Friday, June 09, 2017

A Hugo Review: Best Related Work - The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher

The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher is about Fisher's time working on Star Wars based on diaries she kept from that time.

Keeping in mind that Princess Leia was one of my first heroes, ever, and that I haven't read much of Fisher's writings although I was well aware they existed, this was a tough read for me. I spent years imagining myself as a kick butt princess type running around the galaxy saving the male heroes from themselves. I played with Princess Leia action figures. I internalized the character. So reading how the actress felt, both at the time of the filming and after years of introspection, was a little painful for me.

The good: I cannot believe how blunt Carrie Fisher is, even now. She is plain spoken about things that most people would avoid saying completely. And although she dances around the truly personal stuff, she doesn't shy away from her emotions and fears. The entire bit about the affair seemed to be both a "don't blame me!" and "Wow, I've felt guilty about this for 40 years." at the same time.

The bad: It was genuinely painful for me to read her diary entries. In addition to looking at the pain and confusion of a woman just leaving her teen years, Fisher's recent death made those moments seem even more sad in retrospect.

Conclusion: This was excellent, but also painful to read. It's climbed to the top of the ballot for the moment.

Best Related Work: I've read The Women of Harry Potter and The Princess Diarist. I still need to read The Geek Feminist Revolution, Traveler of Worlds, The View From the Cheap Seats, and Words Are My Matter

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