Hi I recently went on my friend Jaylen’s podcast to discuss the idea of “the trauma plot”. This has been kicked up in the literary discourse lately mostly because the author of A Little Life (one of the most cartoonish examples of a book exploring trauma) just came out with a
A Little Life is someone I know's favourite book which is if anything just quite impressive! I won't be reading To Paradise for the same reasons you mentioned
The two stand out books I read in January are The Love Songs of W.E.B. du Bois and Hidden Valley Road. The first is a chunk of a book but has perfect pacing and beautiful writing that moves the story along without it feeling like a drag at any point. Highly recommend. Hidden Valley Road is the story of a family where six of their ten boys has schizophrenia. It is none fiction but reads like a novel. Similar to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote where we get character stories as well as factual information. I just finished Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke which was a weird little story recommended by Jaylen. I’ve also started Crossroads and am enjoying it. Interesting to read it after having read Love Songs which is also a family saga. Honorée uses beautiful sentences to carry the story where Franzen uses many many fancy words to fill up the page. Lastly I’m reading Motherhood by Sheila Heti to decide if I want to purchase Pure Color. So far a good start to the year. Great news letter. I’m happy I signed up!
I'm getting a little trauma/violence hangover in the books I'm reading this month (and the world at large) so after my current read (The Service by Frankie Miren) I want to delve into some lighter topics. On my bedside table are: Nervous Conditions, The Right To Sex, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018 because I want to give anthologies a try.
A Little Life is someone I know's favourite book which is if anything just quite impressive! I won't be reading To Paradise for the same reasons you mentioned
The two stand out books I read in January are The Love Songs of W.E.B. du Bois and Hidden Valley Road. The first is a chunk of a book but has perfect pacing and beautiful writing that moves the story along without it feeling like a drag at any point. Highly recommend. Hidden Valley Road is the story of a family where six of their ten boys has schizophrenia. It is none fiction but reads like a novel. Similar to In Cold Blood by Truman Capote where we get character stories as well as factual information. I just finished Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke which was a weird little story recommended by Jaylen. I’ve also started Crossroads and am enjoying it. Interesting to read it after having read Love Songs which is also a family saga. Honorée uses beautiful sentences to carry the story where Franzen uses many many fancy words to fill up the page. Lastly I’m reading Motherhood by Sheila Heti to decide if I want to purchase Pure Color. So far a good start to the year. Great news letter. I’m happy I signed up!
I'm getting a little trauma/violence hangover in the books I'm reading this month (and the world at large) so after my current read (The Service by Frankie Miren) I want to delve into some lighter topics. On my bedside table are: Nervous Conditions, The Right To Sex, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018 because I want to give anthologies a try.