Sam Irby is brilliant and one of the funniest people I’ve ever read. In many ways this book is quite different from the previous two (not a bad thing)Sam Irby is brilliant and one of the funniest people I’ve ever read. In many ways this book is quite different from the previous two (not a bad thing). The humor is as sharp and bittersweet. The essays have some different structures, very reminiscent of her excellent blog. As ever I appreciate the insights that come through the humor. ...more
In The Quickening, Elizabeth Rush chronicles a months-long journey to the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica with scientists who are conducting research tIn The Quickening, Elizabeth Rush chronicles a months-long journey to the Thwaites glacier in Antarctica with scientists who are conducting research that will help us better understanding how global warming is reshaping our planet. As with Rising, this book is beautifully written, deeply felt, and thoroughly researched. In a companion narrative, Rush grapples with her desire for motherhood and the environmental costs of bringing new life into this world. Antarctica is a mysterious terrifying vast place and Rush captures all of it with genuine curiosity and intelligence. This book is at once a love letter and a meditation and a gentle warning—and we very much need all three.
There are some odd things happening structurally with excerpts from interviews with her shipmates but in the end it mostly works. ...more
I love an omniscient novel where you know so much about every character. Very satisfying suburban thriller. The ending was a bit rushed but it was alsI love an omniscient novel where you know so much about every character. Very satisfying suburban thriller. The ending was a bit rushed but it was also amusing. ...more
This is the quintessential "unreliable narrator" novel. In Yellowface, RF Kuang writes of friendship, competition, the banal yet mercenary ways of pubThis is the quintessential "unreliable narrator" novel. In Yellowface, RF Kuang writes of friendship, competition, the banal yet mercenary ways of publishing, and the lengths one woman is willing to go, the extent to which she will lie to others and herself, to experience a taste of the success she so desperately craves. ...more
I started reading this galley without knowing a thing about the book and what an incredible surprise it ended up being. In a dystopian world shrouded I started reading this galley without knowing a thing about the book and what an incredible surprise it ended up being. In a dystopian world shrouded in smog, a chef travels to a mountain in Italy where a billionaire and his daughter are trying to create a utopia away from the squalor of the world, but only for those who can buy their way in. The chef is tasked with cooking meals to woo the wealthy people living in the community, to get them to contribute more of their money to the project. After years of cooking with scarce ingredients, she has lost her palate. But during her time in this utopia, that is not at all a utopia, she slowly finds her sense of taste as she learns why she has really been brought to the mountain. The way Zhang writes about food and desire and human failings is exquisite—sensually detailed, at times visceral. This is a tremendous novel that explores the way people will break when the world itself is broken. Land of Milk and Honey is truly exceptional. ...more
I loved Desmond's Evicted so read this eagerly and was not disappointed. Matthew Desmond has a compelling ability to write about difficult topics withI loved Desmond's Evicted so read this eagerly and was not disappointed. Matthew Desmond has a compelling ability to write about difficult topics with real empathy and he always gives the sense that he is actively putting in the necessary work to understand the subjects about which he writes. In Poverty, by America, he examines the thorny question of why the number of impoverished Americans hasn't really budged for decades. His research is thorough, exhaustive really, as he unpacks not only the root causes of poverty but why it remains a systemic issue. In the last couple chapters, he starts to offer solutions, some tried and some theoretical, about how to eradicate poverty. What is most intriguing and also a bit haunting, is that with enough commitment from enough of us, we really could eradicate poverty. This is a powerful polemic, one that has expanded and deepened my understanding of American poverty. Desmond approaches the subject with a refreshing candidness and directs his ire in all the right places. ...more
This poetic memoir is beautifully written. I was intrigued by the structure and the narrative choices Felix makes. The intensity of emotion on nearly This poetic memoir is beautifully written. I was intrigued by the structure and the narrative choices Felix makes. The intensity of emotion on nearly every page is palpable and sometimes uncomfortable but always compelling. The book, as a whole, feels somewhat incomplete but in many ways, I think that is by design. ...more
This is an outstanding novel. I read it in a day, hungrily returning to it every chance I got. At the heart of this novel is a man trying to recover fThis is an outstanding novel. I read it in a day, hungrily returning to it every chance I got. At the heart of this novel is a man trying to recover from profound grief after his lover dies tragically. But it's also about chosen families and love and fucking and finding your place in the world after trauma tries to shift your center of gravity. Washington is an intoxicating storyteller and his characters, especially Cam, Kai, and TJ have a satisfying depth to them. I would read three hundred more pages about their lives. The ending falters a bit but that should not deter you from embracing this beautiful novel, wholeheartedly. One of the best books I've read in a while....more
John wrote a version of this novel as his thesis when I taught in the MFA program at Purdue. He also wrote parts of it in my novel writing class, whicJohn wrote a version of this novel as his thesis when I taught in the MFA program at Purdue. He also wrote parts of it in my novel writing class, which is to say, I am a proud, proud professor. It's so wonderful to see how this novel has evolved. The Militia House is a novel about the quiet and not so quiet horrors of war. Corporal Loyette has a new command at a remote base in Afghanistan. He's trying to do his best with a terrible assignment, trying to be a good leader for his men, desperate to get back to a better base, ready for his deployment to end. After he and his squad visit an abandoned Russian militia house, stranger and stranger things start happening. Before long, Loyette doesn't know what's real and what isn't, and he succumbs to increasingly confusing, haunting hallucinations. This is a story told masterfully and elegantly. It is a brilliant, different kind of war novel, one that reveals the insidious ways the violences of war can tear people apart from the inside out.
I couldn't be prouder. My students do such great things out in the world. ...more
I was utterly entranced by this memoir. The writing is, of course, exceptional. But so is the way Cooper Jones articulates her embodied experience as I was utterly entranced by this memoir. The writing is, of course, exceptional. But so is the way Cooper Jones articulates her embodied experience as she travels around the world trying to find, within herself, the person she is meant to be. I loved reading about her adventures, her work, her marriage and motherhood, her bond with her mother, her memories of her father. There were a lot of eye-opening and infuriating revelations that really expanded my understanding of how people engage, quite terribly, with disability. All in all, this is one hell of a memoir. Envy-inducing in the best possible way. ...more
This was beautifully written and deeply introspective. A memoir about a Muslim woman who is butch and grappling with family, displacement, migration, This was beautifully written and deeply introspective. A memoir about a Muslim woman who is butch and grappling with family, displacement, migration, sexuality, and finding her communities. I articulately enjoyed the parallels she drew between her faith and stories from the Quran to her own life. The writing is quite poignant and powerful. The self-examination is pointed and moving. Excellent memoir. ...more
An excellent, gritty novel about how eventually, all sins must be reckoned with, one way or another. Loved this book. Titus, the Black sheriff at the An excellent, gritty novel about how eventually, all sins must be reckoned with, one way or another. Loved this book. Titus, the Black sheriff at the heart of the novel, is its compelling g moral center. After a shooting at the local high school Titus and his deputies learn that there is a brutal serial killer in their midst. One who is unraveling and starting to go after everything Titus holds dear. As he grapples with his own traumas, Titus must navigate the local politics of a Southern small town and stop the killer before it’s too late. The action is nonstop and Titus has real depth. The ending is a bit of a rushed mess and some plot points need more development. Are we really not going to get into why the young man who did the school shooting was involved in that mess? But that aside, this is just awesome. Layered. Dark. True. ...more
I have mixed feelings about this book. Maggie Smith knows how to write exquisite sentences so in that regard this book is compelling. It’s a memoir ofI have mixed feelings about this book. Maggie Smith knows how to write exquisite sentences so in that regard this book is compelling. It’s a memoir of a divorce but the book relies way too heavily on the conceit of “I’m not going to tell you everything.” Like, girl, fine. That’s your business. But to belabor that point. Whew. It was too much for me. It felt forced. At times it felt taunting. Like just say what you want to say instead of belaboring what you aren’t going to say. Memoir is a tricky genre. It isn’t autobiography. The focus here, on divorce and it’s aftermath is exactly what memoir should encompass. And I am fine with boundaries. But there are huge gaps here in the story and what is shared feels repetitive in a way that doesn’t serve the narrative. The structure is very interesting. Vignettes and quotations and musings on form and narrative that are metaphors for the marriage. The vignettes are, of course, the strongest parts. How Smith writes about her children and committing to herself are just lovely. Without the meta stuff it is one hell of a memoir. ...more
This novel is brilliantly structured with several interwoven stories— an Asian American basketball star, the reporter who wishes he could have been, aThis novel is brilliantly structured with several interwoven stories— an Asian American basketball star, the reporter who wishes he could have been, a k drama producer with a dying sister. The characters here are very wry about their circumstances in an appealing way. I enjoyed the humor and the emotional notes. In the end, when all the pieces come together the novel leaps to a whole other level of excellence. Definitely going to re-read it. And you will know why when you read The Sense of Wonder. Which you should. ...more
I really enjoyed this. I love books set in LA so I was predisposed to enjoy this. It is well written and the protagonist is well drawn. I was investedI really enjoyed this. I love books set in LA so I was predisposed to enjoy this. It is well written and the protagonist is well drawn. I was invested in her life. But the rest of the characters were so secondary and the story moved so quickly that it was hard to feel settled in the story. The ending was frustrating but in a good way. The ambiguity is clever and given what we know of the world, the narrator could go either way. There is interesting commentary in the story about women and ambition and sexual predation. The impossible situations women have to deal with are well conveyed. I just wanted to narrative container to be stronger. Still, it’s a good novel. I do recommend it. ...more
These are exuberant, engaging poems composed with confidence and flair. I loved this book from beginning to end. Some real standouts include Rx for liThese are exuberant, engaging poems composed with confidence and flair. I loved this book from beginning to end. Some real standouts include Rx for little black girls, We make sin a good hymn, and Ode to JET magazine but really it’s all outstanding, intelligent, referential in interesting ways. ...more
I love when fiction exposes me to cultures I know little about. In the week of Mahsa “Jina” Amini’s death I wanted to know more about Kurdish, cultureI love when fiction exposes me to cultures I know little about. In the week of Mahsa “Jina” Amini’s death I wanted to know more about Kurdish, culture and Iran and the lives of women there. Daughters of Smoke and Fire did not disappoint. This novel is beautifully written, intelligent, and powerful. It offers a glimpse into the lives of young Kurdish women, and the challenges they face while trying to become themselves and thrive in a world that wants to keep them caged and small. I was impressed by the unique structure of this novel, and the time the author took to tell the story in the way she wanted. I was moved and at times horrified and at times, gripping the edge of my seat, wondering what fate would befall Leila and Chia and Shiler. This is a necessary read, and I can’t wait to see what the author does next. I also had the opportunity to be in conversation with Ava Homa, and she is one of the most intelligent writers I’ve ever spoken with....more
Very well written exploration of what happened in Benghazi from a former diplomat who was in the city the night the conflagration happened. It’s part Very well written exploration of what happened in Benghazi from a former diplomat who was in the city the night the conflagration happened. It’s part memoir, part cultural history, part forensic accounting but I don’t know that it offers anything other books about Benghazi have shared. ...more
Whew. This was pretty literal. Wanted the prose to soar like cathedrals do but alas it was all very rote, these histories of important French cathedraWhew. This was pretty literal. Wanted the prose to soar like cathedrals do but alas it was all very rote, these histories of important French cathedrals. Very niche. Which is okay! We all have niche interests. ...more
It’s a comprehensive look at the origins of the meta verse and where it might be going. Kind of dry and very white make-centric as if women and peopleIt’s a comprehensive look at the origins of the meta verse and where it might be going. Kind of dry and very white make-centric as if women and people of color are elided from the meta verse. ...more
Intelligent essays on writing and craft with some memoirish elements. I appreciated the essay about lists. The writing could have been livelier, more Intelligent essays on writing and craft with some memoirish elements. I appreciated the essay about lists. The writing could have been livelier, more lush as he speaks of in the also good essay Lush Life. ...more
This is an exquisitely lyrical novel. I loved the fragmentary nature of the prose, the poems as interstitials, the bond between these three sisters—NoThis is an exquisitely lyrical novel. I loved the fragmentary nature of the prose, the poems as interstitials, the bond between these three sisters—Noreen, Aisha, and Kausur, as a character unto itself. The story made my heart ache--three girls, orphaned and left in the care of a neglectful uncle who does the bare minimum for the girls. Kausur is the narrator and as the youngest, we see how for so long, her sisters are her whole world, the sun and the moon. We also see how she folds in on herself more and more as she tries to make sense of the world and her place in it. I was incredibly moved by this book and impressed by the author's stylistic choices. Very original storytelling here. ...more
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