Thanks for the new thread south.
I also loved Eleanor and Park.
I’ve not posted in a while and here are my latest reads:
52. Who They Was by Gabriel Krause.
Long-listed for the Booker Prize, this is an unfiltered look into a young man’s life and feelings. The story is autobiographical fiction, centred on Gabriel or Snoopz, a young man and his life of crime, drugs and prison whilst balancing a Uni course in English literature. He chooses people he feels accepted by and comfortable with - HIS people. He chooses people who answer to their impulses ie aggressive, violent gangs, who respond in the moment, but there is also deep friendship and a sense of belonging he does not find in school or with his family.
I was surprised by the aggression that a single wrong look or perceived slight could inspire and not at all reassured by his accounts of daylight street robbery. Young women are not highly respected in this kind of life, but for Gabriel its maybe not so much lack of respect but lack of time. He’s too busy with his pals and hedonistic high-adrenaline life. This type of life is difficult to sustain, and the general ending for these men is not optimistic - the majority have minimal education, are dealing +/-addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, in and out of prison or dead.
I found this a challenging read as it is set in a very different world to mine but a world that is happening now and part of the consequences of youth and inequality.
I am interested in the moral compass of these young men. How does Gabriel justify his actions? I commiserated with his parents and ache with their worry for him. How to have rules/standards but also to be there when he needs them.
In a university seminar discussing Nietzsche’s The Genealogy of Morality Gabriel argues that society is trying to force him to suppress his feelings and is focusing on the wrong issues, punishing the wrong people. He defends his right to not conform to Society:
“They want you to submit. Grind hard to fill someone else’s pockets more than your own, come home with just about enough to keep you alive for another month so you can repeat the whole ting over and over again. Drains your spirit. Turns you into a shell. If you press your ear to a shell like that you can hear the sound of dreams in the distance. But it’s just an illusion. Bun dat.“
With his education and stable family, Gabriel eventually chooses to, and is able to, leave this life. An option not open to many.
An intense read.
53. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.
Excellent. As it says on the cover The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration. Based on thousands of interviews and research this non-fiction gives an account of the migration of black Americans from the Southern states to the North in an attempt to escape persecution and for equal opportunities. Compelling and beautifully written, I loved this book. I listened on Audible and the narration by Robin Miles is also excellent. This is another outstanding recommendation from this Forum, I think from 1-2years ago now.
54. Real Life by Brandon Taylor.
I would put this novel into the Misery-Lit category - not my favourite genre. Wallace is a black, gay man living and working in Midwest America trying to fit in and find his place. There are themes of race and sexuality but it didn’t work for me - all the characters, including Wallace, are not particularly likeable, the story doesn’t go anywhere and then there is an abusive relationship on top of previous trauma. Pretty darn miserable.
55. Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino.
Intelligent and interesting essays on feminism, the internet and modern life.
56. Love in a Fallen Climate by Eileen Chang.
Collection of short stories translated from Chinese. Biting and well written but not the most optimistic or hopeful, these stories have stayed with me throughout the year as I have read them. They reminded me of Victorian stories of duty and difficult times for women, who have very few choices in order to survive, but this time from a Chinese point of view.