The Argonauts: A Memoir

Every line in this book feels worthy of deep meditation. It reads like a wonderful cross between a memoir, a novel, and poetry. I read it in one all-consuming sitting. I've read lots of queer literature, queer philosophy, and queer theory in the past decade, but this book made me feel more introspective, thoughtful, and curious about gender, femininity, motherhood, and sex than ever before. Nelson's references to feminist and queer theorists make you feel like you're "in" on something if you've read them, or serve as a great contextualizing introduction if you haven't. I'm absolutely in love with this book. It may be because it was so easy for me to see myself in her writing, but it may also be because she says so many true things that I haven't been able to voice, even to myself.

I read this with a book club, if it were not for the book club I would have never picked it up in the first place. (I got the Kindle copy that lacks certain notations available in the print edition.) This book seems to be a love letter to/about Maggie's partner, and the dependency of her own identity on her partner's identity. At times it's very vulnerable and honest, at other times it's insufferably pretentious and inaccessible. All in all, Maggie is a very gifted writer and extremely smart but lives in worlds of academia/gender identity that don't intersect with mine enough to fully connect with this text. If I was a gender studies/psych major I probably would have liked it a lot more. I probably won't read another Maggie Nelson book but I'm glad I can say I've read one.

Beautifully written! I was not ready for it to end and would like to see more from this talented author. Her memoir felt deeply personal. I loved how she talks about family and relationships. Her writing is very moving and I found her story to be deeply touching and heartfelt. She has an enormously rich vocabulary, writes with wisdom and grace, and totally captivates the reader. This is a gem of a memoir and I am left wanting more! I have already gifted 2 copies to friends and plan to continue to share this book as it is a timely and very important read.

I listened to this on Audible and really dug the memoir-mixed-with-theory feel so I bought the book. Lots to think about in this book, including the nature of relationships, how literature and ideas weave throughout your consciousness daily and it's just overall engaging. I don't have children but the birth process portion gave me a lot to think about too. A good read or listen, either way.

This was a book assigned to me for a woman's sexuality & their bodies course. I found it to be somewhat difficult to understand. I had to look up various words in order to follow along with the story.

I highly recommend reading anything by Maggie Nelson, just do not buy this book from Amazon right now. They have editions that have an enormous misprint and it is VERY irritating that there is not an option to just get my back. I am a reader who underlines and makes notes in the margins of the books I read and cannot now return the book. I am going to contact Graywolf Press and hope they will send me another copy printed correctly. Amazon, I need your customer service to contact me regarding this error, that is if a representative actually sees and reads this. Very disappointed.

It was a bit confusing because apparently the author's wife goes by he him pronouns and underwent medical transition but identifies as female and butch still. I actually am of the exact same identity profile and I know he/him lesbians are a thing, but I still did not understand what was going on, and I dunno if she's purposely messing with the reader or what because there aren't any context clues. This book is largely about the author's relationship, so that makes it confusing. She talks about straight women loving her husband and being strange, so that's confusing – – like why wouldn't a straight woman be attracted to a man. But then it turns out he doesn't identify as a man. I don't know, maybe I'm too hung up on this or it's because I have autism, but I found it overly Cryptic even though I am from within the trans community. However there were many parts that hit me really deeply and I think this is really personal layered complicated and beautiful.

okay wow, what did i just read?! the argonauts = an astounding meditation on gender, and sex, and motherhood, and family, and longing, and the limits of language...on the possibilities of love. maggie nelson has produced a robust, incredibly smart work of "autotheory." i don't think i've read anything like it before. i still feel dazed by the power of her prose, by her ability to synthesize information, observation, emotion. i've been pushed and discomforted and expanded as a reader. what would it mean to live in a world beyond binaries? what would it mean to live from a place of uncompromising freedom? provocative, bold, honest. highly recommended. five big stars.

Easily my favourite book from 2019.

Tolle Denkerin, ein Vergnügen ihren Gedankengängen zu folgen! Sehr anregend und bereichernd, auch für meinen englischen Wortschatz;-) Und wie erfrischend undogmatisch!

THE ARGONAUTS, da americana Maggie Nelson, é um livro sobre e para o nosso tempo. Um misto de memória, comentário social/político e teoria de gênero, ela narra sua experiência da vida ao lado do escritor e artista Harry Dodge, de gênero fluido. Ao mesmo tempo, seu livro, publicado no ano passado, é um comentário sobre desafiar convenções num mundo cada vez dominado pelo conservadorismo. Indo e vindo entre história (pessoal e social) e divagações (pessoais, sociais e filosóficas), Maggie se dirige a um “você” que logo fica claro se tratar de Harry. Uma das primeiras questões a emergir na narrativa é a heteronormatividade – e quando se dá conta disso, a autora fica incomodada. Como ela e seu companheiro, que desafiam tantas coisas, sem se dar conta estão transformando sua relação em algo tão próximo do hegemônico? Eles chegam a se casar legalmente quando a Proposição 8 – que bania casamento do mesmo sexo na Califórnia - estava para ser aprovada (depois foi revogada). Ela explicar estar pensando apenas no lado prático e burocrático da união legal, mas mesmo assim, é uma questão que ela problematiza com profundidade. O que torna ainda mais interessante quando, num esforço em conjunto com o parceiro, ela tenta engravidar. É uma jornada ao mesmo tempo burguesa e transgressora, para ela. E, ao mesmo tempo em que Maggie tenta engravidar, Harry está fazendo seu tratamento com testosterona, e quando os dois chegam no ápice desses objetivos, ela escreve: “parecia que o corpo dele estava ficando cada vez mais ‘masculino’, e o meu, mais e mais ‘feminino’. Mas não era assim como me sentia por dentro. Do lado de dentro, éramos dois humanos passando pro transformações ao lado um do outro, sendo a testemunha um do outro. Em outras palavras, estávamos envelhecendo”. Citando autores que vão desde Wittgenstein e Lacan até chegar em Susan Sontag e Judith Butler, a questão central para Maggie são as políticas de identidade, suas aplicações e fracassos. Por meio de uma investigação pessoal, de sua história e de seu companheiro, a autora faz um retrato do presente, das condições individuais e da disputa do entre os indivíduos e a sociedade moldando personalidades.

What an amzing book. Impossible to categorize, it's a memoir, a philosophical exploration, a psychological study, an extended meditation on gender, all presented with blazing honesty. No use to anyone who thinks Aristotelian laws of logic are written in stone; more akin to the Dutch Intuitionist school of thought, but that scarcely does it justice. All of this and written with wit and style. If you like a book which challenges much of what you thought you believed, then this is the one for you.

Awesome book! Came brand new and it's such a good read. The subject matter is blunt and poetic in such a beautiful way. I feel like members of any community can benefit from this read.