I can't tell if it is the themes of this book that I don't like or if it is the writing or the fact that I cannot handle this much serious reflection on Freud, a man I dislike with a deep intensity. It's a shame because the introduction had me really interested but the essays themselves didn't hit at all. They could have, the bones were there, but somehow none of them worked as well as I sort of hoped they would. Instead I was either bored or annoyed or both. I think at this point Call Me By Your Name is easily this authors best work. I don't know why the rest of his works don't hit except maybe there is an almost aggressive intellectualism if that makes sense. There is an idea that the reader understands everything the author is referencing and knows all the historical and cultural beats. I remember in Find Me being annoyed that he would use other languages as if the readers all speak Italian and French. There is a "if you don't get it you shouldn't be reading this" vibe to his later work that doesn't sit with me. I don't know how much more of a try I'm gonna give this author. Which is a shame because his prose can be extremely lovely.