Book Review: Monsters by Claire Dederer

What do we do with the art of monstrous men? This is the question – a fan’s dilemma – that Claire Dederer delves into. It’s an important one and a timely one too in the wake of #MeToo and the controversy of so-called “cancel culture”. Can we enjoy the films of Roman Polanski knowing the truth of his past actions? Or listen to Michael Jackson’s songs now? Should we?

It’s a question I’ve thought about for my own reading and media intake and probably many of us have. One of my personal favourite writers is Ernest Hemingway. A genius – Dederer delves into Hemingway and Picasso in her chapter on geniuses – but a deeply flawed person. Is it okay to admit I love his writing if I also add that I recognize his abusive treatment of the women in his life? Can I tell you that I was enthralled with Death in the Afternoon if I make sure to tell you I don’t sanction animal abuse? And does it make a difference that he’s dead? That I’m not putting money in Hemingway’s pocket the way I am if I listen to Kanye West.

Dederer examines why we love these monstrous artists and whether or not it’s possible to separate their work from their actions. Can we turn off the part of our brains that knows about Woody Allen’s personal life and just watch Annie Hall or are we required to turn our backs entirely? If I still listen to Michael Jackson but not R Kelly is it because I have sympathy for Jackson’s abusive childhood or is it simply because I have a lot more fond memories of Michael Jackson’s music?

Although Dederer begins the book with her desire for a firm answer – a black line to divide the good and the bad – she ultimately comes to the conclusion that the choice lies with each of us. And we’re probably going to keep judging each other over where we each draw our line. The book is quite personal as Dederer delves into her own struggle to balance art and goodness, even on a smaller scale than Gaugin or Picasso. While the book does focus primarily on male artists, Dederer does highlight a few women as well.

Toward the end of the book, she diverges into a conversation about motherhood and art. She examines artists like Doris Lessing and Joni Mitchell – women who deliberately chose to walk away from motherhood in order to pursue their personal genius and art. Is this the most monstrous act a woman can commit, asks Dederer. No one historically has expected men to sacrifice their art for their children but when a woman does it, it is seen as the worst thing she could do. While I found the argument and examples that Dederer lays out fascinating, I think this diversion weakened the book overall. I found it interesting because I am a mother and one who is drawn to art and the creation of art. Dederer never comes out and says that Doris Lessing abandoning two children in Rhodesia and going on to become a great writer is the same as Woody Allen assaulting his daughter or Picasso putting out cigarettes on a woman’s body but to draw any sort of comparison between the two seems like a mistake. Do we view a woman who can abandon her children as a sort of monster? Yes, we largely do, and in a way we don’t view men who do the same. But we can also recognize that it is nowhere in the same realm as sexual assault.

One of the most powerful chapters, in my opinion, focused on Vladimir Nabokov and Lolita. Perhaps the most famous book about a terrible subject and yet written by a man who there is no evidence ever did or thought about doing anything like Humbert Humbert. Dederer takes apart Lolita and the deftness with which Nabokov wrote it and shines a spotlight on what it has to say about girlhood and abuse and the loss of female voice. That chapter on its own would be a worthwhile read.

All together the book has its bumps but it kept me reading and made me ponder many of my own favourite artists. It made me think about where my personal line is drawn and I think that is always a good thing to be aware of.