Curtis > Recent Status Updates

Consequences of Frank's actions catch up with him at a time when he burns his last bridge with people who aren't involved in black market; book takes major shift which might challenge what the book is about, thematically. I was hoping the Nazi occupation aspect would become more than set-dressing. It had led to the circumstances that allowed black market, but now things are fully Kafkaesque. Curious where this goes!

Omg Frank is WAY more brutal than Holden Caulfield! I didn't understand what happened in one scene because I surely thought there's no way he actually did that. It's insane how little regard he has for people. He/his mom out for themselves; no solidarity with other struggling locals in face of occupation. Their reward is comfortable life (hoarding sparse resources) at cost of loss of community/empathy. Really dark.

Frank is like Holden Caulfield but with real swagger/nihilism instead of just acting that way. Gritty, hard-boiled prose, gloomy atmosphere. Exposition about situation minimal, instead being revealed detail at a time, like mentioning the value of cigarettes, 'standing in line,' for essentials, etc. Lotte benefits from black market/desperation caused by war, despite it doing so much damage to everyone else. Promising!

Decay of an idealized pastoral town thanks to corrupting influence of bourgeois tastes/modernity. Men fall prey to it in ways similar to Bovary, though they only see it in her because they see women as 'weaker sex.' but they're ambitious and materialistic too. Book exposes flaws of character while remaining sympathetic to why Bovary would do this. Overlong/tedious at times, but its influence is clear. Worth it!

Pop narrative approach a double-edged sword, at times giving immediacy & tension to story. Other times undermining the facts by inserting dialogue, cliffhangers, & other pulp novel devices, as well as takins positions about 'bad' gays & demonizing Gatian Dugas. Very much of its time, reflective of intensity & politics of active pandemic, getting caught up in the drama. Much better AIDS books have likely been written.

Cultural critique of ladder-climbing upper society, & hypocrisy of the idealized pastoral peasant. Bovary's first cheating happens while someone preaches to townsfolk about their virtue. Modernization anxieties explain Flaubert's mention of daguerreotypes & recent novels, but can't tell if he's engaging in this false dichotomy or deconstructing it. Bovary grasps at anything that may take her out of role laid for her.

Bovary's desperation to ladder-climb misses the bigger picture; 'temporarily embarassed millionaire' issue that misses systemic oppression of marginalized & working class. Love her disillusionment with world, how she's butting up against limits, but fear she'll be led down wrong path because of it, especially since she mistreats those under her to emulate the rich (no class solidarity). Lushly descriptive; enjoying!

Not gonna be typical book! Very detached style so far, describing character's lives in routine/summary way instead of full scenes. Prose beautiful and descriptive. Now shifting into Emma's mind; ennui relatable & interesting but might be too much over entire novel. I also hate it when people are complacent to do nothing but an infinite routine. She's a piece of furniture in her husband's life. Excited for more!

Repetitiveness of book breaks once AIDS hits mainstream awareness; book shifts to the hysteria & stigma around AIDS. Shocked to learn it takes 5-10 years between infection & detection; people can be infected without knowing for all that time! Also, they still haven't found out how it spreads; no wonder people didn't wanna be in the same room with infected people. Yet blood banks refuse to test blood! Agonizing.

Alright, but very bland. Maybe I need to be nonbinary myself to get the most from it, but the book postures as a guide for cis people as well, & I think Kobabe makes odd choices if that's what e's going for. Calling eirself an auto-androphile? Citing debunked gender-essentialist science even though it contradicts eir claims? An ending so sudden I thought pages were missing, without any sense of catharsis? Was okay.

Interesting; STDs among gay men led to rapid development of cures, including Hep B. Likely to cooperate with blood testing so there was plenty of back-catalogue of samples for later AIDS patients. Pop narrative works great for key moments such as the realization that AIDS took years to show in patients so many were infected without knowing, had been since 70s. Learned about book's controversies so mixed feelings now!

Cut like modern action movie, & not in good way. Constant cutting, scene breaks, ending chapters on cheesy 'cliffhanger' sentences, almost written like a pulp at times; very distracting. When it finds time to settle down, it's great. Learning a lot, getting invested. Sciency pathology stuff a bit difficult but still somewhat accessible. Scary seeing how unseriously this is being taken. Invested despite the issues!

Good, but depressing with LGBT people in the US now staring down years of attempts to force them back to the shadows. Still, enjoying its novel narrative style, even if it means lots of conjecture about inner thoughts of real figures. Great job establishing how gay men were primed to ignore venereal diseases by years of mild, treatable STDs & the endless party culture. Just need a better headspace to read it!

I thought the non-narrative, sentient phone chapters were just a lead in, but now worried entire book revolves around this, with short narrative chapters landmarking the book. Language is often so evocative, but at other times overwritten & tedious. Starting to realize why I DNFd this way back in '16. But determined to give it another hundred pages. I like the idea of narration from collective will.

Language elaborate, sometimes beautiful, others it borders on too much. Really great imagery & metaphor, wondering if its alternating between Soviet Union/Nazi Germany will be almost like short stories or if things will weave together. Lots of historical references flying. I get most but wonder how people not super familiar with period will fare. Interested in seeing how Kollwitz will be written since I love her art!

Great short sci-fi novel; only complaint: wish there'd been more development! Ravn turns mundane, soulless workplace into a dystopian future: the only concern is worker efficiency. Confusing at first w/ mixed chronology, few discernable characters, but love how it came together. Ominous atmosphere shrouded in euphemisms/redactions in report; reader must piece together even basic plot. Surprisingly emotional ending!

Interesting to learn about Oedipus before & after the infamous scandal, how he became virtuous to the point of divinity, how his sisters were the only ones committed to Greek values associated with masculinity; subversion of the 'nation over family' trope seen in other Greco-Roman fables. Surprised at how much is done with such simplicity. 1st play is clear standout; will likely read that again.

2nd play markedly less interesting: whole bunch of people attempt to bring Oedipus back for various reasons, he rebukes everybody. Even though more action happens in play, it again all happens off stage. Themes of duty, especially in families. Love seeing Oedipus' character growth between plays. Curious to read Antigone, not knowing what more can be said. Also should read 7 Against Thebes to complete the story.

So interesting reading this after Herodotus. Attempting to evade bad prophecies only to fall right into them; ironic endings that inflict character's impious actions back on themselves, & notion that you can't count yourself happy until you're dead because your life hasn't run its course yet and reversals of fortune could happen any time; lesson Croesus learned in Herodotus. Entirely speeches; action all off-screen.

Aside from brutal violence/scary premise, more a dystopian future than horror, esp. since it's a socio-political critique. Loses steam about a third in; plays loose with its characters/internal logic, seems a bit scattershot in its focus at times. Needed more development. However, was able to say some interesting stuff about the lies we tell ourselves to be comfortable with the exploitation of lower classes. Decent!

People disconnected with the exploitation/brutality necessary to sustain standard of living, Marxist alienation of labour.Stark, almost lifeless prose & protagonist. Bazterrica uses human meat farming as metaphor for slavery, trafficking, outsource labour, colonialism, etc. Examines how people are dehumanized including nursing homes; out of sight out of mind. I disagree with 'glass slaughterhouse' notion though.

Thermopylae, was clear climax; Platea was great too. Battle at Mycale was super short. Ending abrupt; Herodotus continues tangential anecdotes right up to final paragraph, which attempts to shoehorn a thematic resolution on whole thing. No narrative resolution like 'and so the Greeks won,' it just stops & lets reader fill in the rest. Really great at key points, very tedious at others. So glad I read it though!

Funny tangent about how one castrated guy got revenge on the slaver who castrated him by forcing him to castrate his 6 sons and then forcing the sons to castrate the slaver. Everybody's gettin castrated up in here! Battle of Salamis was awesome though a bit confusing, loved the Athenian's resolve to continue fighting an impossible war against Persia despite good offer. Xerxes is gone, don't know what'll come next!

Book 7 covers events from 300 movie; best part so far. Things seem to really be picking up. Fewer digressions (& those are still war-related, describing armies & conquered people), more narrative/dialogue/action. Battle of Thermopylae was awesome, Spartans badass, Xerxes a great villain. The magnitude of what Herodotus has done is really apparent. Though very tough to read, it's worth it for the good parts!

Things get exciting as Greco-Persian war heats up! Battle of Marathon and Darius' rage inherited by Xerxes! Things actually feel like a proper narrative as Xerxes agonizes & weighs omens over invading Greece, Herodotus plays on earlier themes of hubris. Illustrations exciting: pictures of helmets/weapons found at battle sites, engraved with names of figures from book; burial mound still there! Brings it to life.

Despite having issues with the characters, I was sad I wouldn't be spending more time with them when tit ended. Even though they drove me crazy I enjoyed it. Lo is the best, only person I think I'd hang out with lol. Though Mo & others progressed (accepting trans/bi people over time), book still felt dated; no femmes at all! Only stable relationship was hetero? Odd that Bechdel made every WLW relationship so toxic!

Tangents very difficult to keep straight, especially since they regress infinitely. Don't know why Herodotus doesn't lay groundwork about a people first, instead of suddenly, 6 books in, interrupting narrative flow of Persian invasion to discuss Spartan family lines/origins. Why not do that in book 1 when Spartans first mentioned? When Herodotus deigns to follow main narrative, lots of fun. Battle of Marathon next!

Really interesting to see the current events talk, now that it's lining up with stuff in my memory. Especially anticipating what's coming next (characters getting super depressed about the election interference leading to Bush winning, knowing 9/11 is just around the corner, wondering how they'd feel now). Bechdel seemingly changed her mind about cheating subplots; they got dropped. Strips have very improv structure.

Oh no, everybody's cheating again. Also, political lesbianism (fancy word for 'biphobia') rears its ugly head! Characters also grapple with increased trans visibility. Also, where are the femmes? As I said, DTWOF is very much a time capsule & it's interesting to see how much more gatekeeping there was in the community in the 80s; even the way lesbians choose to live is scrutinized if it's 'too mainstream.' Enjoying!

Lots of LGBT lit has little eye for posterity, instead favouring time-capsule snapshots--especially since LGBT subculture is rapidly changing. That's the case here, but it makes comparing the times interesting. Learning a lot about what's changed, but it's striking seeing what hasn't as well. Characters levelling out: less abrasive bickering. Many still quick to anger; thank god for Lois! Really enjoying it.