Claire Dederer takes on one of the largest challenges in culture, the often damaging actions of the people creating things we otherwise love. There's no ethical way around these questions, though many people prefer to shout "LA LA LA I can't hear you" rather than engage.

Most of the book is excellent, a personal wrestling with difficult people and situations that easily brings the reader in. The chapter on Nabokov's is especially excellent, and given his other works (notably Pale Fire), seems likely to be accurate.

The last quarter of the book breaks the spell, though. It's good that Dederer acknowledges the ways in which she too can be seen as monstrous, but once she reaches the drunks and her own issues, the tone changes and it all feels more... shrugging?

This is definitely worth reading and pondering, and so far as I have encountered it's the best exploration of this dilemma. It's great that she considers these challenges in many different media contexts, and that she is clear about her own investments in the creations. It didn't have to come to a simple answer - it couldn't - but it felt like it melted toward the end.