January Not Fiction Book Discussions

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino exemplifies the essayist's task: to attempt to understand oneself in relation to a subject by writing about it. As E. M. Forster famously said, "How do I know what I think until I see what I say?"

In the nine essays in Trick Mirror, Tolentino explores aspects of contemporary culture, such as the internet, social media, reality TV, the ethos of scamming, the pressure to optimize every aspect of our lives, and the self-contradictions of feminism, "spheres of public imagination that have shaped my understanding of myself, of this country, and of this era." What she concludes is that our collective sense of self and relationship with others has increasingly become performative, transactional, and monetized. Tolentino acknowledges her complicity in the systems she criticizes--after all, she is a millennial who earns her living writing about political and cultural ephemera for high profile internet and social media platforms. In her introduction, she says, "These are the prisms through which I have come to know myself. In this book, I tried to undo their acts of refraction. I wanted to see the way I would see in a mirror." Yet throughout the essays she acknowledges the difficulty of seeing herself clearly, and by the end of the collection, she concludes that "In the end, the safest conclusions may not actually be conclusions. We are asked to understand our lives under such impossibly convoluted conditions. I have always accommodated everything I wish I were opposed to."

What do you think? What is your relationship to some of the topics Tolentino discusses, such as the influence of traditional literary heroines or the wedding industry? Did her reflections help you to understand that relationship more clearly? Which pieces did you feel worked as essays, pieces of writing that ask and attempt to answer the question "So what?" Did they work together as a larger narrative? Do you agree with her general observation that our culture has become increasingly self-absorbed and self-deluded through the influence of the internet and social media, or is human nature in this respect fairly consistent throughout history? Trick Mirror is one of the most widely discussed books of the last year, with book club-style conversations hosted, ironically, by self-optimizing venues such as spas, health food popups, and women's wellness collectives. Why do you think it has been so popular? Will these essays be relevant as cultural documents a decade or more from now? Critics note Tolentino's pessimism about the possibility of knowing oneself and living with complete integrity although she suggests some possible small personal actions, most importantly, self-reflection. What can or should we do given the human tendency to self-delusion?

We hope you will join the discussion: Tuesday, January 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, January 16, at 11:00 a.m.; and here on the blog.