Prose is beautiful but plot drags like hell. So much time is dedicated to the mundanity of Elaine’s childhood, then the book rushes through her teenage and adult years, breezing by important points like the death of her family members and seemingly forgetting about the trauma of her childhood. Thought it was weird that she was so tortured as a child then promptly erased an entire year from her memory - even going so far as to befriend Cordelia in high school. 

Elaine was a frustrating character at times; her distrust of women led to some excruciating interactions and a serious case of “not-like-other-girls” syndrome, when in fact, she IS like other girls. Ordinary in every way except for her act, which itself is merely a reflection of memories from her childhood that get misconstrued and interpreted as feminist masterpieces. Honestly kind of funny that someone who has clearly never identified with the feminist movement accidentally becomes a feminist icon of the art world just by making art about herself. But anyways, this book could’ve been ~250 pages shorter and still would’ve gotten the point across.