Customer Reviews

The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America (Semiotext(e) / Native Agents)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This supposedly radical tale of adolescence, shallow political conviction, lesbianism and prostitution was a letdown. Tea's prose reminds me of those girls who will natter incessantly to anyone who will listen about their self-inflicted degradation with all the gory details but not a point to be found. Lacking introspection and only rarely showing flashes of wit, this one's a simplistic catalog of truly sad events. It is not helped by its affected prose style, featuring teen-girly exclamations, run-ons, and erratic capitalization. This is beneath Tea, who doesn't seem willing to write at her obviously high intelligence level. She does a great disservice to this material, which could have been incisive literature rather than the forgettable trash it is.

although this wasn't a life changing, earth shattering book by any means i thought it was worth my time. it was fun and personable. a good first attempt and worth a read when you consider the effect she has had on young, queer liturature. don't expect perfect prose or classic liturature, but if you're looking to kill a few hours with a "querky" queer gal or want to read the debut by the author of valencia, than give this book a shot.

This book was mildly entertaining, especially since I could relate to many of the author's experiences. However, the book lost steam about halfway through. The writing is pretty shallow, and it seems like the author got lazy towards the end. Maybe her next book will be better.

This book seemed like it would be great from the other reviews I've read of it, and the girl at the store who told me it was super! Anyhow... Eventually while reading this book, I had to get out a pen to mark commas into the text. This coming from a not too anal-retentive laid back 25 year old covered in tattoos. I don't know what kind of person Michelle Tea is, but I think she wants us to think that she's not the smartest girl with the decisions she makes in life. And I'm not even talking about her becoming a prostitute....which happened to be the only interesting part of this book. Anyway, if you want an imaginative or well written lesbian book, don't read this one. Try "tipping the velvet" or "fingersmith" by sarah waters.....they are absolutely incredible.

I didn't get it. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her? Think she's great and an ideal role model for young women? Right over my head, kids. I thought this book was terrible.

michelle tea's first work of prose, "passionate mistakes" won me over to her instantly. i read this book in one sitting (it's a little short, but potent) and i feel changed mentally by it.

when i read this book, i felt cool... like i was hanging out with michelle and her friends, doing crazy stuff, living the young punk-dyke life. and that was fun. i would recommend this book followed by "valencia".

Michelle Tea's debut spins a mesmerizing spider web of her life's little adventures. Part Mary Gaitskill (who has a cover blurb), part Cookie Meuller, and part Blake Nelson, her style wins you over quickly but has its own dark intentions. I especially liked the tone of the book and her unpolitical and honest observations about sexual situations.

As you can see with the other reviews, it is a book that does not let people untouched or indifferent.
I am not sure if my review comes too late (last review before mine was quite some time ago), but here it is anyway: I really liked the book. Obviously not everyone enjoys the style, but if you do it is a great read ... I recommend that you take a chance.

Gathering from the pile of reviews, you either love or hate this one, don't you? Not me... I had mixed feelings. It is definitely a good read, hard to put down at times... which for any book makes it worth buying. Part of what I liked about the writing was that it was accessible: I felt close to the author, as though she were writing about things that could have happened to me (even though they really couldn't have). On the other hand, it sometimes feels like the author wasn't performing a lot of analysis with the material. In this style, one thing happens, and then another, and then another... Hard to care, though, because like I said it is a fun read!

Over-hyped & shallow, a major disappointment. I fear for the future of girls like this. Where are the young, literary women who can write?