Tavi Gevinson
EDITOR OF ‘ROOKIE’ MAGAZINE AND ACTOR TAVI GEVINSON, 21, ON THE BOOKS THAT SHAPED HER LIFE AND CAREER
Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes I was obsessed with dark subjects as a kid; I read this when I was 12. It’s about a man called Charlie who has an IQ of 68 and undergoes an operation to increase it. It’s initially successful, but then he deteriorates. I cried – my dad explained that if the operation had worked, Charlie would have been living in a perfect world where you can just fix things. It was a radical concept for a 12-year-old.
The View from Saturday
by E. L. Konigsburg I first read this book when I was 10. It’s about a group of four gifted kids who are involved in a competition at school. When it comes to the final question, they are all able to answer it, but for different reasons. I was hard on myself in school and this book taught me to let go. It was good for me to learn that there are other types of knowledge, not just academic. By the time I got to high school, I was getting a mix of grades – some weren’t good – but it felt OK because I’d discovered other interests, such as blogging and fashion, which required a different type of knowledge.
Missing Out: In Praise of the Unlived Life
by Adam Phillips This book is about people striving to understand what art means. Using the works of Shakespeare and Freud, Phillips paints a picture of the world where ‘getting it’ means you miss out on other experiences. I read this when I performed in The Crucible last year. When you do a play, you have an idea of how a story should be told – if I said my lines only one way,
I’d miss out on all the other facets of the character.
The Selfishness of Others: An Essay on the Fear of Narcissism
by Kristin Dombek Narcissism is a spectrum we’re all on. Dombek looks at the way the word is used to dismiss people, often to make the person doing the dismissing appear more virtuous – a symptom of narcissism. This book is about millennials, social media and the way you can use the term ‘narcissist’ to turn people into heroes or villains. It’s easy to look at Donald Trump and list the reasons he’s an incompetent president, but it’s more useful to ask, ‘What are the powers that created Trump and how am I part of that?’
Are You My Mother?
by Alison Bechdel I emotionally lost myself in this book.
It’s about a mother and self-centred parenting. I read it at a time when I was in the habit of dismissing people too quickly, but the book was very humanising. It made me realise that people aren’t always perfect; they’re a product of their circumstances and sometimes people cannot be there for you in a way you’d like them to be.
Giovanni’s Room
by James Baldwin This is about two men who have a romantic relationship in Paris. The passages about human behaviour are applicable to entire movements and eras. There’s a wonderful moment where Baldwin explains self-deception and why it’s easier than the alternative. I can’t think of any other essayist who is able to write fiction that feels so full.
‘“ARE YOU MY MOTHER?” MADE ME REALISE THAT PEOPLE AREN’T ALWAYS PERFECT. IT WAS VERY HUMANISING’