Review: She and I: A Fugue

She and I: A Fugue by Michael R. Brown

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Michael R Brown is someone I know in a few ways, having known him for a number of years over various internet forums regarding some shared interests. As our relationship, as it were, is internet based, which is largely the framework for this memoir of the rise and fall of a relationship that begins online near the turn of the century.

The book is probably closer to a 3.5, but one I'm glad to have read overall. We get some insight into Brown's activity alongside the Objectivist movement, and later an interesting account of how online relationships often were forced to work in the early 2000s when things were quite different. The book mostly covers Brown's relationship with one girl from start to end, and it is a fairly quick read on a whole.

The one downside for me is the one downside for other reviewers, but less problematic for me on a whole. Brown writes the book in a very unique style that lends itself to a staccato narrative as opposed to the type of flow you might expect. This is clearly by design, as the changes in the way the book moves is very clear throughout. It didn't always work for me, but it worked pretty well overall, I thought.

Either way, a book I have been meaning to read for years now, I'm glad I finally got around to it. It's worth the time for some interesting perspectives into different relationships and ideologies in a time that feels so far away in many regards.



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