Review of the book Aliens & Anorexia

Abstract

This review examines Aliens & Anorexia (2000/2024) by writer and cultural critic Chris Kraus, a work situated at the intersection of autofiction, philosophical essay, and art criticism. Structured into three main sections —Aliens & Anorexia, Gavin Brice, and Gravity & Grace— the book unfolds through a fragmented narrative that intertwines autobiographical experience with reflections on artistic failure, anorexia as a form of resistance, and the political dimension of female subjectivity.

Through a non-linear textual architecture, Kraus develops a radical approach to empathy as an epistemological tool while reframing anorexia beyond its clinical pathologization, presenting it instead as a form of refusal of dominant cultural norms.

The text incorporates figures such as Simone Weil and Paul Thek alongside the author herself, constructing a constellation of marginal trajectories in which failure becomes a productive condition rather than a deficit. At the same time, the book adopts the form of a hybrid notebook—part diary, part essay, part chronicle of a failed film project—reinforcing its experimental nature.

Ultimately, the work operates as a hybrid device that challenges conventional literary categories, offering a demanding reading experience shaped by narrative fragmentation, emotional intensity, and theoretical speculation.