Trick Mirror
2019 essay collection by Jia Tolentino
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion is a 2019 book by American author Jia Tolentino. It contains nine essays about topics including internet culture, marriage, scams, and contemporary feminism.
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| Author | Jia Tolentino |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Internet culture, feminism |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 6 August 2019 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 303 |
| ISBN | 978-0525510543 (First edition hardcover) |
Writing
Tolentino began writing the collection in early 2017 and finished it in the fall of 2018.[1] Before she sold the book to Random House, Tolentino chose a question to address in each essay.[2] Tolentino selected the order of the essays so that each builds on the previous one.[2]
Contents
- The I in the Internet
- Reality TV Me
- Always Be Optimizing
- Pure Heroines
- Ecstasy
- The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams
- We Come from Old Virginia
- The Cult of the Difficult Woman
- I Thee Dread
Reception
On August 25, 2019, Trick Mirror debuted at #2 on The New York Times Bestseller list in the category Combined Print & E-Book Non-Fiction.[3] It remained on the list for five weeks.[4]
Kirkus Reviews compared Tolentino to Joan Didion and described the collection as "exhilarating, groundbreaking essays that should establish Tolentino as a key voice of her generation."[5] Writing for Slate, reviewer Laura Miller called Tolentino "a classical essayist along the lines of Montaigne."[6] The Guardian called Trick Mirror "a bold and playful collection of essays from a hugely talented writer."[7] NPR's Vincent Acovino called the collection "phenomenal" and praised Tolentino's "trademark brand of freewheeling wit and intelligence."[8]
One highly critical review, written by Lauren Oyler for the London Review of Books, received much publicity and generated so much online traffic that their website crashed.[9][10] Among other things, Oyler faults Tolentino for self-centered writing, faulting her for making "any observation about the world lead back to [her] own [life] and feelings, though it should be the other way round" and noting "she primarily uses personal experience to substantiate – rather than ‘get to the bottom of’ – her ideas, though her tendency towards hyperbole has the effect of making them seem entirely subjective."[11]
