Accusations and Confessions
by Myriam Gurba
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2023
352 pages
Genre: Essays
Publication Information
A ruthless and razor-sharp essay collection that tackles the pervasive, creeping oppression and toxicity that has wormed its way into society - in our books, schools, and homes, as well as the systems that perpetuate them - from the acclaimed author of Mean, and one of our fiercest, foremost explorers of intersectional Latinx identity.
A creep can be a singular figure, a villain who makes things go bump in the night. Yet creep is also what the fog does—it lurks into place to do its dirty work, muffling screams, obscuring the truth, and providing cover for those prowling within it.
Creep is Myriam Gurba's informal sociology of creeps, a deep dive into the dark recesses of the toxic traditions that plague the United States and create the abusers who haunt our books, schools, and homes. Through cultural criticism disguised as personal essay, Gurba studies the ways in which oppression is collectively enacted, sustaining ecosystems that unfairly distribute suffering and premature death to our most vulnerable. Yet identifying individual creeps, creepy social groups, and creepy cultures is only half of this book's project—the other half is examining how we as individuals, communities, and institutions can challenge creeps and rid ourselves of the fog that seeks to blind us.
With her ruthless mind, wry humor, and adventurous style, Gurba implicates everyone from Joan Didion to her former abuser, everything from Mexican stereotypes to the carceral state. Braiding her own history and identity throughout, she argues for a new way of conceptualizing oppression, and she does it with her signature blend of bravado and humility.
"Gurba's lyrical prose forces us to face the sexism, racism, homophobia, and other systems of oppression that allow some Americans to get away with murder while the rest of us live in constant fear. Every piece is rife with well-timed humor and surprising conclusions, many of which come from the author's staggering command of history. Profoundly insightful, thoroughly researched, incredibly inventive, and laugh-out-loud funny, this book is a masterpiece of wit and vulnerability. A truly exceptional essay collection about safety, fear, and power." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[P]owerful...Full of lean prose and biting commentary, this is as emotionally heavy as it is hard to put down." —Publishers Weekly
"Fierce and engaging cultural criticism." —Library Journal
"[A] ruthless and razor-sharp essay collection." —The Millions
"Myriam Gurba is not someone you want to make mad. Her writing makes me feel like I have a far cooler, smarter big sister standing up to familiar monsters: bad men, our deepest fears, Joan Didion, our stolen girlhoods. Myriam makes me think and feel but, most importantly, Myriam's writing makes me feel like writing because her fire is contagious." —Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, author of The Undocumented Americans
"With its powerful voice and truth-telling, Creep will help cement Myriam Gurba's reputation as a singular and essential voice in American literature. Again and again, the tales in this book reveal the strength of a woman joyfully and relentlessly defending her dignity against those who would demean her." —Héctor Tobar, author of National Book Critics Circle award finalist Deep Down Dark
"The poetic wit, humor, and brutal brilliance of Myriam Gurba's Creep make for unforgettable reading." —Lisa Teasley, author of award-winning Glow in the Dark and Fluid
This information about Creep was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Myriam Gurba is a writer and artist. She is the author of the true crime memoir Mean, a New York Times Editors' Choice. O, The Oprah Magazine, ranked Mean as one of the best LGBTQ books of all time. Publishers Weekly describes Gurba as having a voice like no other. Her essays and criticism have appeared in The Paris Review, Time, and 4Columns. She has shown art in galleries, museums, and community centers. She lives in Pasadena, California.
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