I'm back! (but not for long)
Hi Friends!
I’ll be leaving next Thursday for a few weeks (Montana and the Philippines!) but before I leave I’m going to send out a “best of the year” newsletter, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
What I’m clicking:
Alcohol-induced amnesia in pop culture | Business tips from a refugee camp | The year in Digg
What I’m writing about:
My trip to El Salvador | Everything you should buy me for Christmas (just kidding - all I want is a plane ticket and a book)
What I’m listening to:
What I’m hanging on my wall:
I FINALLY framed by Basil Kincaid print that I bought a year ago. It looks beautiful and I encourage you all to get one.
What I’m reading:
Elena Ferrante
I did it. I finally read the Neapolitan books. I brought them on my recent trip to Paris and Morocco, but then this thing happened where I slept soundly from takeoff to landing on my way from New York to Paris without reading more than 3 pages of the first book and then I somehow LEFT IT ON THE PLANE. So then I had to do all of this commuting (like an hour on the train to actually get into Paris) without a book and then even though I was starving I had to make Shakespeare and Company my first stop so I could spend €23 on a book I already bought just so I could sit at a cafe and read a book, which was the only reason I went to Paris in the first place. And then, since I missed the largest possible chunk of reading time, I didn’t even get around to starting the fourth and final book until maybe an hour before my plane landed back in NYC.
What I learned from this: when you’re bringing a series of books on vacation, also bring at least one book that’s not in the series. I felt like a FOOL carting around 3 heavy books I couldn’t actually read. TG that Europa Editions doesn’t believe in hardcover.
Ok, my rant is over, now I can talk about the books. I actually really liked them and I get why they’re famous. However, these were not really the juicy page-turners I thought they would be. They’re much more subtle and long-winded and at times they made me feel claustrophobic. They probably weren’t the right books to bring on vacation because you get sucked into their world (and it’s not a happy world). I had no idea how emotionally brutal and violent these books would be.
Did it make me cry: I think I got teary at one point toward the end.
Did it make me laugh: I don’t think so, but possibly.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: YES and then I ended up at the bleakest outdoor station (Atlantic Ave L stop, don’t ask, my commute is bonkers) in a snowstorm.
Would I recommend it: Maybe, but not to everybody. There are some major drawbacks: the first book is pretty boring. They’re children throughout the book, so by nature they are uninteresting. I stuck with it because I knew at some point they would not be children anymore, and if you get to the last line of the first book and you’re not curious about what happens in these people’s lives, you probably shouldn’t waste your time. The second book was probably my favorite - it was devastating. Overall, these are really long books and if you don’t care about the characters, it would be such a chore to read these books. One other main drawback is the translation. It’s a fine translation, but so much of this book revolves around and involves language - specifically the Neapolitan dialect. I’m really curious to know how the original is written - if it’s half in dialect and half in Italian or all in Italian with some slang/dialect thrown in. I feel like we’re missing out on A LOT.
Would I read it again: I guess so. It’s one of those books that has depth and layers that you only unfold as the book goes on. I imagine if I were to reread the books, I’d discover a lot more nuance and foreshadowing, and maybe even some things I wasn’t paying attention to the first time around because I assumed the person was a minor character. Reading these books was a HUGE time commitment though, and there are lots of unread books in the world.
Would it be a good movie: Yes, but it would have to be in Italian.
What I’m reading right now:
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich. It’s… fine so far but I don’t like the characters and I think the storyline is utterly preposterous so we’ll see. I’ll be including a review in my first January newsletter.
What I’m bringing on vacation:
This One is Mine by Maria Semple
And some other books I keep hearing about and haven’t read yet - The Paying Guests, Boy Snow Bird, and Land of Love and Drowning.
Does anyone have any good book recommendations for the Philippines? I have already read When the Elephants Dance (pretty good!)
What books are on my list to buy (this will take me months to actually do):
Now that I have established myself as a Miriam Toews fan, I want to see what else she has up her sleeve: A Boy of Good Breeding, A Complicated Kindness, Irma Voth, and her memoir, which sounds like it was inspiration for AMPS.
Since I read this article, I added a few more books to my list. This list is growing faster than I can keep up.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
The new Bernadette book
Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
M Train by Patti Smith
That new Patty Hearst book
H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
After interviewing Helen Ellis, I added a few books from her “classic trashy” book club to my list.
What are you reading? (You can reply to this email and tell me. Or just text me)
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