The Argonauts

‘A superb exploration of the risk and the excitement of change…An exceptional portrait both of a romantic partnership and of the collaboration between Nelson’s mind and heart.’ * New Yorker *‘Maggie Nelson slays entrenched notions of gender, marriage and sexuality with lyricism, intellectual brass and soul-ringing honesty.’ * Vanity Fair *‘A magnificent achievement of thought, care and art.’ * Los Angeles Times *‘Nelson’s writing is fluid—to read her story is to drift dreamily among her thoughts…She masterfully analyzes the way we talk about sex and gender.’ * Huffington Post *‘One of the most intelligent, generous and moving books of the year.’ STARRED review * Publishers Weekly *‘A book that will challenge readers as much as the author has challenged herself.’ STARRED review * Kirkus Reviews *‘So much writing about motherhood makes the world seem smaller after the child arrives, more circumscribed, as if in tacit fealty to the larger cultural assumptions about moms and domesticity; Nelson’s book does the opposite.’ * New York Times Book Review *‘I finished this brilliant book triumphantly convinced of the worthwhileness of the search to capture every aspect of experience in words, and convinced of the necessary daring of specificity, whether we are talking about specific genders, specific sexual practices or specific feelings.’ * Guardian *‘An absolutely extraordinary book…Extremely smart and very moving…Works so perfectly both as a really beautiful piece of memoir writing and also a really smart, intellectual look at gender.’ * A Case for Books *‘The Argonauts offers no easy answers to the questions Nelson poses: but it is moving, in every sense of the word.’ * New Statesman *‘A thought-provoking and fascinating read.’ * Otago Daily Times *‘A wonderful genre-disregarding beast…Nelson has created a work that lets the reader into the intimate world of her love partnership and family, as well as engaging the intellect.’ * Readings *‘I thought about copying down whole passages…Nelson’s writing about gender is pretty wonderful. The reflexivity and circularity of her work resists over-simplifications.’ * Lifted Brow *‘A song of praise for everyday, ordinary suburban life and simple pleasures.’ * Herald Sun *‘An extraordinary record of a life that could only have been written in the early 21st century…[Nelson] is thoughtful, provoking and concise.’ * Stuff NZ *‘Remarkable…Nelson has succeeded in combining self-expression and thinking through in a way that is as fundamental as it is compelling.’ * Age/Sydney Morning Herald *‘Brisk, frank and funny. Nelson does not preach but takes us on her personal journey…She gives us space to find our own way and draw our own conclusions. Recommended.’ * New Zealand Listener *‘Once I let myself be vulnerable to the author’s intelligence, I began to be emboldened by the book. For all the names, the theories, and the philosophers, this book is a book about life. About humans and about love. Maggie Nelson is her own vehicle, her own tool, to analyse life.’ * Salient *‘Nelson is an electrifying writer, and The Argonauts is an intensely personal, fiercely intelligent reflection on marriage, motherhood, desire and family.’ * Readings, Best Non-Fiction Books of 2016 *‘Shimmering with intelligence; fully alive to both the joyful and the difficult part of love; illuminating on motherhood.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘It might require a bit of work but The Argonauts rewards us with an expansive way of considering identity, caretaking, and freedom. Maybe it will change the way we think and speak about others and ourselves?’ – Emma Watson‘The Argonauts is a book of borrowing and sharing…an exhilarating tour de force drawing on queer and feminist theory as well as the personal narrative of Nelson’s family.’ * New York Magazine *‘It looks at life from a feminist perspective. It is about love and marriage, motherhood, pregnancy, birth and family-making, and is fascinating.’ * Lily Cole, Hello  *

Maggie Nelson is a poet, a critic, and the author of several nonfiction books, including The Red Parts, The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning, Bluets, and Jane: A Murder. She teaches in the School of Critical Studies at CalArts and lives in Los Angeles, California.