A sharp and entertaining essay collection about the importance of multiple forms of love and friendship in a world designed for couples, from a laser-precise new voice.
Briallen Hopper writes about pop culture, religion, politics, friends, family, and herself for New York Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, the New Inquiry, Avidly, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Killing the Buddha, among many others. Her essays have been cited or recommended by sources like the New York Times, the Rumpus, Flavorwire, Longreads.com, and Slate. She has a PhD in American literature from Princeton and teaches writing at Yale. www.briallenhopper.com @briallenhopper briallenhopper.tumblr.com
Extraordinary. I’ll return to this book over and over during the
years to come: for its gifts of insight and delight, for the primal
and powerful gift of its company.
*Leslie Jamison, author of THE EMPATHY EXAMS and THE
RECOVERING*
An exceptional work: an expert tangle of memoir, literary
criticism, pop cultural analysis and political meditation that is
warm, buoyant, connective, and smart as hell.
*Rebecca Traister, author of ALL THE SINGLE LADIES and GOOD AND
MAD*
In her rousing essay collection Hard To Love, Hopper takes us into
her unusually expansive love life, complete with knotty familial
relationships, deep friendships, and emotional investment in the
fictional and material worlds . . . Daring . . . brilliant . . .
ingenious.
*NPR.org*
An incredibly thoughtful examination of the various ways we depend
upon others, through an expansive and engaging look at love outside
a traditional romantic sphere . . . Hopper’s ability to reimagine
and celebrate the ties that bind us are something to celebrate.
*The New York Observer*
In a society that often values romantic love above all else,
nothing is as invigorating as a strong feminist accounting of the
different roles women assume throughout life. Hopper discusses an
Emersonian boyfriend; spinsters past and present; being and not
being a mother; and the power of friendship.
*Ms. Magazine*
Stunning . . . Prepare to underline vigorously, nod along, and
ultimately call your friend to say, ‘Thanks.’
*Refinery 29*
The perfect book to give to a friend and read together.
*Nylon*
I found myself deeply comforted by Hard to Love. Hopper lets us
know: We are not alone in the universe after all.
*Jami Attenberg, author of ALL GROWN UP*
Hopper's essays seem like love songs . . . delicate, thoughtful
elegies to friendship, compassion, and grace. A fresh, well-crafted
collection.
*Kirkus Reviews (starred review)*
I adored Hard To Love and its miraculous intermingling of
revelatory criticism and soulful memoir. In its excesses of
tenderness, intelligence, and pleasure, this book brilliantly puts
the lie to the idea that a single life is less full--or less
complicated--than a coupled one.
*Alice Bolin, author of DEAD GIRLS*
The best essay collection I've read in ages. Hopper's rare gifts of
intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, and genuine curiosity make her
a must-read voice on everything she turns her brilliant mind to.
She's earned a place as the poet laureate of single womanhood.
*Ada Calhoun, author of WEDDING TOASTS I'LL NEVER GIVE*
In deft strokes, Hopper reminds us that death-do-us-part romance is
not the only way to love, or to live. A satisfying, eye-opening
examination.
*Esmé Weijun Wang, author of THE COLLECTED SCHIZOPHRENIAS*
Our culture often tells us we have two options: coupled and loved,
or alone and unloved. Hopper posits a third option: uncoupled but
very much loved and loving. These essays refute our binary
assumptions by teasing out the satisfying complexities that lie
between and beyond the old poles.
*Anne Fadiman, author of THE WINE LOVER'S DAUGHTER and THE SPIRIT
CATCHES YOU AND YOU FALL DOWN*
With intrepid imagination, Hopper conjures a world beyond our most
imperious cultural assumptions. Read this book.
*Gregory Pardlo, author of AIR TRAFFIC*
A compelling, smart collection of essays on relationships of many
kinds--hoarding, dependence, female friendship, marriage or lack
thereof--from a widely published literary scholar.
*LitHub*
A smart group of essays on contemporary relationships. A literature
scholar, Hopper cultivates a voice that is sophisticated and
analytical, but also earnest and eager, and her strongest essays
balance these qualities.
*Publishers Weekly*
Smart and studied reflections on the power of friendship . . .
While families are bound by blood and couples often by the law of
marriage, the bonds of friendship expand and contract over time.
Hopper fervently embraces this and the rich intimacies it
affords.
*Booklist*
A refreshing collection that probes the expanse of the human
heart.
*BookPage*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |