The Eugene Holland book, which has been prepared as a preliminary reading of the enormous work that Deleuze and Guattari wrote against Freud's Oedipus Complex and Freudian psychoanalysis in general. Actually, it should have been read before Anti-Oedipus, but I discovered this book a little late. I would definitely recommend interested readers to read this before Anti-Oedipus. Because you have found a heavy and complex book. Although I read it later, I also refreshed my knowledge.
The essence of the book Anti-Oedipus is a work written on the basis of the dynamics of schizoanalysis put forward by Deleuze and Guattari. With this work, it constitutes the thesis that a person is completely imprisoned in the face of capitalism and that the system transforms him, breaks all his activity regarding the sign of life and turns every individual into a schizophrenic. Based on this, on the other hand, they say that the system is fed by Freud's psychoanalysis, has become a theory of patriarchy and the bourgeois class, and they present theses against the thesis of the Oedipus Complex, which is the essence of Freudian psychoanalysis. Of course, while doing this, historical dynamics are also involved. Marx and Nietzsche...
I touched on the content of the Anti-Oedipus book in the form of subject headings. If you are interested in this work prepared in the triangle of philosophy, psychology and ideology and decide to read it, I would say start with this book first. Pleasant reading to everyone.
The essence of the book Anti-Oedipus is a work written on the basis of the dynamics of schizoanalysis put forward by Deleuze and Guattari. With this work, it constitutes the thesis that a person is completely imprisoned in the face of capitalism and that the system transforms him, breaks all his activity regarding the sign of life and turns every individual into a schizophrenic. Based on this, on the other hand, they say that the system is fed by Freud's psychoanalysis, has become a theory of patriarchy and the bourgeois class, and they present theses against the thesis of the Oedipus Complex, which is the essence of Freudian psychoanalysis. Of course, while doing this, historical dynamics are also involved. Marx and Nietzsche...
I touched on the content of the Anti-Oedipus book in the form of subject headings. If you are interested in this work prepared in the triangle of philosophy, psychology and ideology and decide to read it, I would say start with this book first. Pleasant reading to everyone.
August 28, 2023
I’m reading D&G’s Anti-Oedipus in a book group and have simultaneously picked through several of the readers guides on the book. Holland’s guide is certainly the best. It’s clear and succinct, but, when necessary, more descriptive. The three syntheses that D&G develop are quite complex and Holland analysis on those sections were very helpful.
September 5, 2023
An indispensably clear guide to Anti-Oedipus, one of the more enjoyable companions/introductions I've come across.
December 28, 2024
Unless you are already intimately familiar with the ideas of D&G, this is basically a required companion piece for anti-oedipus.
January 30, 2015
Mostly clear and mostly concise. Two things Anti-Oedipus is not.
December 21, 2021
Oli kyl hyvä intro iha yleisestikin Deleuzen ja Guattarin ajatteluun. Eritoten tykkäsin, kun käsitteet oli aika selvästi selitetty auki, sillä D&G pahamaineisesti tunnettu siitä, että käsitteitä lainataan tosi erilaisilta tieteenaloilta ja kirjallisuuden suuntauksilta. Hollandin teos on siis tietynlainen kommentaari D&G:n Anti-Oidipus kirjaan.
Keskeisempänä teesinä Anti-Oidipuksessa Holland korostaa kapitalismin paradoksaalista luonnetta sosiaalisena järjestyksenä: kapitalismi luo "skitsofreenisiä" (D&G korostaa, että kyse on metaforasta eikä kliinisestä analyysista) subjekteja. Skitsofreenisuus muodostuu, kun kapitalismi ei vaadi tai kannata minkäänlaista jäykkää identiteettiä tai uskomusjärjestelmää toimiakseen ja näin ollen luo liukenevan kulttuurin, josta metanarratiivit ovat kadonneet. D&G kuvaa, kuinka kapitalismin "askeettisuus" muodustuu, kun pääoman dynaaminen prosessi ei vaadi muuta kuin jatkuvaa akkumulaatiota, jonka voi suorittaa loputtomalla rahavastikkeen avulla abstraktisti määritellyllä työllä (engl. labor) (vrt. esim. feodalismissa työ oli myös kvalitatiivisesti määritelty säätyjen pohjalta).
Toisaalta kapitalismi luo myös jähmeitä identiteettejä, sillä se muodostaa ympärilleen ydinperheitä. Näistä ydinperheistä tulee subjektinmuodostuksen liukuhihnoja, kun ydinperheiden seurauksena on oidipuskompleksi ja sen "estäminen". Vanhemmasta muodostuu ikään kuin hallitsijan kaltainen hahmo, joka toimii lain kirjaimena lapselle (integroi lapsen sosiaalisiin normeihin). Psykoanalyysi (eritoten freudulilainen käsitys psykoanalyysista) katalysoi tätä ilmiötä, sillä odipuskompleksin objektiivista asemaa korostetaan psykoanalyyttisen diskurssin avulla, jossa oidipuskompleksia pidetään universaalina totuutena. D&G taas käsittää oidipuskompleksin historiallisena ja kapitalismille ominaisena, jota psykoanalyysi vain ylläpitää.
D&G:n ontologisena lähtökohtana on tietynlainen libidinaalinen energia tai halu, joka sidotaan sosiaaliseen järjestykseen aina kulttuurisesti ja historiallisesti erillä tavalla. Erilaisia yhteiskuntia ei siis pidetä pystyssä väkivaltamonopolin tai ideologisen konstellaation avulla vaan kiinnittämällä halu kyseiseen järjestelmään. Ei siis riitä, että järjestelmä olisi rationaalinen tai oikeudenmukainen vaan ihmisten pitää haluta sitä (ja sen sisällä).
Koska kapitalismin kulttuuri on skitsofreeninen on halulla kapitalismin sisällä miljoonia erilaisia kiinitystapoja (jos ei muodosteta jäykkiä identiteettejä) ja siksi kapitalismi voikin "kiehua yli". Jos kiinnityspisteet hajaantuvat liiallisesti, voi olla, että kapitalismin perustavanlaatuisilla instituutioillakaan ei ole enää pyhää luonnetta. Tästä ilmiöstä ja D&G:n emanssipatorisesta projektista on käytettyä akselerationismin eli kiihtymisopin käsitettä (käsitteellä ei kuitenkaan ole mitään tekemistä uusnatsien akselerationismin kanssa, vaikka suomalaisessa diskurssissa on Kankaanpään terrori-iskun suunnittelu jo liitetty vasemmistolaiseen intellegentsiaan xd)
Loppupeleissä D&G:n teoriasta ja emanssipatorisesta projektista voi olla kahta mieltä: joko narratiivien ja identiteettien aika on ohi ja ainoa pois pääsy pääoman työtä imevästä vampyyrimaisesta luonteesta on postmoderni ylenpalttinen sekoilu tai sitten D&G onnistui jo 70-luvulla havaitsemaan erilaisia metanarratiivien jälkeisiä poliittisia kehityskulkuja, jolloin heidän teoria olisi enemmän sivistynyt hypoteesi tulevaisuudesta ja kulttuurishistoriallinen tuote kuin objektiivinen kuvaus maailmasta.
Keskeisempänä teesinä Anti-Oidipuksessa Holland korostaa kapitalismin paradoksaalista luonnetta sosiaalisena järjestyksenä: kapitalismi luo "skitsofreenisiä" (D&G korostaa, että kyse on metaforasta eikä kliinisestä analyysista) subjekteja. Skitsofreenisuus muodostuu, kun kapitalismi ei vaadi tai kannata minkäänlaista jäykkää identiteettiä tai uskomusjärjestelmää toimiakseen ja näin ollen luo liukenevan kulttuurin, josta metanarratiivit ovat kadonneet. D&G kuvaa, kuinka kapitalismin "askeettisuus" muodustuu, kun pääoman dynaaminen prosessi ei vaadi muuta kuin jatkuvaa akkumulaatiota, jonka voi suorittaa loputtomalla rahavastikkeen avulla abstraktisti määritellyllä työllä (engl. labor) (vrt. esim. feodalismissa työ oli myös kvalitatiivisesti määritelty säätyjen pohjalta).
Toisaalta kapitalismi luo myös jähmeitä identiteettejä, sillä se muodostaa ympärilleen ydinperheitä. Näistä ydinperheistä tulee subjektinmuodostuksen liukuhihnoja, kun ydinperheiden seurauksena on oidipuskompleksi ja sen "estäminen". Vanhemmasta muodostuu ikään kuin hallitsijan kaltainen hahmo, joka toimii lain kirjaimena lapselle (integroi lapsen sosiaalisiin normeihin). Psykoanalyysi (eritoten freudulilainen käsitys psykoanalyysista) katalysoi tätä ilmiötä, sillä odipuskompleksin objektiivista asemaa korostetaan psykoanalyyttisen diskurssin avulla, jossa oidipuskompleksia pidetään universaalina totuutena. D&G taas käsittää oidipuskompleksin historiallisena ja kapitalismille ominaisena, jota psykoanalyysi vain ylläpitää.
D&G:n ontologisena lähtökohtana on tietynlainen libidinaalinen energia tai halu, joka sidotaan sosiaaliseen järjestykseen aina kulttuurisesti ja historiallisesti erillä tavalla. Erilaisia yhteiskuntia ei siis pidetä pystyssä väkivaltamonopolin tai ideologisen konstellaation avulla vaan kiinnittämällä halu kyseiseen järjestelmään. Ei siis riitä, että järjestelmä olisi rationaalinen tai oikeudenmukainen vaan ihmisten pitää haluta sitä (ja sen sisällä).
Koska kapitalismin kulttuuri on skitsofreeninen on halulla kapitalismin sisällä miljoonia erilaisia kiinitystapoja (jos ei muodosteta jäykkiä identiteettejä) ja siksi kapitalismi voikin "kiehua yli". Jos kiinnityspisteet hajaantuvat liiallisesti, voi olla, että kapitalismin perustavanlaatuisilla instituutioillakaan ei ole enää pyhää luonnetta. Tästä ilmiöstä ja D&G:n emanssipatorisesta projektista on käytettyä akselerationismin eli kiihtymisopin käsitettä (käsitteellä ei kuitenkaan ole mitään tekemistä uusnatsien akselerationismin kanssa, vaikka suomalaisessa diskurssissa on Kankaanpään terrori-iskun suunnittelu jo liitetty vasemmistolaiseen intellegentsiaan xd)
Loppupeleissä D&G:n teoriasta ja emanssipatorisesta projektista voi olla kahta mieltä: joko narratiivien ja identiteettien aika on ohi ja ainoa pois pääsy pääoman työtä imevästä vampyyrimaisesta luonteesta on postmoderni ylenpalttinen sekoilu tai sitten D&G onnistui jo 70-luvulla havaitsemaan erilaisia metanarratiivien jälkeisiä poliittisia kehityskulkuja, jolloin heidän teoria olisi enemmän sivistynyt hypoteesi tulevaisuudesta ja kulttuurishistoriallinen tuote kuin objektiivinen kuvaus maailmasta.
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October 24, 2025Proud to report that more of this actually included articulating information I'd already managed to pseudo-intuitively pick up from Anti-Oedipus itself, but it was most certainly a very valuable piece of supplementary material; with its own agendas visible at times, but based on what I could understand of that heady, nauseatingly complex and difficult D&G text fits almost entirely with all its basic explanations offered. If like me you found much of what was going on there difficult to grasp beyond the most important ideas, and often bizarre in its particulars, then this is very valuable for helping make it a little more traditional philosophical sense. A practice I'm not sure D&G would've approved of, what with how the nature of Anti-Oedipus as an argumentative, philosophical, explanatory, and, let's face it, self-consciously and deliberately an aesthetic and, dare I say it, artistic process is ultimately tied so intensely to the ideas explained in-depth it's arguably a disservice to attempt to return them to the realm of clear, lucid coldness. To struggle, to understand the possibility of philosophical aesthetics and artistry, to recognize the multiplicity of the forms taken for granted and imposed top-down is ultimately just a part of the point. But it's not like it wasn't helpful, so I dunno! And you can easily argue that despite the writers' belief in the possibility of just engaging with it as any text being a valid one, it does create too many possibilites for misunderstanding and lacking knowledge. In any case, I can content myself that at least I used this mostly as a way of making sure of my basic understanding of the text, which proved a more flattering thing than I could've hoped for, and that it nonetheless did enrich my understanding of what Deleuze & Guattari were doing, especially as smb only slightly versed in Nietzsche and Freud, and almost completely ignorant in Marx, Lacan, Hegel, Jung etc.
August 18, 2025
For someone new to the Anti-Oedipus I find the straightforward structure and explanations helpful, though I have not yet read the work itself as of writing this review. I can not comment on the accuracy and faithfulness of interpretation of Holland's breakdown, others have done that. All I can say that this work explained key concepts found in Anti-Oedipus in a relatively easy manner, and gave a structural breakdown of Deleuze and Guattari's arguments, which will undoubtedly be helpful whether or not Holland portrays these arguments well. As I am reviewing this before reading Anti-Oedipus I have to give it an excellent rating.
January 4, 2025
read for my capstone paper because i didn’t have the time or background to really get into the actual text. lowkey ruined my life because made me want to read anti-oedipus and also a thousand plateaus. super great reader, i felt like i really got (at least kind of) what they were saying without serious background in some of the philosophy & psychoanalytic theory they get into.
February 16, 2018
This is hands-down the best guide to Anti-Oedupus. Holland does a fantastic job of getting across the "big-picture" of what AO is about without sacrificing its nuance and complexity. It made me genuinely excited to return to the book itself.
September 13, 2021
An absolutely essential introduction to a difficult read, Holland really breaks down the concepts in an easy-to-digest way. Caution: Don't read the intro without reading Anti-Oedipus as well! An overview won't have the same effect, since the original is a work of art in its own right.
May 7, 2023
Good books leave you with answers, great one leave you with questions - this one left me with a longer reading list. A good reference for the more obscure neologisms in D&G's Anti-Oedipus, with explanations behind the inspirations and ideas supporting them. Maybe I'll read the actual book soon 🥶🥶🥶
February 17, 2020
the most disgustingly insightful thing i've slugged through
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December 16, 2020reading secondary literature on philosophy doesn't make you a pleb right???????
August 18, 2021
part 3 of ? in my quest to read enough source material to understand deleuze and guattari
April 4, 2022
Forstår nul :)
July 5, 2022
One of the best introductions to this difficult, fascinating, provocative book.
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December 15, 2022If you want a better understanding of D&G this is it. Especially good breakdowns of the three syntheses and the critique of sovereign subjectivity and much more.
Read
January 29, 2023well at least now i can say i tried to understand D&G
March 31, 2012
The perfect gateway book to lead you to the full-fledged full-throttle insane ride of Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus. It clarifies all the terms one would need to read the book (mainly Deleuze's Metaphysics from Difference and Repetition). Best of all, it compels you to go on and read the primary book; it doesn't serve as a substitute but as a perfect supplement. If Anti-Oedipus is proving to be an opaque venture, Holland's introduction is perfect to clarify it.
April 29, 2011
Too intertextual, but it compliments Anti-Oedipus' aesthetic drawing on every text imaginable, but A-O is pridefully incomprehensible (a schizing, a-signifying praxis), and this tries to make it all clear, for better or worse. I think the fun of D&G is the breaking down of comprehensible language. I fear making sense, and dumbing down the theory for the common uninitated proles.
February 18, 2016
Important to the field, but tedious reading.
I did keep reminding myself the Freudianism was so "in" when they were writing that all that detail countering it was necessary then, even if not now. Made it understandable, but not less tedious.
I did keep reminding myself the Freudianism was so "in" when they were writing that all that detail countering it was necessary then, even if not now. Made it understandable, but not less tedious.
December 2, 2007
If need some help, most will, getting to the dizzied center of D&G's Anti-Oedipus, this book will help finely. I strongly recommend this to those interested in the said theorists.
February 10, 2017
It's pretty dry but it's short and straightforward, unlike A-O.
I wish I had read this first, it would have saved me a lot of frustration.
I wish I had read this first, it would have saved me a lot of frustration.
March 18, 2024
Through a glass, darkly.
September 4, 2025
Han Holland, han hand hold'an
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews