Adam Dalva's Reviews > The Argonauts

Really sharp, lovely synthesis of emotional memoir and critical theory, reminiscent of a more outrageous version of Barthes and formatted in a canny way that allows your eyes to fly down the page even as you're taking in some relatively heavy-hitting quotations. The overall theme of the Argo as a metaphor for a relationship (parts keep on changing, but the boat's identity remains the same) is brilliant and her self-described queer relationship with Harry Dodge is depicted movingly. There's one sequence where he's cycling up on testosterone and she is four months pregnant that's a fascinating riot of hormones. Other moments stand out - the birth scene in particular, but also Harry's description of his mother's death and her views on being pregnant while on book tour. I've taught this book to several non-fiction classes at Rutgers and it always delivers - students radically change their approaches after reading this, after seeing what non-fiction can do.