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A review by shellballenger
Pageboy by Elliot Page
4.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: I've enjoyed previous work by Page and I wanted to hear more of their story.
Overall rating: I want to start out by saying that I feel like we as a society sometimes take someone and their experience, like that of Page coming out and living their truth, and then expect them to be a figurehead, all-knowing advocate, or the end-all-be-all for one subsect of people and "how-to" and that's truly not fair. A lot of the other reviews I read mentioned their disappointment with Page and how they didn't create these elaborate understandings of what it means to be and live as a trans individual. Page doesn't owe us that at all. Nor should they be expected to know or have the guidebook for any of that. When individuals choose to share their life and their perspective with us through a book, it is simply that...their life and their perspective at the time they were living that portion of their life. I think it's unrealistic for us as readers to want some big, heavy, elaborate introspection as to why the author experienced their life in a certain way or why things happened to them that ultimately shaped them into the person they are today.
All of that to say, I'm thankful that Page chose to share their story with us. I originally fell in love with Page during their Juno era - I think a lot of people my age from the USA were first introduced to them during that part of their journey - and 'Pageboy' provided a deeper, more emotional look at someone who literally grew up in the public eye...all while going through their own struggles and self-acceptance journey.
I did experience some of the timeline jumping that others reference; however, for some reason it didn't bug me. I think I was able to look past it a bit since I felt like I was sitting with Page and in a conversation versus hearing about their life in a linear sense.
Reader's Note: 'Pageboy' includes themes of self-mutilation/self-harm, disordered eating, sexual assault, stalking, alcohol use, and (obviously) LGBTQIA+ life.
What made me pick it up: I've enjoyed previous work by Page and I wanted to hear more of their story.
Overall rating: I want to start out by saying that I feel like we as a society sometimes take someone and their experience, like that of Page coming out and living their truth, and then expect them to be a figurehead, all-knowing advocate, or the end-all-be-all for one subsect of people and "how-to" and that's truly not fair. A lot of the other reviews I read mentioned their disappointment with Page and how they didn't create these elaborate understandings of what it means to be and live as a trans individual. Page doesn't owe us that at all. Nor should they be expected to know or have the guidebook for any of that. When individuals choose to share their life and their perspective with us through a book, it is simply that...their life and their perspective at the time they were living that portion of their life. I think it's unrealistic for us as readers to want some big, heavy, elaborate introspection as to why the author experienced their life in a certain way or why things happened to them that ultimately shaped them into the person they are today.
All of that to say, I'm thankful that Page chose to share their story with us. I originally fell in love with Page during their Juno era - I think a lot of people my age from the USA were first introduced to them during that part of their journey - and 'Pageboy' provided a deeper, more emotional look at someone who literally grew up in the public eye...all while going through their own struggles and self-acceptance journey.
I did experience some of the timeline jumping that others reference; however, for some reason it didn't bug me. I think I was able to look past it a bit since I felt like I was sitting with Page and in a conversation versus hearing about their life in a linear sense.
Reader's Note: 'Pageboy' includes themes of self-mutilation/self-harm, disordered eating, sexual assault, stalking, alcohol use, and (obviously) LGBTQIA+ life.