in which I wrap up January and February
As time seems to be moving in ways that would baffle even Einsten and my ability to read anything longer than an essay has apparently been lost at sea, I find myself rounding up both January and February at the same time
Things I've Read
I finished Nino Haratischvilli's The Eighth Life and I'm definitely glad I read it. I'm still keeping it in the good but not great category and sadly the magic hot chocolate strand of the plot did not pay off properly, but also I really enjoyed spending time in a part of the world I'd not really visited in literature before.
I've read one other novel, Courttia Newland's A River Called Time, which I liked a lot but did not love. For me it was a book where the description on the back cover betrayed it, because it caused me to expect it to go in a direction that it didn't actually go in — and that's hardly it's fault. I really enjoyed its world-building and the way it didn't compromise on what it wanted to do, and it had great atmosphere, but I wasn't quite sure what to make of the ending and it didn't quite land for me — but equally I suspect that's about me not about it, and that's fine. I'd definitely recommend giving it a go if you're into speculative fiction with a political edge or if you’re wanting to diversify your reading.
Then I've read two collections of essays (one with short stories) - Jenny Erpenbeck's Not a Novel and George Saunders' A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. I'm a big fan of Erpenbeck's novels, and I really enjoyed these essays, especially those in which she writes about her memories of growing up in East Berlin and the transition to a united Germany. The Saunders' meanwhile (essays on a collection of Russian short stories) is just one of best and most joyful books on writing I've ever read. I fell for his writing with Lincoln in the Bardo, and this is just a delightful insight into how he thinks about storytelling and the value of editing and refining, editing and refining (something that the process of writing an essay a week is threatening to drum out of me).
Finally, I've been dipping in and out of the small collection of poetry books I have here, and went cover to cover on Fiona Benson's Vertigo and Ghost which is barnstormingly good. It starts with the best evocation of teen-girlhood I've ever read, before heading into a suite of poems showing us Zeus as a rapist. It's a collection that deals with what it's like to be a woman in the world, through attention to mythology ancient stories and present realities, and at times it properly floored me.
Things I've Watched
Like half the western hemisphere, I've got into WandaVision. I was quite glad I didn't start until the first three episodes were already available because for me it took a little while to get going - I needed the underlying story to start emerging to really hook me in. But I massively enjoy Elizabeth Olsen (and have done since Liberal Arts) and I like the way it's exploring grief. I am also extremely happy to have Darcy Lewis back in the MarvelVerse. Competent women who are not here for your garbage FTW.
Things I’ve written
I know, I’ve written things for public consumption in the past two months. Shocking, frankly. I’ve written up my first round of thoughts on Willie James Jennings’ After Whiteness and also shared a Thought for the Day I did for chapel.
In the pile for next month
The pile is now growing so high I'm in danger of concussing myself on it if I roll too far in the middle of the night (so it's probably a good thing I've got some wicked insomnia coming and going right now)...
I can tell you, however, that I will *definitely* be watching The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney Plus, because I’m here for Bucky Barnes. Book-wise, I'm reading Empireland, and have both The Brutish Museum and This Green Unpleasant Land on the shelves so I'm set to be in the non-fiction land for a while yet.
A couple of photos from the last two months
Cambridge in contrasting weathers…
