ninety-second (2024-02-21)

“my imagination makes me human and makes me a fool; it gives me all the world and exiles me from it” ― ursula k. le guin

photo by steph byce of me at a packers vs. bears game at soldier field back in september because i need that weather back (manifesting)

and no preamble or apologies, just vibes

books

friday black by nana kwame adjei-brenyah, 2018

after loving his debut novel, i’m so excited to say these short stories were even better. dystopian, technological, surreal - he takes george saunders’ themes and de-WASPifies them to create stunning and deeply haunting narratives. i could not get enough of these stories and i’m desperate for more.

black cake by charmaine wilkerson, 2022

what happened to ruthy ramirez by claire jiménez, 2023

anywhere you run by wanda m. morris, 2022

i’m writing these three up together because they’re all about fractured sibling and familial relationships. black cake is the standout of the bunch by far (the most well-written and narratively complex), but all three are frustrating in the main characters’ complete inability to communicate with each other (à la romantic comedies in which the central conflict could be completely avoided with two sentences of dialogue). i appreciate the themes of loss, secrecy as means of protection, and the cruel banality of racism, but felt uninspired all told.

this is not miami by fernanda melchor, 2013

this is a curious book of narrative nonfiction centered on veracruz, mexico. the events within (largely violent crimes) are true and the writing is deliberate, evocative, and does not shy away from the grotesque. i don’t think i’ve read anything quite like it before and i’m still mulling it over.

a short history of drunkenness: how, why, where, and when humankind has gotten merry from the stone age to the present by mark forsyth, 2017

steph lent me this as a complement to the book i recently read on the states and alcohol. this is a super breezy, cheeky read (forsyth loves to use words like sozzled and stinko instead of drunk) that is pleasantly british. it’s decidedly a short history and not comprehensive but details the bizarre alcohol rituals that have morphed to modernity (RIP 4loko) from ancient cultures.

the warmth of other suns: the epic story of america's great migration by isabel wilkerson, 2010

i can’t believe it took me so long to read this, especially as the two states i’ve lived (michigan and illinois) were key sites in the great migration. wilkerson follows three people who left southern states for new york city, chicago, and northern california between 1937-1953. their stories of racist violence are harrowing and their resilience is moving and profound. wilkerson does not shy away from the deeply human qualities of these three or their families (infidelity, stubbornness, beguiling naivety) which gives her detailed historical analysis a cinematic quality. and the cities we live in are still shaped by the redlining practices embedded in the post-Jim Crow era, situating this book in an embodied, tragic aliveness.

recollections of my nonexistence: a memoir by rebecca solnit, 2020

i liked this much better than title. solnit is at her most incisive when making the personal political - broadening her own sense of female embodiment to a societal critique of misogyny. i finished reading and felt solemn, thinking about all of the ways my personhood and body have been shaped by violence.

television

six feet under, created by allen ball 2001-2005

i’m only midway through season 2 but this is my first watch! this era seems to be the golden period of television dramas (the sopranos, the wire, west wing, etc.) and this show is a delight. it’s dark (how could a show about a family-run funeral home not be) but absurdist and funny. the early 2000s-motif is alive with wacky dream and song sequences (secretary, anyone?) and i love lauren ambrose’s portrayal of an apathetic angsty teen.

thanks for reading - more to come -

bria