Hi y’all!
Where have I been? None of your business!
Admittedly, it has been a while. In case you don’t remember (you are forgiven), this is BOOK NOTES, a book review blog by yours truly, where I publish basically whatever I want (mostly book reviews and literary gossip), apparently whenever I want (though it used to be once a week).
And I want to publish now, before I lose my nerve again.
Soooooo, let’s get through a few quick fire reviews of the most memorable books I’ve read since I left ya:
Brutes by Dizz Tate
This book is marketed as The Virgin Suicides meets The Florida Project, and, like every other white girl in Brooklyn, that’s fucking catnip for me, so I bought this the week it came out. For better or worse, it is basically exactly what’s promised—which doesn’t leave enough room for the unexpected.
I finished this book and felt unsatisfied in the way you do when a book is almost-brilliant. I don’t want to sound too harsh because this is a debut, and because I am next to positive that Tate’s next work will be brilliant. She’s a very talented writer. But this book is a little under-cooked.
If the comps also make this book sound up your alley, read Sorority by Genevieve Sly Crane1 instead for now, and pick up Tate’s next book when it comes out.
Rent Boy by Gary Indiana
My dad (hi dad) would probably throw Rent Boy down in disgust. It’s vulgar, offensive, gossipy, and sometimes downright mean—I loved it.
It kicks off with an absolutely brutal caricature of Kathy Acker (who, you might remember, I had a lotta thoughts about), who I think was Indiana’s friend before he published this book. You can see why they had a falling out. Though late in the novel, her character also brings some of the only real tenderness and a rare moment of beauty to the book.
There are some obvious comparisons to be made to The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, and while I would never call Rent Boy tame, it’s certainly less visceral, though only in comparison.
If you ever were fascinated by downtown New York and Dimes Square crew of 2020, this one is for you.
They by Kay Dick
Long time readers of this blawg know how obsessed I am with Calvino and, more recently, Murnane. Kay Dick’s They could sit next to If on a winter’s night a traveler and The Plains like a dark sister. All three books are magical, slim novels about art, artists, the necessity and the luxury of art—but Dick is eerie where Murnane and Calvino where are (to simplify a bit) hopeful.
The titular They are a group of people who want to destroy art, music, literature. They want to end emotion, individualism, and communication. They want conformity. They are an ever present, almost mystical group—they’re always watching and they even have the capacity to make you forget everything that goes against them.
It’s been a looooooooong time since I picked up Six Memos for the Next Millennium (almost ten years!), so y’all can like, laugh in my face if I’m getting this wrong, but I think They has the sort of “lightness” that Calvino writes about. Or I guess at least, Dick plays with “lightness” and “weight” in a way I found fascinating.
A quick example of the dark “lightness” of They that’s really stuck with me: early in the novel, the narrator returns home after visiting a friend, and, though there’s no other indication of a break in, they have taken all the paintings from the walls, all her books from her shelves.
10/10 must read!
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
This book made me want to lay down in traffic.
I wrote about 5,000 words just ripping it to shreds, and I might publish that some day, so I’ll keep it brief here: I recommend this book to anyone who thinks a book’s merit is equal only to its length, its tediousness, and its author’s ego.
Everyone else should just read Pale Fire.
A Girl's Story by Annie Ernaux
If like me, you have lingering trauma from the particular sort of sexual naiveté that comes along with attending an all-girls school, this one is for you! So much to say here, but given that I just bashed wordiness, I’ll simply note that this book is the first book about being a teenager that really put me back in that headspace. In a good way, I swear. Reading it felt like reading a diary I’d forgotten I’d written.
(An aside: the girls on Spotify who make playlists for their Annie Ernaux books have excellent taste!2)
The Feast by Margaret Kennedy
This book from 1950 has the same set up as The White Lotus: in the first chapter, we learn that several people have died in an accident at a seaside hotel in Cornwall. And then we backtrack to a week prior, when all the guests first arrive to the hotel. There’s not an angel among them, but certainly there’s a few devils in disguise. In fact, the seven deadly sins themselves have taken up residence at the Pendizack Manor Hotel.
It’s a novel whose ending you’ll guess very quickly, but that’s to its credit, and doesn’t make it any less absorbing or clever.
If the first season of The White Lotus focused on class, and the second season on sex, this novel could be a third season on virtue and sin. Don’t expect a lecture though: The Feast is playful, totally charming, and a pleasure to read from page one.
Only bring it on your next family vacay if you really hate your fam, because I swear you’ll be too engrossed to talk to them at all. I read it in one sitting.
Okay, and now a quick list of books on might nightstand that I’m jazzed about:
Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative by Peter Brooks — Long time readers know I don’t read non-fiction, so everyone should clap. I’m reading a few pages every morning, and it’s changing how I think about my own writing in a great way.
Y/N by Esther Yi — I just bought this today! Ten pages in and the voice is so fresh and compelling. I can already tell it’ll be a favorite.
Vladimir by Julia May Jones — Everyone has been recommending this to me for forever and they were right to do so. It’s straight up my alley.
Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler — It’s fine, but a little frustrating.
Foster Dade Explores the Cosmos by Nash Jenkins — If you don’t buy this book, I will murder you!
What else have I done while I’ve been away? I moved in with my boyfriend and we combined our libraries. Yep. Disgusting!
Alright that’s it! Please tell me you missed me!
xoxo,
Book Notes
*Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (whose name wouldn’t fit)
A book that was criminally ignored by audiences and critics. Who did the marketing for this book????? I want a word with them.
Another aside: basically every book-playlist on Spotify has Taylor Swift on it.
Welcome back 😊
what a joyful surprise in my inbox 🥲