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angus_mckeogh's review
5.0
I can’t say enough about Ronson. Interesting, well-written, compassionate, thought-provoking. I’m not even going to dock any stars for this being audio only. Just bring me more of his stuff.
lurker_stalker's review
4.0
This is my second audiobook by Jon Ronson focused on some aspect of the pornography industry and I truly love his style. In The Last Days of August, he digs into the apparent suicide of 23-year-old porn star August Ames. Frankly, this is the only access I plan to have into the business and I'm glad that Ronson and his producer, Lena (not sure of the spelling because it's an audiobook...) spend months tracking people down and interviewing a good many people in an effort to paint a picture of not only the industry as a business, but the people in front of and behind the camera.
Honestly, I find these stories fascinating and love Ronson as a narrator. I'll absolutely keep listening to his stuff.
Honestly, I find these stories fascinating and love Ronson as a narrator. I'll absolutely keep listening to his stuff.
supplantedbearer's review against another edition
2.0
Ronson teases a lot with this podcast, and most episodes end with an interviewee saying something tantalising about how they're going to "reveal everything" or words to that effect. The truth ends up being pretty banal and not worth all the theatricality: August was a troubled young woman with serious trauma in her past, who was in a less-than-perfect relationship, had had a very bad day where it felt like all of twitter was ganging up on her, and had taken some substances which could have impaired her from thinking completely rationally. She was in a dark moment, and she made the choice to kill herself, a choice which can't be undone later when things don't seem so dark. The "never-before-told" aspect of the story seems to be that August had recently done a scene she didn't enjoy which amounted to a form of sexual assault, and during which the male members of the crew had failed her, compounding the failures of other men in her life, like her husband and her father. The link between this specific incident and her suicide seems somewhat tenuous, and isn't much more explanatory than the already-public narrative. It thus seems pretty unsavoury for Ronson to go rifling around in her widower's history, no matter how unsympathetic a character he can come across as and how problematic their relationship was. Ronson seems to realise this, and brings up how bad he feels about pursuing the story more than once, but of course that doesn't stop him from airing the dirty laundry all the same.
I recall briefly following the story of August's social media shaming and her subsequent suicide when it was happening; I can't recall if I first encountered the story before or after she committed suicide, but I can recall not thinking there were many admirable figures to be found in the saga. August's tweet was homophobic, and it was frustrating to me that Ronson didn't address this at all in the podcast. That probably stems from his history of writing about victims of social media pile-ons; his interest is obviously in the experiences of those victims, not in being judgemental concerning the reasons for their shaming. But I think there should be room for us to say both that (1) yes, women and sex workers have the right to control their bodies, and if August didn't want to do a scene with a particular man, then she shouldn't have to, but (2) August's stated reason for not wanting to do the scene was discriminatory and ignorant, and she chose to air that discrimination in public, adding to the stigma of a marginalised group. Those, like her husband, who defended her by citing women's right to control their bodies were obfuscating from the legitimate accusation of homophobia. It would be right to expect substantial backlash to what she said, and the fact that she subsequently killed herself shouldn't make the criticism any less correct. This is not to excuse the more toxic responses she received, like the "cyanide pill" tweet from Jaxton Wheeler, whom I actually think Ronson doesn't cast enough judgement on (I think Wheeler also experienced his own pile-on after August's suicide, so Ronson again probably wasn't interested in targeting him). Even though Wheeler's tweet was sent after August's death, and thus couldn't have motivated her, it was still grossly intemperate and deserving of the strongest condemnation. As I said, not many people came out of the story looking good.
Ronson's previous series on the pornography industry, The Butterfly Effect, I thought was quite good, so this is a somewhat disappointing follow-up. To salaciously suggest that there was something more to a woman's suicide, thus dishonestly insinuating foul play on the part of her husband, is more of an exploitative move than I would expect from Jon Ronson, no matter the caveats and hand-wringing he includes in the body of the series. Those reservations expressed, however, he does still have a very even-handed and sober view of the industry which comes across in this series. He's neither a prudish moral crusader, nor someone who dismisses the serious abuses endemic in the industry. It may just be that this story, which must have seemed so sensational at the outset, turned out to not be all that fruitful after all the digging had been done, and Ronson had to make the most of the work he and his producer had sunk into it, the result being a series heavy on teasing followed by distancing from what that teasing suggested.
I recall briefly following the story of August's social media shaming and her subsequent suicide when it was happening; I can't recall if I first encountered the story before or after she committed suicide, but I can recall not thinking there were many admirable figures to be found in the saga. August's tweet was homophobic, and it was frustrating to me that Ronson didn't address this at all in the podcast. That probably stems from his history of writing about victims of social media pile-ons; his interest is obviously in the experiences of those victims, not in being judgemental concerning the reasons for their shaming. But I think there should be room for us to say both that (1) yes, women and sex workers have the right to control their bodies, and if August didn't want to do a scene with a particular man, then she shouldn't have to, but (2) August's stated reason for not wanting to do the scene was discriminatory and ignorant, and she chose to air that discrimination in public, adding to the stigma of a marginalised group. Those, like her husband, who defended her by citing women's right to control their bodies were obfuscating from the legitimate accusation of homophobia. It would be right to expect substantial backlash to what she said, and the fact that she subsequently killed herself shouldn't make the criticism any less correct. This is not to excuse the more toxic responses she received, like the "cyanide pill" tweet from Jaxton Wheeler, whom I actually think Ronson doesn't cast enough judgement on (I think Wheeler also experienced his own pile-on after August's suicide, so Ronson again probably wasn't interested in targeting him). Even though Wheeler's tweet was sent after August's death, and thus couldn't have motivated her, it was still grossly intemperate and deserving of the strongest condemnation. As I said, not many people came out of the story looking good.
Ronson's previous series on the pornography industry, The Butterfly Effect, I thought was quite good, so this is a somewhat disappointing follow-up. To salaciously suggest that there was something more to a woman's suicide, thus dishonestly insinuating foul play on the part of her husband, is more of an exploitative move than I would expect from Jon Ronson, no matter the caveats and hand-wringing he includes in the body of the series. Those reservations expressed, however, he does still have a very even-handed and sober view of the industry which comes across in this series. He's neither a prudish moral crusader, nor someone who dismisses the serious abuses endemic in the industry. It may just be that this story, which must have seemed so sensational at the outset, turned out to not be all that fruitful after all the digging had been done, and Ronson had to make the most of the work he and his producer had sunk into it, the result being a series heavy on teasing followed by distancing from what that teasing suggested.
wolverinefactor's review against another edition
1.0
The worst thing a book like this can be is pointless.
There’s zero point here.
The author makes a bunch of assumptions for zero reason other than to make this a thing.
Everything you learn on chapter 1 is all there is to the story. A quick article could have summed this story up.
There’s zero point here.
The author makes a bunch of assumptions for zero reason other than to make this a thing.
Everything you learn on chapter 1 is all there is to the story. A quick article could have summed this story up.
ayealba's review against another edition
5.0
Powerful insight into the porn industry and a great piece of journalism.
It shouldn't be all on the performer to yell cut or look after their own safety especially when their livelihood and the livelihood of everyone in that room is hanging over her. There should be protections and people on set to regulate this industry who don't have a stake in pushing a performer out of their comfort zone. If someone was on set periodically pulling her aside away from that pressurized environment maybe she could have had a way to communicate her feelings without the fear of judgement and retaliation. Nor should she have to be primed to accept the situation by people telling her that the male performer liked things a certain way. Consent is a thing that should be reinforced that can be withdrawn at any time. Rather than expected to be given up at the beginning if a colleague feels he's prepped her enough by giving vague warnings or downplayed the reality enough so that she feels compelled to not make a fuss.
Kevin's part in this is probably the most difficult part to reconcile. Emotional abuse is a hard thing to gauge and I appreciated Ronson's take on the issue. I have been in a relationship with a man like Kevin and it's really difficult to separate the intentional harm that is being done from the nonchalant indifference they can display towards their partner.
Even years later I still go back and forth as to what extent his controlling behaviour was consciously done. It's made more difficult by that person obscuring the truth from even themselves and their ability to dodge accountability. Like Ronson said there is a large disconnect with how they see themselves and present to the rest of society. Unlike Ronson however I don't think Kevin ever had any intention of saving August and merely saw the women he dates as more exploitable. Even if Kevin would never admit that to himself.
Even in a normal day to day situation the onus is generally on the women to act better and take responsibility for men's bad behaviour. I can only imagine the pressure is ten fold in an industry that involves sex. Kevin and August's relationship is almost a microcosm of the porn industry as a whole. The female participant is wholly expected to take on the responsibility for her own comfort/safety and that of her partners pleasure/mental health yet not expected to complain. If she does complain she is heavily shamed, villainized and her mental health is weaponized against her. She was put in unwinnable situations both at home and at work. Even in her last moments she was more concerned that Kevin shouldn't have to discover her body than for her own wellbeing.
Kevin's conclusion (like Ronson said his one moment of genuine self reflection) in the end seems the most poignant. "We are all complicit in what happened to August". I think that is true. What happened to August Ames could have been avoided if the industry, her colleagues, or the consumers cared about the performers and their safety. Not just mental health but the safety and the ability to feel like you can speak up. She was put in a horrible position if she had been given any avenue for support then she would have felt safer speaking up (Concerning the Markus Dupree incident)
Someone said that there is nothing new here in another review. It's certainly old ground but I think hearing a personal story brings it more to life than hearing again "We need more accountability". Especially for porn performers who we tend to dehumanize, ignore and blame while we simultaneously use them for our own amusement.
.
It shouldn't be all on the performer to yell cut or look after their own safety especially when their livelihood and the livelihood of everyone in that room is hanging over her. There should be protections and people on set to regulate this industry who don't have a stake in pushing a performer out of their comfort zone. If someone was on set periodically pulling her aside away from that pressurized environment maybe she could have had a way to communicate her feelings without the fear of judgement and retaliation. Nor should she have to be primed to accept the situation by people telling her that the male performer liked things a certain way. Consent is a thing that should be reinforced that can be withdrawn at any time. Rather than expected to be given up at the beginning if a colleague feels he's prepped her enough by giving vague warnings or downplayed the reality enough so that she feels compelled to not make a fuss.
Kevin's part in this is probably the most difficult part to reconcile. Emotional abuse is a hard thing to gauge and I appreciated Ronson's take on the issue. I have been in a relationship with a man like Kevin and it's really difficult to separate the intentional harm that is being done from the nonchalant indifference they can display towards their partner.
Even years later I still go back and forth as to what extent his controlling behaviour was consciously done. It's made more difficult by that person obscuring the truth from even themselves and their ability to dodge accountability. Like Ronson said there is a large disconnect with how they see themselves and present to the rest of society. Unlike Ronson however I don't think Kevin ever had any intention of saving August and merely saw the women he dates as more exploitable. Even if Kevin would never admit that to himself.
Even in a normal day to day situation the onus is generally on the women to act better and take responsibility for men's bad behaviour. I can only imagine the pressure is ten fold in an industry that involves sex. Kevin and August's relationship is almost a microcosm of the porn industry as a whole. The female participant is wholly expected to take on the responsibility for her own comfort/safety and that of her partners pleasure/mental health yet not expected to complain. If she does complain she is heavily shamed, villainized and her mental health is weaponized against her. She was put in unwinnable situations both at home and at work. Even in her last moments she was more concerned that Kevin shouldn't have to discover her body than for her own wellbeing.
Kevin's conclusion (like Ronson said his one moment of genuine self reflection) in the end seems the most poignant. "We are all complicit in what happened to August". I think that is true. What happened to August Ames could have been avoided if the industry, her colleagues, or the consumers cared about the performers and their safety. Not just mental health but the safety and the ability to feel like you can speak up. She was put in a horrible position if she had been given any avenue for support then she would have felt safer speaking up (Concerning the Markus Dupree incident)
Someone said that there is nothing new here in another review. It's certainly old ground but I think hearing a personal story brings it more to life than hearing again "We need more accountability". Especially for porn performers who we tend to dehumanize, ignore and blame while we simultaneously use them for our own amusement.
.
ericthec's review against another edition
4.0
A good documentary of a sad story of broken people. Free on Amazon for Prime members.
beingshort's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0