"Yes, we all know that Good Marriages Take Work: we’ve been well tutored in the catechism of labor-intensive intimacy. Work, work, work: given all the heavy lifting required, what’s the difference between work and “after work” again? Work/home, office/bedroom: are you ever not on the clock? Good relationships may take work, but unfortunately, when it comes to love, trying is always trying too hard: work doesn’t work. Erotically speaking, play is what works."
From an excerpt of Laura Kipnis’ Against Love. Also see the interview with her.
Reading a bit of (and about) this book makes one think of ruffled feathers, heated arguments and a quest for relationship and sexuality dynamics more fitting to the fast-paced urban lifestyle. I also wonder if we simply have too much, to be asking such questions in the first place.
Is Kipnis a Malcolm Gladwell of this genre, publishing neatly presented obvious ideas in ultimately uninsightful books, or does she get people to question and think?
Will find out soon, but even the intro asks some clever questions most people are uncomfortable asking or answering, which is promising.
