eighty-eighth (2023-12-01)
“memory fades, memory adjusts, memory conforms to what we think we remember” ― joan didion, from blue nights
photo by steph byce of my mom, me, my aunt, and my niece
i am late again and my excuses are as follows: my birthday was celebrated numerous times, with a sopranos-themed party, go-karting very slowly, and my mother’s chocolate cake; steph and i (and hank the dog) traveled to michigan to see my family over the holiday; and i reached my goal of reading 120 books this year with a month to spare. but mostly i’m caught in a loop of reading dozens of books then procrastinating writing about them, so i read more books, neglect to write about them too, and the cycle continues. breaking it now! (pausing for applause)
books (separated by category and roughly from most favorite to least favorite within because there are so many)
novels
white noise by don delillo, 1985
this is a national book award winning satirical story of a college professor (making a name for himself in “hitler studies), his multi-part family (he’s been married four times and has many children), and the agonizing fear of death. i don’t want to say much more because it’s really something you have to experience yourself - absolutely wild and precisely written.
only to sleep by lawrence osborne, 2018
“There are times to run and there are times to pursue. Every animal knows the difference and when the moment comes to do one or the other. I found myself alone on the streets with the caped troubadours and their mandolins. Wandering, wandering, and mumbling the words camino, camino. The young looked at me the way you would a piece of cardboard tossed down a street on the wind. Wreckage with eyes and a pulse.” (from this review)
mystery/crime novels aren’t my typical repertoire but i loved how osborne stuck to the tropes - the reluctant retired detective, convinced to take one last case; the young and beautiful wife of the missing man who knows too much; the idyllic yet ominous scenery of baja california. osborne wrote this as what is essentially fan fiction of raymond chandler - the lore is unknown to me but the story was captivating and cinematically written.
the latecomer by jean hanff korelitz, 2022
pineapple street by jenny jackson, 2023
discussing these together because they were so very blah. they’re both about financially privileged families in turmoil due to easily solvable problems like advancing from nonexistent to mediocre communication. they’re typical of NYT bestsellers in that everything is neatly resolved in the end to my utter disinterest. the latecomer was slightly better than pineapple street in the more vivid writing of the mother, but stereotypes abound and bore.
short stories
delicate edible birds and other stories by lauren groff, 2009
i loved this even more than florida. these stories are largely historical, centered on women and girls, and deeply thoughtful and provocative in examining their inner worlds. in some ways, the dark twists and turns reminded me of a refined, historical version of carmen maria machado.
gryphon: new and selected stories by charles baxter, 2011
these were excellent and had a dark flannery o’connor bend but to be honest, i need to re-read this. i read it in a time of work tumult and don’t feel i did them justice.
nonfiction
going infinite: the rise and fall of a new tycoon by michael lewis, 2023
this was quick and juicy! if you’ve been following the sam bankman-fried saga, much of this will be old news but it’s such a wild and dramatic tale that it works well as a complete narrative. the glimpses into his nature (on a zoom call with anna wintour, he half-heartedly agreed to fund the met gala because he was not listening while playing a dragon game) are hilarious and his chutzpah is unmatched.
saving time: discovering a life beyond the clock by jenny odell, 2023
this was very interesting yet even as an odell fan, it could’ve been 1/3rd shorter. i loved the pieces on how time was necessary for the industrial revolution and automated capitalism to take hold in the west; the parts on how rocks are alive were fine but about 50% too long. it’s still a worthwhile read because time is such a constant yet unexamined foundation of society.
on repentance and repair: making amends in an unapologetic world by danya ruttenberg, 2022
i’m a big fan of rabbi ruttenberg and thinking about forgiveness from a historical jewish lens deeply resonates with me - those sections were my favorite of the book. but much of the book discussed how to “take accountability” yet never interrogated the nature of false or weaponized claims, particularly in power differentials. (for example, ruttenberg wrote of call-out culture optimistically and never suggested the limits of such an approach.) i wish sarah schulman (of conflict is not abuse fame) could have co-written so we could analyze the limits and uses of apology with integrity.
memoir
down the drain by julia fox, 2023
i can’t get over how wild julia fox’s childhood and adolescence were. she split her time with her volatile parents in northern italy and NYC and was essentially unparented (when her dad left for work, he’d lock her in a bedroom, forcing her to use the cat’s litterbox or escape out the window). she had her nipples pierced at 11, was in a series of abusive, drug-fueled whirlwind romances, details her insistent need to make art (and use drugs), and spilled on the the all-encompassing presence of dating kanye west. the writing isn’t exceptional but it is clear and meticulously detailed.
stay true by hua hsu, 2022
i picked this up on a lark because i liked the cover and was intrigued by the pulitzer. it’s a coming-of-age memoir of hua’s adolescent and college years in the 90s. it’s a deceptively simple book yet i understand the praise - it’s written deftly, critiquing his adolescent need to manufacture a personality and later seeing how that process inhibits relationships, and the cultural artifacts of the time (zines, Nirvana, mixtapes) are belovedly rediscovered.
art
camille claudel at the art institute, 2023
claudel was a new artist for me - i stopped in the exhibit after reading a sentence on the title card “sculpture was not a polite art” - and like most women artists of her time, she was flagrantly mistreated by her mentor (rodin) and family, despite being more talented than her teachers and male counterparts. her exhibit is well worth a visit (i love the art institute in the wintertime) and i wish she could’ve received these accolades while living.
thanks for reading - more to come -
bria