Harare Review of Books

368 pages.

Expected publication date: Nov. 14, 2023 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Non-fiction.

In a cursory search, I’ve been unable to find the origin of the term “unruly body”, but it first came to my attention in Roxane Gay’s Unruly Bodies project. I’ve also read Susannah B. Mintz’s Unruly Bodies: Life Writing by Women with Disabilities, and We Are All Monsters by Andrew Mangham—or, more accurately, I tried to, but they are both very scholarly, and most of it went over my head. All of which to say, I’ve already been interested in monsters (Monster Studies is a huge topic on its own!), and “unruly bodies+monsters” will be my latest rabbit hole, no doubt.

My prior exposure to literature on monsters in art was related to disability in literature (Mintz, and Mangham, above, and Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc), so it’s been an eye-opener to read Elkin’s thoughtful treatise on monstrosity in art in relation to feminism. Although Art Monsters is heavy on visual art history, happily the images Elkin references are only a quick Google away; even someone with no background in visual art—like me—can find Art Monsters accessible and educational. Although it is rather the focus of the book, Elkin does not limit her analysis to visual art (paintings, photography, film), but extends her thoughts to literature, too. Additionally, having recently read Jazmina Barrera’s Cross-Stitch (tr. Christina MacSweeney), I was really pleased to see a little about the history of embroidery as a feminist art.

Some of my highlights: A thorough education in the work of Carolee Schneemann, Lynda Benglis, Hannah Wilke, Helen Chadwick, and other feminist artists who were active from the 1970s. Art Monsters is grounded in and inspired by the work of Jenny Offil and Virginia Woolf. I’m also glad that Elkin does not neglect the work of Black artists and artists of colour, including Sutapa Biswas, Kara Walker, Lubaina Himid, Lorna Simpson, Betye Saar, and others. Other writers and personalities in the book: Toni Morrison, Angela Carter, Véra Nabokov, Mary Richardson, and more.

Highly recommended. Take your time, and keep Google and your sticky tags ready. I will be processing and linking all I’ve learnt for years to come. Thank you to NetGalley and to Farrar, Straus and Girouxfor access.

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