May + June Reading Wrap Up | 2021
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ต.ค. 2024
- How to help BLM: blacklivesmatt...
Books mentioned:
Pop Song / Larissa Pham
Cool For America / Andrew Martin
Rainbow Milk / Paul Mendez
An I Novel / Minae Mizumura
An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures / Clarice Lispector
The Secret Lives of Church Ladies / Deesha Philyaw
Death In Venice / Thomas Mann
So You've Been Publicly Shamed / Jon Ronson
Everyone's putting "Milk" somewhere in their title now. Feels very Freudian.
LOL I have to pin this comment 📌
Literally just picked up Rainbow Milk, I’m sooo excited for it now.
As a “Secret Lives of Church Ladies” stan, I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
So You've Been Publicly Shamed is one I've been interested in reading for awhile now!
I have been meaning to read _Death in Venice_ for decades.
A packed and memorable little powerhouse of a novella!
Listened to Death in Venice recently partly for similar reasons, want to read Magic Mountain at some point, but have a bad past with Thomas Mann. I never like reading his work. I looked up interpretatios afterwards and noticed what I missed while listening (as my mind drifts) and how much is in this work. Still struggle enjoying the reading process.
Hi Alex, the Magic Mountain is, of course, much more complex that Death in Venice. The novel combines a tiny story about a young man visiting his cousin and staying seven years instead of three weeks with a lot of writing about illness, fading masculinity, philosophy and distance. I never read the English translation, so that i do not know whether the irony and the beauty of the author's style has been kept. In any cse, I would recommend to read the book.
Thank you, that sounds perfect! And sounds much like what I’d expect on the basis of DiV. I did get a whiff of an ironic sense of voice through the narrator in DiV so if it’s anything the same as in Magic Mountain I think I’ll be pleased. Thanks again for your input!
So glad you loved The Secret Life of Church Ladies! One of my faves of the first half of the year.
I’m glad to hear ‘Rainbow Milk’ does some bits well- I bought it when it came out and then just could never bring myself around to read it, and I know I will eventually!
‘An I-Novel’ sounds fascinating! And I don’t think you’re a boring person at all!
Haha thanks Bob! And yes, finally the reign of terror of contemporary gay lit has paused with Rainbow Milk giving me more of a refreshing reward. I hope you like it!
as always, i love hearing your thoughts on books! i’ve been making my way through the secret lives of church ladies and it’s such an engaging read. i know everyone was raving about it, but i was still surprised with how good it was!
Thanks Dee! And yeah, tbh I was worried it was going to be too hype-y since it’s been so long since I’ve given into the buzz about a book, but this one really proves itself! The last couple stories are actually my favs so I hope when you get to them you enjoy them!
Rainbow Milk sounds amazing!
Great reviews.
Mann is a sumptuous and layered writer enthralled with gauzy repressed characters. Unlike in Venice, however, Hans Castorp of Magic Mountain finds no release. If you wanted more from Death in Venice you will get more than you ever wanted from MM. It’s the kind of long book that reminds you of a train ride where you fall asleep and dream and wake only to find you’re not even close to your destination. It’s not for everyone but I loved it. I haven’t read DIV in awhile but I remember it having all of the tonal mood, atmosphere, longing and subversion that was played out to greater extent in Magic Mountain. Similar to Lispector you find in Mann a writer in love with language and how it can conjure melodramatic feeling without actual melodrama.
Wholeheartedly agree that Secret Lives is a short fiction debut masterwork.
“How it can conjure melodramatic feeling without melodrama” YES this is exactly what I’d hoped with MM in thinking of it as an extension of DiV sort of as a tease. I have a lot of faith in Mann having great control over his writing in a work as long as MM, I think I’ll plan reading it toward end of year when I usually shoot for my more “cozy” reads. “Cozy” being “really long books” lol. Thanks for your thoughtful description here!