Claire Dederer Knihy

From the author of the New York Times best seller Poser and the acclaimed memoir Love and Trouble, a passionate, provocative, blisteringly smart interrogation of how we make and experience art in the age of #MeToo, and of the link between genius and monstrosity. In this unflinching, deeply personal book that expands on her instantly viral Paris Review essay, "What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?" Claire Dederer asks: Can we love the work of Hemingway, Polanski, Naipaul, Miles Davis, or Picasso? Should we love it? Does genius deserve special dispensation? Is male monstrosity the same as female monstrosity? Does art have a mandate to depict the darker elements of the psyche? And what happens if the artist stares too long into the abyss? She explores the audience's relationship with artists from Woody Allen to Michael Jackson, asking: How do we balance our undeniable sense of moral outrage with our equally undeniable love of the work? In a more troubling vein, she wonders if an artist needs to be a monster in order to create something great. And if an artist is also a mother, does one identity inexorably, and fatally, interrupt the other? Highly topical, morally wise, honest to the core, Monsters is certain to incite a conversation about whether and how we can separate artists from their art.

From the New York Times best-selling author of Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses, a ferocious, sexy, hilarious memoir about going off the rails at midlife and trying to reconcile the girl she was with the woman she has become. Claire Dederer is a happily married mother of two, ages nine and twelve, when she suddenly finds herself totally despondent and, simultaneously, suffering through a kind of erotic reawakening. This exuberant memoir shifts between her present experience as a middle-aged mom in the grip of mysterious new hungers and herself as a teenager--when she last experienced life with such heightened sensitivity and longing. From her hilarious chapter titles ("How to Have Sex with Your Husband of Seventeen Years") to her subjects--from the boyfriend she dumped at fourteen the moment she learned how to give herself an orgasm, to the girls who ruled her elite private school ("when I left Oberlin I thought I had done with them forever, but it turned out ...they also edited all the newspapers and magazines, and wrote all the books"), to raising a teenage daughter herself--Dederer writes with an electrifying blend of wry wit and raw honesty. She exposes herself utterly, and in doing so captures something universal about the experience of being a woman, a daughter, a wife.

The studio was decorated in a clean, minimalist style, reminiscent of a surgical room, with only Tibetan prayer flags adding color. Despite my aversion to such decor, I removed my shoes, paid my fee, and entered. Ten years prior, Claire Dederer had injured her back while breastfeeding and was encouraged to try yoga by various people. She reluctantly signed up for her first class and fell in love with it. Over the next decade, she tackled various poses, forming friendships with some while developing rivalries with others. As she practiced, she confronted the societal expectations placed on her generation—daughters of mothers who sought self-discovery, striving to be “good” in a world filled with organic lifestyles and attachment parenting. Yoga initially seemed to align with this virtuous path, but as Dederer delved deeper into her practice, she found it challenged her notions of motherhood, friendship, and self-identity. It led her to seek something less structured and more joyful. This book transcends typical yoga literature; it explores life itself with wit and heart, appealing to anyone who has ever attempted to balance their aspirations with reality.