The question at the heart of this book is a fascinating one: what do we do about the art of bad men? I wasn't as keen on the more memoir-aspects of the book. I would have preferred to read more about the theory and research into Hemingway, Woody Allen et al.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In her book Monsters, Claire Dederer tackles the issue of being a fan of someone whose opinions, actions or crimes you find abhorrent. People have different views on this matter, but personally, I only enjoy art that I discovered before finding out about the artist's wrongdoing. I won't engage with any more of their work or give them my money. This is mainly because classics are my favourite genre of books, and I would have to discard most of my favourite books if I were to do otherwise.

However, I wasn't as intrigued by Monsters as I had expected to be. The writing didn't resonate with me, and I didn't feel like I was reading fresh material. Most of the topics Claire Dederer delves into are things I have come across myself, read about, or discussed with others. The chapter on anti-Semitism caught my attention, and I wished she had written more on the futility of being a consumer. Overall, the book wasn't as compelling or memorable as I had hoped, but I appreciate Sceptre for giving me the opportunity to read and review it.

In Monsters, Claire Dederer interrogates the age-old dilemma of being a fan of someone whose opinions/actions/crimes you abhor. I suppose everyone feels differently about this (my rule is that I can enjoy art I discovered before I found out the person was awful, but I won't engage with any more of their work or give my money towards it. This is maybe also because classics are my favourite genre of books and I'd have to bin basically most of my favourite books otherwise.) I wasn't as interested in Monsters as I thought I was going to be: partly because I never really gelled with the writing, and partly because I didn't really feel like I was reading anything new. Most of what Claire Dederer writes about are things I've thought myself or read about or already discussed with friends and family. The chapter on anti-Semitism piqued my interest and I wish she'd written more about the futility of being a consumer. Not as engaging or memorable as I'd hoped but thanks to Sceptre for letting me read this anyway!

I started reading this book worrying it might be too intellectual, more like homework that something enjoyable. I was wrong. It's entirely readable, relateable, often funny, and I abandoned the other books I was reading because I didn't want to put it down. Claire Dederer examines so many issues I've wrestled with myself with regard to cultural monsters (and I was pretty happy to see we both came to the same conclusion). An important and timely book. And just a really good read.

It's a very modern dilemma: how do we enjoy an artist's work when we know they were an awful person? Is it still acceptable to watch and enjoy the films and listen to the music you loved when you know that the creator harmed other people?

If you're looking for a simple solution to this knotty problem, Claire Dederer can't give it to you. However, she can discuss how she's approached this issue in her own life as a film critic and help you start to weigh up the karmic balance between evil and genius for yourself.

A very interesting and thought-provoking work. If you enjoyed this, try listening to the BBC podcast Evil Genius.

Sometimes I wish I knew nothing of the artists that I love. But in this day and age, it's difficult to not know. Also, powerful people who do terrible things should be held accountable.

But as an art consumer, you're left with a lot of feelings and thoughts about how, or if, to consume art by artists who turn out to be terrible people. Claire Dederer explores these feelings and thoughts extremely well and after reading it, I feel like I come better equiped to these feelings and conversations.

Her chapter about female artists abandoning their children didn't vibe with me, it got a little too memoiry for my taste. But all in all, a very interesting book that I would recommend to friends so that we can discuss these topics in a different way in future.

A very timely read - how do we approach the art of someone whose values we no longer relate to? Or someone who has gone on to do monstrous things?
I liked the real world examples of this a lot - JK Rowling, Michael Jackson - but while I appreciated the author’s more personal sections towards the end I didn’t find them quite as compelling.
An interesting and necessary read but not quite as engrossing as I expected it to be at first.

4 stars

I was so keen to read this book, but unfortunately I really struggled to get through it. There was a lot of terminology I didn't understand and think the average person would also struggle to, and often multiple difficult terms were put in relation to eachother so that I couldn't even understand it after looking the definitions up. I would love to read articles and similar from this writer, but not another longform piece like a book. I also felt it was too narrow a view on such a broad topic - Dederer can relate and does so clearly and concisely to the victims of those who committed sexual assault, but she doesn't have this connection to racism or queerphobia. The sides she doesn't have personal experience with are only really engaged with through anecdotes or a brief statement from someone she knows and has asked their view, rather than seeking someone out who would be most knowledgeable on the subject, which I found a real shame. The idea for this book is so good. I think it could have been better focussed on one person, or one act that multiple people have committed. I also found it odd that a definition of 'fan' used she/her pronouns, but a definition of 'genius' used he/him.

A book around the topic of separating art from the artist could come across as patronising and preachy but this was so enjoyable and accessible to read!

Dederer covers a wide range of points in these essays including the Me Too movement, the way we try and explain why ‘monstrous’ people are the way they are, the feelings of betrayal when an artist you like turns out not to be who you think they are, who gets labelled a genius and what that title lets them get away with, why we’re fascinated with ‘bad’ people, how the term ‘monstrous’ is used differently for men and women, ‘cancel culture’ and SO much more.

She doesn’t tell you what to think or what conclusion to come to, but instead opens up a whole set of new questions and debates in this conversation, making you take a look at yourself too. I feel like I’m not smart enough to write a proper ‘review’ on this but please take these thoughts as a recommendation to go and preorder this, I loved it!!

Working closely with art, this is something I’ve thought about a lot, but Dederer really puts it into words. How do we separate art from the artist? And should we?

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

What a fascinating read- timely, brilliantly researched, and massively helpful. Dederer doesn’t make decisions for the reader, but uses her own experiences to guid the reader as they negotiate the separation of art and artist, and whether the two can be truly untwined in the face of awful behaviour by the artist. It’s raised more questions than answered them for me- a provocative read that challenges and asks for debate