This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something - Anything - Like Your Life Depends on It
Tabitha Carvan
Putnam
Nonfiction, Fandom/Memoir
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Tabitha Carvan did not intend to fall for Benedict Cumberbatch that day in the coffee shop. She'd seen his work before, but until that moment, looking at his face on that magazine, she had never felt that bolt to the heart. It made no sense; she was a sensible woman, happily married to a wonderful man, a mother to two young children, living as ordinary a life as anyone could imagine. So why was she suddenly swooning like a schoolgirl over an essential stranger half a world away? She sets out to understand the phenomenon of Benedict Cumberbatch fandom, what makes so many perfectly sane people of all ages and from all walks of life become so very passionate about the characters and the actor behind them... finding that it's not really about Benedict Cumberbatch at all, but about something far more fundamental to human existence, something society has trained too many people (especially women) to ignore and suppress and be ashamed of: the sheer, basic joy of expressing wholehearted love for something.
REVIEW: I'm no stranger to the joys and heartbreaks of fandom, though I tend to latch onto imaginary worlds and characters more than celebrities. I'm also familiar with how society tends to treat the majority of fannish passions (sports fandom is one of the few given a pass, even a boost - particularly when it's cishet males behaving in ways that would get the average woman mocked and bullied off the street), as something shameful and the butt of too many punchlines and stereotypes. (There's also more than a little intrafandom shaming and stigma and gatekeeping, even within the same interest niche, but that would be a topic for another book altogether.) Though I've read a few other fandom-related books, this one takes a different angle. It's not so much about what it's like to be a fan as it is about the forces behind that fannish feeling, which can strike - as it did with Carvan - seemingly out of the blue. It's about why it's so hard to simply enjoy enjoying something, how so many of us learn early in life that the opinions of others and society at large should take precedence over our own needs and wants, and how embracing fandom and related passions can open doors to improve all aspects of our lives. Carvan reflects on her own life and influences as she learns to accept her unanticipated crush, delving into the world of internet fandom and even fanfic (unauthorized fiction written by and for fans). She interviews other fans and experts, some of whom have studied the matter at a doctoral thesis level, to further understand the fannish phenomenon in general.
Sometimes it feels a trifle repetitious, but overall it presents an interesting look at fandom from a perspective I haven't quite seen before. It never occurred to me to link the stigma associated with so many fandoms with other social stigmas and apparent taboos, especially those linked with women's perceived roles (who have been so often encouraged to temper our happiness, to not feel too much or too strongly, lest we be deemed "hysterical"), but it tracks.
At the end is an appendix of facts about Benedict Cumberbatch, which is the only part of the book solely dedicated to the British actor. He was, after all, the inspiration behind the book, so he deserves a little attention. As the title states, though, this book isn't really about him, as Carvan's obsession isn't really about any delusions of personal connection to a man living half a world away from her native Australia, but about what it means to accept and embrace joy where we find it, and having the courage to pursue that passion - and the self-discovery that comes with it - for a more fulfilling life. Cumberbatch and other objects of fandom, be they tangible or imaginary, are just the keys, not the door, nor are they paths where that door may lead.
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