what i read in june

Gravity’s Rainbow - Still plugging along, with the assistance of Benjamin McEvoy and the recommended Companion book. The story is OK; I’m more intrigued by the technique. As a friend put it, you have to consider a lot of it like a fever dream, and just concentrate on the relatively simple plot and philosophical argument about war.

Dutchman & the Slave - Two relatively short plays. The former was made into a film starring Al Freeman Jr. and Shirley Knight, the youngest I’ve ever seen her. It was shot in that cool sixties B&W that reminds me of The 400 Blows. I appreciated the ideas behind both plays more than the execution; they’re just not as revolutionary now as it was then.

Cursed Daughters - As I’m writing this I’m like, hmm what was this book about again? Oh now I remember. It was an interesting concept but I hated the main characters. The main female was just a bird, and her paramour a Nigerian Ken doll. My favorite character was the dog who lived to be like 35. For real.

Salvage the Bones - Whew chile. If the main character weren’t so ignorant and pitiful, I would say she was a bird too. The atmosphere was beautifully portrayed but the action was just tragedy after tragedy. Emotionally exhausting.

Love - Some of Toni’s most beautiful writing IMO. If I had known pedophilia was a major plotline I wouldn’t have gone near it but it’s a tribute to her talent that I didn’t give up on it.

Siddhartha - Another book club pick. It was OK as a fable. Unfortunately the question “But why is HESSE writing this?” plagued me throughout.

The Vagrants - I was intrigued to read this after the author’s amazing interview with Anderson Cooper about her memoir about her two sons who committed suicide. She spoke so beautifully I wanted to see whether it held up in her fiction writing. It does. This is her first book and the plot is dark af but the writing is outstanding.