can we write about books like it was a normal year instead of an accordion? i spent so/too much time alone and survived. for a solid 2 months between late october and late december i could not bring myself to read any books (though i did read quite a lot of high-quality literary fanfic regarding which i feel no shame). let's jump in!
39 books, including 2 rereads (the sun also rises - hemingway; how to be both - ali smith), 32 non-cis male authors.
i want to discuss what has become in my mind the clear delineation of a new genre of novels published in recent years, the characteristics of which are possibly intrinsic to their having been written by non-cis male authors, or, relative and/or multiple minorities. unfortunately, i have dubbed this genre the unlikeability genre. sometimes when bad things keep happening without relief to a character who is essentially a multiple minority, is the author is trying to represent the reality of how life might turn out for that character, or, are they are emphasising and making a point of exactly how much the "system" is stacked against them? it is good and thought-provoking when characters are complex and unlikeable, but surely they should have some likeable and relatable aspects as well, which are largely missing from the books i have in mind. it becomes a frustrating drudgery and rather miserable to read! i see myself in some of these minority characters, so it is disheartening when things almost universally turn out badly or end shortly after they hit rock bottom. "write what you know" has never been more demoralising. neither are these books particularly scintillating in terms of plot, or (this is my personal taste) writing style and technique.
anyway! reading 6 of these unlikeable books this year was probably too much! several of them have received rave reviews! but i will continue to support the kinds of authors who have written them, so i hope they can move on from centering their trauma to the exclusion of all else. of course the caveat here is that this is my interpretation and my state of mind may lack equilibrium. the second caveat is that i am not going to lay out the list of these books here because i don't want to pre-emptively ruin them for anyone else, and as mentioned, some people loved them! but, if you're interested, i will tell you privately.
the highlights:
Wake, Siren - Nina MacLaughlin. the metamorphoses, from the point of view of the subjugated women, yes thank you finally
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers - Jen Shapland. how do we give ourselves a history that existed but was erased or hidden or not documented in ways we can detect? as both memoir and biography, it was seamless.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. goodbye modern microdetailed autofiction etc etc in the form of a brick, hello mastery.
Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng. this was a very pleasant and engaging exception to the unlikeability genre though it may seem similar on the surface.
Goodbye, Vitamin - Rachel Khong. sweet everyday life through the lens of childhood, and conversely, Alzheimers', the kind of observer writing i love.
Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race - Lara Prior-Palmer. the reading surprise of my year! a lyrical memoir/account of a scatterbrained but animal-attuned young woman who won the Mongol Derby against many odds?? fascinating and engrossing.
Fair Play - Tove Jansson. sweet and longstanding relationship realities in a concise fable or short story form.
honorarable mentions: How Much of These Hills are Gold - C Pam Zhang; Vera Kelly is Not a Mystery - Rosalie Knecht
the snark:
Fleishman Is in Trouble. nononono this is basically exactly the kind of book i hate. who you are can fuck you up, wowww how groundbreaking. there is a marriage novel narrator reveal conceit. maybe i just hate "marriage novels", do not need to read any more of them for the foreseeable future.
Girl, Woman, Other. this lacked full stops/periods for.. some reason. i don't have much more to add (which is an indictment). dare i say, a typical Booker winner.
Eat a Peach. ok david chang, i like you, but you really have to start sharing your spotlight with more women, and making appropriate apologies rather than just letting your openness about your past mistakes and self-improvement be sufficient.
film highlights!
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. nooooo yesssss so good. this is the kind of meticulous detail that works, that has meaning eventually. the potato peeling, egad!
Nomadland. i had read the book several years ago but the film really transcended it, softened the popular tropes of relationship and friendship drama (from memory) into something much more poignant and complex.
Women Make Film. 15 hours of clips from female filmmakers covering (in a relatively superficial fashion) 40 areas of film-making. i saw parts of a lot of international/older films that i wouldn't have seen otherwise! perhaps it would work best as a dvd set to dip into rather than the time pressure i was under to watch it within the 2 weeks of an online film festival.
Booksmart. i enjoyed this! a Superbad for the contemporary young woman.
Dick Johnson is Dead. very sweet and wry.
'til next year!
