Rabbit Rabbit
Hi Friends!
Happy beginning of winter - it’s freezing in New York and it gets dark at lunchtime now. This is my second newsletter for October. In case you missed the first one, you can read it here.
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Ok, now that the boring stuff is over, let’s talk about books (and other exciting things).
What I’m clicking:
The one and only Michelle Obama. We’ll miss you. Thank you | How to circumnavigate the globe on a freighter ship | Hardcore Macbeth | This fully batshit insane article about somebody I’ve never heard of that I’m now obsessed with | South Korea’s obsession with plastic surgery.
What I’m wanderlusting:
I’m planning for an upcoming trip to Marrakech with my sisters. There’s one thing at the top of my to-do list: Jardin Majorelle. Also, figuring out how to make a billion dollars so I can move in here. Any recommendations? (For both making a billion dollars and what to do in Marrakech when you’re not a billionaire).
What I’m reading:
I decided a few weeks ago that these newsletters were getting a little too long, so I’m sending short ones more frequently. If you want to see the first set of books I read and reviewed in October, here it is. Here are the rest of the books, in order from least best to best.
(I’m also rating these all on goodreads.)
George Saunders
I think my hopes for this book were a little too high because of how much I loved Tenth of December. This book is weird, and not in a good way. The subject matter (which for some reason I didn’t pick up on from the title - this book is about Abe Lincoln) is not my cup of tea, and the format of the book was pretty exhausting, although this book would have been nothing without the snappy dialogue.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: Yes.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No.
Would I recommend it: I really don’t know, but I don’t think so. There’s one tiny scene (a flashback) where the George Saunders I know and love shines through with a description of a peek into hell (or maybe heaven!) and the entire book might actually be worth reading just for that.
Would I read it again: No, but I would read that one part again. (The Reverend’s monologue on page 187-195)
Would it be a good movie: This is an interesting question. It could be really good and really funny, but you’d have to figure out how the ghosts would appear. I think they would probably just have to look like dead humans, because all I can picture in my head is Nearly Headless Nick from Harry Potter and that would definitely not work.
Colum McCann
I truly loved Let the Great World Spin, although I don’t actually think Colum McCann is a great writer. He’s just somebody who had a good idea and I have come to terms with the fact that he’s a one hit wonder. These stories are fine - they’re totally ok. They are not great, and I don’t really have much to say about them because they didn’t make me feel anything.
Did it make me cry: No.
Did it make me laugh: No.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: Almost.
Would I recommend it: No. Read Let the Great World Spin instead (if you haven’t already).
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: There are some characters who would do well on film, but there’s just not enough of a story to tell. You could probably take the first story, a novella, and do a heavy rewrite and turn it into a great movie.
The Surrendered
Chang Rae Lee
This book is brutal. I don’t mean that it’s some tedious slog that’s impossible to get through, but it’s heart-wrenchingly violent. I think the story is incredibly compelling, but the female characters just didn’t work. File this under “dudes who can’t write women” (ahem, Chris Bojalian, Phillip Roth, and F. Scott Fitzgerald).
Did it make me cry: No. But that’s not to say it’s not a sad story. I just didn’t find any of the characters to be likeable or relatable enough to make me cry.
Did it make me laugh: Deeeeeefinitely not.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No, but almost, especially towards the end when you know what happens but you don’t know how or why or when it happens. Thrilling!
Would I recommend it: No, not really. I mean, if you’re a glutton for human rights violations and you’re curious about the aftermath of theKorean War, go for it, but this book mostly just made me feel nauseous the whole time, between the heroin withdrawals and the hardcore rape, blood, gore, a good number of decomposed bodies. At times the life of the refugees and orphans reminded me of Narrow Road to the Deep North, which is a book I would recommend much more (although it’s equally, if not more, violent).
Would I read it again: No.
Would it be a good movie: I would certainly watch this movie and I think it can be done well, but it’s a huge story and it’s just so serious. It would have to be long, and it would have to be expensive, and I don’t see it making any money because it’s not an action movie, it’s not a love story, and there’s no happy ending.
Miriam Toews
I have only read one other book by Miriam Toews (my boyfriend thinks this is pronounced ”Taves”, is he right?), but I really loved it and I'm surprised she's not more famous. Perhaps it's because she's Canadian or perhaps it's because her last name is confusing and nobody wants to say it out loud, so nobody talks about her. I love the way she writes about sisterhood, but I don’t think you have to have a sister to love her writing. This book was devastating, but in the best way.
Did it make me cry: I would say that I cry more than the average person (in books, and in life) so it's not unusual for a book to make me cry, but usually it happens toward the end. When I read this book, I was crying within the first 20 minutes. I cried at the end too, and in the middle. I’m actually crying right now just thinking about it.
Did it make me laugh: Yes. There were a few LOL moments.
Did it make me miss a subways stop: No, but only because I started crying on the subway on my way to work so I had to put the book down so I wasn’t reading it when we got to my stop.
Would I recommend it: Yes, but not to everybody. I could see how somebody would not be impressed with this book and not finish it. I think if you read the whole thing, you can’t help but like it because you can’t help but like the characters and see yourself and people you know in them.
Would I read it again: Yes.
Would it be a good movie: I don’t know for sure, but I think so. The good news is that it would be so inexpensive to produce, but it would have to have a killer score. And you’d have to convince a bunch of people to go to Winnipeg to film it.
What I’m reading right now:
The Great Man by Kate Christensen and it’s very good so far.
What’s on my nightstand:
Homegoing by Yaa Gyaasi
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Also I read this article and I remembered that I bought The Beautiful Forevers a while ago, so I’m moving it up in the queue.
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
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
The new Bernadette book
Those damn Neapolitan books
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
The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
What are you reading this month? (You can reply to this email and tell me. Or just text me)
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