Something That May Shock and Discredit You

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Something That May Shock and Discredit You
Cover of Something That May Shock and Discredit You
AuthorDaniel M. Lavery
GenreMemoir
Published2020 (Atria Publishing Group)
Pages256
ISBN1-9821-0521-6

Something That May Shock and Discredit You is a memoir by Daniel M. Lavery. It was published on February 11, 2020, by Atria Publishing Group. The book explores topics including gender and gender transition as well as popular culture and theology.

Background[]

Daniel M. Lavery, founder of The Toast and later the writer of Dear Prudence, wrote Something That May Shock and Discredit You after his gender transition. Prior to his transition, he had been known as a feminist and ran a website intended for women. The book is a memoir that discusses gender and gender transition as well as popular culture and theology,[1] and comprises a series of personal essays.[2] In an interview for Electric Literature, Lavery told that the book "feels more memoir-adjacent than memoir" because it includes "mostly the thoughts in about a 20 to 24 month period of my life immediately preceding and then in the first year and a half or so of my transition, and then also every thought that ever led me to that point."[3]

Title[]

The phrase "Something That May Shock and Discredit You" comes from a scene in The Simpsons in which Lionel Hutz is attempting to discredit Apu Nahasapeemapetilon,[3] a witness with an eidetic memory. After the witness correctly states what tie Hutz is wearing, Hutz responds "if that's what you think, then I've got something to tell you, something that may shock and discredit you" while visibly attempting to remove the tie and then claimed he was not wearing a tie at all.[4] Lavery told Sam Sanders that "in that moment, it felt like there was so much about, you know, masks coming off, layers coming off [...] pretty early in the writing process, I landed on that title."[2] He explained to Calvin Kasulke that Hutz "pretends he’s not [wearing a tie], but he is, and it does not in fact discredit the person he’s talking to. It discredits himself."[3]

Publication[]

Something That May Shock and Discredit You was published on February 11, 2020, by Atria Publishing Group. It has 256 pages.[5]

Reception[]

Something That May Shock and Discredit You received a starred review in Kirkus Reviews. The review stated that "what makes these wide-ranging essays work as a coherent collection are the author’s poignant reflections on faith and gender" and described Lavery as "refreshingly unafraid of his own uncertainty", concluding that "everyone should read this extraordinary book."[5] In Publishers Weekly, Nino Cipri described Lavery's writing style in the book as "erudite, self-effacing, and welcoming" and noted his use of biblical parables to discuss gender transition.[6] A review in The New Yorker praised Lavery's ability to switch between "criticism, personal essay, and literary pastiche" and described the book as "a road map for navigating one remarkable writer’s mind."[7]

A positive review by Constance Grady in Vox described Something That May Shock and Discredit You as "odd and self-satisfied and bizarrely specific, in all the best possible ways." Grady praised the book as humorous but also "tenderly, gently thoughtful about gender and about what it means to transition".[1] In the , Annette Lapointe pointed out that much of the book is indirectly autobiographical, characterized by the use of "highly familiar, casual language" to describe "very specific, far-from-general experiences". She described it as "emotionally effective, but not always entirely accessible" and stated that it was both Lavery's least accessible book and his most important one.[8]

In The New York Times Book Review, stated that the nonlinear narrative of Something That May Shock and Discredit You makes it "addictively strange and delightful". He described Lavery as a "lapidarist of gender transition" and praised his avoidance of common tropes related to the subject.[9] A review in The A.V. Club, which gave Something That May Shock and Discredit You a letter grade of B+, described the text as "three eloquent books in one" in reference to its combination of essays, memoir, and cultural analysis. Characterizing Lavery as "as nimble a storyteller as they come", it pointed out that the book had no chronology and stated that it was "occasionally circuitous but always insightful", concluding that Lavery has "created a deeply personal language for a deeply personal story."[10] Sam Sanders additionally noted that the book avoids tropes about gender transition, noting that it explores Lavery's attempts to convince himself not to transition.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Grady, Constance (2020-02-21). "No writer does "weirdly specific yet relatable" better than Daniel Mallory Ortberg". Vox. Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c Sam Sanders (March 10, 2020). "Daniel Mallory Ortberg on 'Something That May Shock and Discredit You'". It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders (Podcast). National Public Radio. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Kasulke, Calvin (2020-02-21). "Danny Lavery Wants to Be Your Goth Boyfriend". Electric Literature. Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "The greatest moments of Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz".
  5. ^ a b "Something That May Shock and Discredit You". Kirkus Reviews. October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 22, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Cipri, Nino (December 6, 2019). "Daniel Lavery Is Ready to Tweak the Canon". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Briefly Noted Book Reviews". The New Yorker. 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Lapointe, Annette. "Something That May Shock and Discredit You". . Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Rosenberg, Jordy (2020-02-11). "The Masculine Mystique: A New Kind of Trans Memoir". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  10. ^ Chavez, Danette (February 11, 2020). "Something That May Shock And Discredit You is more likely to charm and enlighten". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2021-10-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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