Very interesting review. I’ve been following ARX-Han for a bit on here but have yet to be convinced I should read Incel (no disrespect to him, I just hate being recommended books and stick to following my own serendipitous path), but based on what you’re saying here I now know I’m going to have to pick Incel up at some point. The evo pscyh/scientism aspect seems the most interesting to me. Kind of making me think I should reread Houellebecq’s “The Elementary Particles” too and see if there’s some stuff in common there…
Glad I run into this review. I've seen ARX-Han every now and then in my Substack feed but I don't think I've read anything by him, including Incel. But from what I you've said, it reminds me of "Diary of a Bomoh" by Kit Sun Cheah. I don't know if you've read/heard of that, but that might be up your alley. Of course, Cheah's work takes a more spiritual (if not occult) path. Also, there's some NSFW stuff there (so you have been warned, lol).
I very much like this review essay, subscribed, and look forward to seeing more. I've enjoyed ARX-Han on Substack but have not read Incel.
As an aside I have to say I am finding the whole milieu of social media, and especially the incel phenomenon, so very far from my own experiences (among other things, I'm much older, and successful in a variety of ways) that they are only comprehensible by great efforts of imagination.
With regard to "novel," you make a serious argument, but should perhaps nod in the direction of banality: what else would a publisher call it?
Finally, I think the end of your piece, the description of whatever this is, somehow not novel but worthy, would benefit (I would benefit) from a bit more explanation. I take it so does ARX-Han. It is not yet clear (and therefore an opportunity for criticism) what constitutes the fortress, nor indeed your tent on the plain. Ancient arguments over free will . . . anyway, it's intriguing and promising. Thank you.
Thank you for the well-thought-out comment, and I am glad that you like my essay. In a sense, I am in the middle ground bewteen you and ARX-Han. I am not an American and don't live in the US either. So I haven't really experienced the incel phenomenon like Han would have. (He doesn't disclose his personal information much, but I presume he is a Chinese-American). However, I do observe that certain discourses from the Anglophone cyberspace (mostly America-centered) get imported and "translated" in ways that could adapt to the South Korean society where I belong, from the feminist wave to the "pills". This must make me a unique reader, but as I wrote in the essay, I wanted to talk more about the body of text itself and other related bodies of text than how they relate to the world outside them.
To some extent, I agree with you regarding the economy of language. We may still call Incel a novel for the convenience of it. However, I still feel there should be a nuanced examination of the historic term "novel". That is what crticisms do. A critic can't in good conscience act as if the word 'modern' in "modern bourgeois society" and "Modern Family" meant the same thing.
About the ending of my piece, it does sound more like a poetic manifesto than a study, doesn't it? After all, maybe I was too (intelectually) lazy, but I did not want the review of Han's work to turn into a 'History of Literature 1800-2020 & Its Current Implications 101 (As Kim Understands Them)'. Hopefully, I will have a chance to touch on those subjects some day.
I agree with what you say about calling Incel a novel, and applaud you for going deeper. My point was not serious -- just realistic/pragmatic, so maybe worth a nod before you got down to business.
After commenting, while running an errand, I realized I forgot to say: I really like questions of form, in literature, but also in photography and other arts. As a writer, I struggle with this stuff all the time. I've published a bunch of more or less academic books, most of which are formally edgy, and some of which have been orphaned. Some of those projects I've decided to serialize on my substack. All of which is a long way of saying that I'm delighted to see you taking a serious look at the writing qua writing.
Re the manifesto, yeah, a bit. But it's not bad, is even promising. Early stages. So consider this encouragement -- I'd like to see those thoughts developed.
ARX Han wrote a review on Substack of some other incel book, in which he discusses ethnic identity, his own and others, in the context of US new writing, and especially racism. It's a bit too fast, unsurprisingly given context and maybe his age, but there's good stuff in it.
Not interested in Arx Han but the essay was really well written and kept me to the end with a poetic flourish. For your second language you write superbly. I could understand as someone who's only self taught in literature.
I got about two-fifths of the way through your essay and realized that although I am fully ready to credit the point you were making, I'm so deeply uninterested in this gross-sounding novel that I don't care to finish an essay about it.
So next to your formal point, there's a point about content. Sometimes subject matter just isn't worthy of the narrative treatment.
Being (un)interested in a work of literature can be very personal indeed. I'm not necessarily saying that you must read the novel or my essay about it, but I will have to respectably disagree with that its "subject matter just isn't worthy of the narrative treatment." In fact, I consider its content more relevant to this age and our understanding of it than that of many other fictional works these days.
Oh, if your measure is relevance, then sure! My measure is inherent worth. I believe we must set fine things, noble things before our mind's eye if we wish to be fine and noble ourselves.
Maybe relevance was not the most apt criterion to mention here, though the work is truly relevant, obviously (which is ultimately sad). I mostly agree with you in that we should set noble and fine things before our eyes. A small partial objection I want to raise, however, is that our spiritual eyes may see noble things through ungraceful things before our physical sense. Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina, for instance, are tales of adultery in the end. It does not mean that Flaubert or Tolstoy was trying to lure readers into peeping at stories of sensational affairs only. I think Incel, though gross in many parts and in many ways, is still a noble work in what can be seen beyond and through them.
I appreciate your through reading of my review and believe that you will be able to see why I compared it to works by Dante and Gogol: "Incel is a work set in none other than hell". You made some interesting points about Asian-American men, which is very intriguing to me. I am no American, so I can only imagine. On the other hand, I cannot comment on the author himself with confidence, but considering his other written pieces and the way he depicts Anon from Incel, I imagine him to be quite unlike his character. In fact, I do not consider his work to be a "brainworm". As long as its reader can "digest" it well, the book will bring about the opposite effect.
Very interesting review. I’ve been following ARX-Han for a bit on here but have yet to be convinced I should read Incel (no disrespect to him, I just hate being recommended books and stick to following my own serendipitous path), but based on what you’re saying here I now know I’m going to have to pick Incel up at some point. The evo pscyh/scientism aspect seems the most interesting to me. Kind of making me think I should reread Houellebecq’s “The Elementary Particles” too and see if there’s some stuff in common there…
I am happy to hear that you find it interesting. Just writing out stuff like "it's so good" and giving out five stars won't do it, right?
It's good. Worth reading.
I read The Elementary Particles, and it was also good. But Incel is better.
Fantastic analysis! Need to think about this further and formulate some thoughts.
Glad I run into this review. I've seen ARX-Han every now and then in my Substack feed but I don't think I've read anything by him, including Incel. But from what I you've said, it reminds me of "Diary of a Bomoh" by Kit Sun Cheah. I don't know if you've read/heard of that, but that might be up your alley. Of course, Cheah's work takes a more spiritual (if not occult) path. Also, there's some NSFW stuff there (so you have been warned, lol).
Sounds interesting! Thank you for the suggestion.
I very much like this review essay, subscribed, and look forward to seeing more. I've enjoyed ARX-Han on Substack but have not read Incel.
As an aside I have to say I am finding the whole milieu of social media, and especially the incel phenomenon, so very far from my own experiences (among other things, I'm much older, and successful in a variety of ways) that they are only comprehensible by great efforts of imagination.
With regard to "novel," you make a serious argument, but should perhaps nod in the direction of banality: what else would a publisher call it?
Finally, I think the end of your piece, the description of whatever this is, somehow not novel but worthy, would benefit (I would benefit) from a bit more explanation. I take it so does ARX-Han. It is not yet clear (and therefore an opportunity for criticism) what constitutes the fortress, nor indeed your tent on the plain. Ancient arguments over free will . . . anyway, it's intriguing and promising. Thank you.
Thank you for the well-thought-out comment, and I am glad that you like my essay. In a sense, I am in the middle ground bewteen you and ARX-Han. I am not an American and don't live in the US either. So I haven't really experienced the incel phenomenon like Han would have. (He doesn't disclose his personal information much, but I presume he is a Chinese-American). However, I do observe that certain discourses from the Anglophone cyberspace (mostly America-centered) get imported and "translated" in ways that could adapt to the South Korean society where I belong, from the feminist wave to the "pills". This must make me a unique reader, but as I wrote in the essay, I wanted to talk more about the body of text itself and other related bodies of text than how they relate to the world outside them.
To some extent, I agree with you regarding the economy of language. We may still call Incel a novel for the convenience of it. However, I still feel there should be a nuanced examination of the historic term "novel". That is what crticisms do. A critic can't in good conscience act as if the word 'modern' in "modern bourgeois society" and "Modern Family" meant the same thing.
About the ending of my piece, it does sound more like a poetic manifesto than a study, doesn't it? After all, maybe I was too (intelectually) lazy, but I did not want the review of Han's work to turn into a 'History of Literature 1800-2020 & Its Current Implications 101 (As Kim Understands Them)'. Hopefully, I will have a chance to touch on those subjects some day.
Thank you for reading my essay!
I agree with what you say about calling Incel a novel, and applaud you for going deeper. My point was not serious -- just realistic/pragmatic, so maybe worth a nod before you got down to business.
After commenting, while running an errand, I realized I forgot to say: I really like questions of form, in literature, but also in photography and other arts. As a writer, I struggle with this stuff all the time. I've published a bunch of more or less academic books, most of which are formally edgy, and some of which have been orphaned. Some of those projects I've decided to serialize on my substack. All of which is a long way of saying that I'm delighted to see you taking a serious look at the writing qua writing.
Re the manifesto, yeah, a bit. But it's not bad, is even promising. Early stages. So consider this encouragement -- I'd like to see those thoughts developed.
ARX Han wrote a review on Substack of some other incel book, in which he discusses ethnic identity, his own and others, in the context of US new writing, and especially racism. It's a bit too fast, unsurprisingly given context and maybe his age, but there's good stuff in it.
Not interested in Arx Han but the essay was really well written and kept me to the end with a poetic flourish. For your second language you write superbly. I could understand as someone who's only self taught in literature.
Thank you so much! I hope many people will agree with you in that I write superbly even if they presume my first language to be English.
I got about two-fifths of the way through your essay and realized that although I am fully ready to credit the point you were making, I'm so deeply uninterested in this gross-sounding novel that I don't care to finish an essay about it.
So next to your formal point, there's a point about content. Sometimes subject matter just isn't worthy of the narrative treatment.
Being (un)interested in a work of literature can be very personal indeed. I'm not necessarily saying that you must read the novel or my essay about it, but I will have to respectably disagree with that its "subject matter just isn't worthy of the narrative treatment." In fact, I consider its content more relevant to this age and our understanding of it than that of many other fictional works these days.
Oh, if your measure is relevance, then sure! My measure is inherent worth. I believe we must set fine things, noble things before our mind's eye if we wish to be fine and noble ourselves.
Maybe relevance was not the most apt criterion to mention here, though the work is truly relevant, obviously (which is ultimately sad). I mostly agree with you in that we should set noble and fine things before our eyes. A small partial objection I want to raise, however, is that our spiritual eyes may see noble things through ungraceful things before our physical sense. Madame Bovary and Anna Karenina, for instance, are tales of adultery in the end. It does not mean that Flaubert or Tolstoy was trying to lure readers into peeping at stories of sensational affairs only. I think Incel, though gross in many parts and in many ways, is still a noble work in what can be seen beyond and through them.
I'm sure you have a point. IDK, maybe that is something you need to assure your readers of at the start of your essay.
I appreciate your through reading of my review and believe that you will be able to see why I compared it to works by Dante and Gogol: "Incel is a work set in none other than hell". You made some interesting points about Asian-American men, which is very intriguing to me. I am no American, so I can only imagine. On the other hand, I cannot comment on the author himself with confidence, but considering his other written pieces and the way he depicts Anon from Incel, I imagine him to be quite unlike his character. In fact, I do not consider his work to be a "brainworm". As long as its reader can "digest" it well, the book will bring about the opposite effect.