Journalist Nicole Pasulka joyfully documents the rebirth of the New York drag scene, following a group of iconoclastic performers with undeniable charisma, talent, and a hell of a lot to prove.
Like its subjects, this first book by journalist Pasulka is a national treasure. Authentically, sensitively, and expansively recording the personal and sociopolitical realities of drag in Brooklyn from 2011 to 2021, this compendium preserves the people, places, and evolving culture that made drag famous ... Focusing on the actual human players, Pasulka generously considers the complex and multilayered effects of RuPaul’s Drag Race on the show’s Brooklynite stars ... Pasulka also charts the contributions and essential presence of queens not cast on Drag Race, such as Merrie Cherry and Krystal Something Something, and inclusively details the impacts of drag kings, cisgender women, nonbinary performers, and the hosting venues. The book’s impressively broad lens is matched by its zoom-in on the details of drag. Readers will learn drag-specific lexicon and cultural competencies that make this subculture unlike any other and influential beyond any expectations.
Pasulka is a narrator and not a character here, and this distance gives her space to document the sweeping issues facing drag, like the significant generational and class divides ... The resulting book is funny, poignant, dishy and even enlightening, all at the same time ... isn’t just the story of a niche nightclub scene in Brooklyn — it’s the story of America now.
... lively and intricate ... An entertaining, absorbing behind-the-scenes look at drag that will especially appeal to fans of Drag Race and the TV drama Pose.
