A review by mayawinshell
The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning by Maggie Nelson

5.0

not gonna pretend that i understood what i was reading all of the time (most? oops!) but god do i love maggie nelson’s beautiful yet casual prose, and boy am i jealous of her big brain, i.e. her sharp and articulate responses to pieces of art that would leave most people speechless/thoughtless/*reactionless*. by that, i mean that most people outside of the art world (myself included) seem to let most cruel things, whether that’s experimental art or heinous news, sort of glide on by. why seek out and sit through something upsetting? it’s easier to ignore, and it’s less controversial (usually) not to form any opinion at all. but maggie nelson comes armed with something to SAY. she’s engaging deeply with everything she comes across, and keeping it on her mind for years. despite the difficulty of comprehension, i wanted to read this (and plan to read more nelson) in hopes of absorbing even a little bit of her POV through osmosis, ideally expanding my ability to notice things and be able to actually talk about them, and encouraging my hunger for the exploration of diverse art—including the stuff that feels unpleasant to engage with. here’s to pushing myself.