Predator: A Memoir, a Movie, an Obsession
Description
A searching memoir of a life lived in the flicker of an action film, by the author of I Will Take the Answer
In his first memoir, Ander Monson guides readers through a scene-by-scene exploration of the 1987 film Predator, which he has watched 146 times. Some fighters might not have time to bleed, but Monson has the patience to consider their adventure, one frame at a time. He turns his obsession into a lens through which he poignantly examines his own life, formed by mainstream, white, male American culture. Between scenes, Monson delves deeply into his adolescence in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Riyadh, his role as a father and the loss of his own mother, and his friendships with men bound by the troubled camaraderie depicted in action and sci-fi blockbusters. Along with excursions into the conflicted pleasures of cosplay and first-person shooters, he imagines himself beside the poet and memoirist Paul Monette, who wrote the novelization of the movie while his partner was dying of AIDS. A sincere and playful book that lovingly dissects the film, Predator also offers questions and critiques of masculinity, fandom, and their interrelation with acts of mass violence. In a stirring reversal, one chapter exposes Monson through the Predator's heat-seeking vision, asking him, "What do you know about the workings of the hidden world?" As Monson brings us into the brilliant depths of the film and its universe, the hunt begins.Product Details
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
About the Author
Reviews
"The novelist and critic weaves together scene-by-scene commentary on the 1987 sci-fi horror film 'Predator' with personal recollections and musings as he contemplates masculinity, fandom and their relationship to violence."--The New York Times Book Review
"[Predator] is an extremely unexpected book in every way . . . Totally delightful."--Dan Kois, Slate's Culture Gabfest
"A vibrant piece of social criticism that seeks to connect the dots between autobiography and something larger: the way an artifact or a piece of art can get inside us, shaping not only personality but also perspective, a way of thinking about and moving through the world. In pretty much every way that matters, it's an effort that succeeds."--David Ulin, Alta Journal
