Susan Scribner
I was expecting something a little more literary from the son of [a:Dominick Dunne 11012 Dominick Dunne https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206680877p2/11012.jpg], and nephew of writing power couple [a:John Gregory Dunne 79463 John Gregory Dunne https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1212082753p2/79463.jpg] and [a:Joan Didion 238 Joan Didion https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1640504428p2/238.jpg]. But actor/director/producer Griffin Dunne relies primarily on name dropping in his memoir (he “deflowered” Carrie Fisher at her request; Sean Connery rescued him from drowning; he took a drama class with Linda Lovelace, who introduced Griffin to her current beau, Sammy Davis, Jr.) He also rather blithely portrays his family's dysfunctional dynamics, including alcoholism, mental illness, and closeted homosexuality, that fostered loving but fragile relationships. The heart of the memoir is the tragic death of Griffin's younger sister Dominique, who was strangled by a former boyfriend. The Dunnes went against legal advice and chose to attend the killer's trial, then watched, horrified, as the facts of the crime were twisted by the defense attorney so that Dominique and her rich, privileged family were seen as partially culpable. These chapters show that Dunne is capable of strong feelings and insight. Too bad the rest of the book has such an emotionally detached tone. Dunne's story ends abruptly in 1990 with the birth of his daughter (Mom is actress/former Bond Girl Carey Lowell). He doesn't discuss his most recent role as Uncle Nicky Pearson on NBC's This is Us, but I'll bet he felt comfortable being part of a drama about family dysfunction.
Lighthearted, clever book about a serious subject. Among the (t00) many residents of Troy, Alabama, the few that really resonated with me weren't the easily identifiable villains or heroes. Instead, I gravitated towards the few characters who struggled with the issue, trying to reconcile their conservative and religious backgrounds with their dawning realization that ignorance and hate pose more of a threat to their children than [b:Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 59365703 Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Judy Blume https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1675288783l/59365703.SX50.jpg 4121]. True fact: The suburban St. Louis school district in which I live (serving 17,000+ students) is currently considering measures that prohibit classroom discussions on gender identity, and allow any district resident to call for bans on particular books and classroom materials. So on the one hand, I appreciate a novel in which a small town's citizens band together to defeat censorship. But I am living the real thing and I'm afraid that the situation is only going to get worse. Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books triggered me as much as it comforted me.
If you Google “approach-avoidance conflict” don't be surprised if this book shows up at the top of the results. I can't remember a book that I both anticipated and dreaded so strongly. Only the assurance from other reviewers about the ending (both MCs still alive and together) kept me going through horrific battle scenes that demonstrated numerous gruesome ways to die. Alice Winn perfectly captures the innocence and enthusiasm of the boys who enlisted, the devastating erasure of their ideals, and the stiff upper lip culture that provided no empathy for their broken bodies and minds. Viewed through that lens, Ellwood and Gaunt's love is apparent in every nuance of their interactions despite the added complexities of homophobia and xenophobia.
5 stars, will inevitably buy a copy for myself but will need to summon my emotional strength reserves before re-reading.
Owen Elliot-Kugell was 7 years old when her mother, Cass Elliot, passed away in 1974. So she has few personal memories of (arguably) the strongest singer in The Mamas & the Papas, and instead heavily relies on interviews and secondary sources to piece together Mama Cass's brief life. There are no shocking revelations in the book, unless you count discovering who started the “cause of death: choked on ham sandwich” rumor. The last third of the book covers Elliot-Kugell's life post-1974, and frankly, it isn't that interesting, other than the fact that she was almost the fourth member of Wilson Phillips (1990s nepo babies known for their song “Hold On”).
Serious TW: Author recalls the cats he owned/lived with before Masha. Almost all of them died violently, or disappeared and were presumed dead. There is a graphic description of the carnage that took place when a mom cat's kittens were torn apart by a dog that got into the house (I almost noped out then and there). Frankly, Masha's death is one of the least upsetting ones, as she was humanely put to sleep when her pain was too strong to sustain any quality of life. This is NOT your standard feel-good pet memoir like [b:Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog 12691 Marley and Me Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog John Grogan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1308858322l/12691.SY75.jpg 14961] or [b:Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World 3257136 Dewey The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World Vicki Myron https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1398144610l/3257136.SY75.jpg 3292360]. Caleb Carr wrote dark, disturbing thrillers (including the bestselling [b:The Alienist 40024 The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, #1) Caleb Carr https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388256626l/40024.SY75.jpg 2266643]) that reflected his own damaged psyche resulting from a traumatic childhood. His “rescuer” Masha, a Siberian Forest Cat, was abused and then abandoned in an empty, locked apartment by her former owner. So their almost mystically strong bond arose from the parallel crises they had endured separately, and continued to experience together. For every heartwarming example of the ways Masha displayed her love and protectiveness, Caleb invokes another flashback to his relationships with previous cats, many of whom died violently. Or he describes one of many life-threatening medical emergencies that man and feline experienced. During their 17 years together, Carr insisted he and Masha had an unspoken, shared pact to stay alive for each other, and Carr's unceasing love and attention must surely have contributed to Masha's recovery from some pretty scary injuries.* Carr mentions scientific research about cat behavior occasionally, but many of his conclusions about the rationale for Masha's behavior are based on his childhood certainty that he was half man and half cat. As with most beloved animal memoirs, My Beloved Monster culminates with Masha's eventual decline and passing. Carr died of cancer two years later, just as this book was being published. I have no problem believing that Carr refused to let go until he knew Masha's story would be told. I hope that they found each other in the hereafter and are roaming side by side, pain-free and safe from any dangers.*There are numerous one-star GR reviews of this book that excoriate Carr for allowing Masha to be an outdoor cat, and indeed many of her injuries resulted from confrontations with wild predators. Carr had his reasons for giving her that freedom. You may or may not agree with his decision, but if you base your entire review on that one issue, maybe you should just move on to the next book in your TBR list.
Had the potential to be a good old fashioned queer Western, with a young hero who inherits a huge ranch after his father's untimely death, facing off against a rich, greedy bad guy who wants the land by means fair or foul. I was expecting that the conflict would be woven into the romance between the hero and his new, even younger ranch hand. Unfortunately, Walker chooses to focus the vast majority of the plot on the love story. Granted it's heartwarming to see two queer virgins explore the physical and emotional feelings they have never dared act on until now. But the threat of losing the land to the bad guy just kind of fizzles, so that more pages can be devoted to the young men's discovery that butter makes butt stuff better. Felt like a missed opportunity to me, but then again this is N.R. Walker, not [a:Mary Renault 38185 Mary Renault https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1378247630p2/38185.jpg].
Warning: Don't read The Other Valley if you're expecting a Sandra Bullock-Keanu Reeves The Lake House time slip/time travel romance. The book blurb description is misleading, suggesting far more of a love story than what is actually on the pages - a bleak, disturbing dystopia-adjacent novel, whose narrator is subject to personal and professional humiliation, bullying and sexual harassment. I'm not even sure I understand the ending, but I don't read a lot of speculative fiction so readers who are familiar with the genre will likely get it right away.
Ugh, definitely not my cup of tea. I need to read something light and fluffy now.
This is the second novel I've read in the past week in which a young woman is concerned that her mother is exploiting and monetizing her younger sister's online presence. In [b:Allow Me to Introduce Myself 198385439 Allow Me to Introduce Myself Onyi Nwabineli https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1702307320l/198385439.SY75.jpg 201284710], the MC wants to intervene before her 7 year old sister is irreparably damaged from constant online exposure. In Olivia Muenter's debut Such a Bad Influence, Hazel Davis is desperately trying to find her 18 year old mega-influencer sister, who has disappeared off social media and IRL. Starting with a viral video of Evie, age 5, their mother has cleverly built herself and her daughter into a financially lucrative brand. When Hazel expresses her worries shortly before Evie vanishes, the teenager with millions of followers reassures her that she's never been more happy. So did Evie have a nervous breakdown? Is her disappearance a publicity stunt? What if something more sinister is going on? I won't reveal more of the plot except to say that it takes a completely unexpected, jaw-dropping turn, and the ending is rather disturbing. The key characterizations of Hazel, Evie, and their mother lack the nuance that makes Allow Me to Introduce Myself so compelling. Both books explore the impact of constantly being online, although Bad Influence digs more into the subculture of podcasts and reddit threads, where people feel free to analyze and judge every social media post. I suspect we'll see more stories like these as the first generation of Instagram kids become adults with strong feelings about the childhood images that they never consented to share, living forever online.
More engaging than Kasher's 2012 [b:Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 11569862 Kasher in the Rye The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 Moshe Kasher https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399264922l/11569862.SY75.jpg 16510606], which suffered from relentlessly repetitive tales of substance use, failed rehab, educational disasters - all before Kasher got sober at age 16. His new memoir focuses on six subcultures that have defined him since then, including EDM raves, the Deaf community (both parents are Deaf), and Burning Man (yes, really). Along with his personal experiences, he throws in brief histories of each culture (everything you wanted to know about Judaism and the Hasidic movement in 25 pages!), all presented with a weird combination of sincerity and snark. I still can't forget the horrible acts Kasher confessed in his first book, but at least Subculture Vulture demonstrates that he is trying to be a better person.
3.5 stars. Life, death, and everything in between as experienced by a quiet Irish Catholic girl living in Brooklyn between World Wars. Unlike the events of [b:Absolution 101404407 Absolution Alice McDermott https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1678678178l/101404407.SY75.jpg 124892367], which was set in 1960s Vietnam, there is nothing extraordinary about Marie's life. But through McDermott's subtle yet powerful prose, Marie becomes Someone.
I knew I would like this book based on its description, but I had no idea that it would be one of my rare 5-star reads. Onyi Nwabeineli's voice is beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking. She takes what is already a loaded issue, mommy bloggers who make bank by putting their children's lives online, and raises the stakes with racism and cultural differences. Things I loved:Our MC Anuri Chinas, with all of her understandable flaws and amazing gifts. Her crippling self-doubt resulted from a childhood in which her stepmother loved her as long as she performed for the webcam as requested, and her father remained emotionally distant because he never recovered from the tragic loss of Anuri's mother. Anuri's relationship with her two ride-or-die BFFs, especially their physical closeness and emotional honesty. The promising romance arc that is never portrayed as more important than Anuri's friendships. The resolution to the dilemma of how Anuri can save her little half-sister from being exploited without destroying both of them in the process.*The occasional peek into the heads of Anuri's stepmom and father, just enough that I didn't completely despise them (maybe 95%). My only caveat is that Nwabineli's style includes a LOT of POV hopping, but considering the incisive characterization, it feels like being at a noisy party where everyone has a lot to say. I can't believe that this is only the author's second novel. Normally I would immediately search out her debut( [b:Someday, Maybe 59952176 Someday, Maybe Onyi Nwabineli https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667569085l/59952176.SY75.jpg 94336308]), but the subject matter, a loved one's death by suicide, is too painful for me to handle right now. But I will definitely keep her on my radar. A few sample quotes to whet your appetite (hopefully): Anuri was aware, as most people who practice the art of avoidance are, that running from yourself requires the kind of stamina that can only be fueled by self-destruction. The truly gifted can manage it forever. She would know. The unique thirst for alcohol lived like an unruly tenant in her mind, refusing to be evicted. She was thankful [her therapist] had taught her how to sit with her emotions, the most insistent and unwelcome of companions. At night, Simi (BFF) would plead with Anuri to abandon the laptop, discard the phone and lie beside her on the bed. “You don't even have to sleep,” she said, but Anuri was afflicted by the thing inside us which wrongly asserts that if we can only keep our eyes on something, then we can put our arms around it and contain it.
4.5 stars. K.J. Charles' 2016 blog post about British nobility titles yielded this gem: ‘Duke' is an immensely important title, with only a handful existing at any time, except in romantic fiction where they outnumber the servants. So now that KJC has finally decided to give her latest MC that rare title, you can be sure he will not be a cliched handsome, arrogant rake. In fact, the fourth Duke of Severn's looks are unremarkable, and he is in the midst of a dandy existential crisis. He's gradually losing the struggle to fulfill his obligations to the title without completely losing himself in the process. That doesn't mean it's not fun to watch the clueless “Cassian” master such mundane skills as riding in a public stagecoach or getting a laugh in a crowded bar room, but there is significantly more depth to his character than Poor Little Rich Duke. Daizell Charnage has a unique artistic skill that has kept him off the streets and enabled him to cling to a few shreds of dignity after being ruined financially and socially. Once he and Cassian become lovers, it's inevitable that the reveal of The Duke's Big Secret will not go well. Where Luke in KJC's [b:A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel 75505273 A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel (The Doomsday Books, #2) K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1677601132l/75505273.SY75.jpg 100794063] was hiding an ulterior motive, Cassian is lying by omission about his entire identity, which is arguably even worse. Even if Daizell is the forgiving sort, how can the Duke of Severn and a disgraced near-pauper have a future together? The chemistry between Cassian and Daizell is somewhat slow to develop, but once the Only One Bed trope is deployed, things heat up considerably. This is definitely a kinder, gentler KJC, with a low body count and villains who are wealthy, entitled asshats instead of spies or assassins. The Duke at Hazard can easily be read as a standalone, although characters from [b:The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting 192786618 The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting (The Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune, #1) K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699055167l/192786618.SY75.jpg 87603321] play a not insignificant role in the climactic scene. KJC has proven that she can breathe new life into an old romance novel staple. Perhaps she can do the same for vampires next? ARC gratefully received from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for objective review.
CW: terminal illness, bipolar disorder, bullyingI am absolutely a sucker for You've Got Mail/Shop Around the Corner stories in which the MCs fall in love through their correspondence, unaware that they are rivals or enemies IRL. The Book Swap tries to recreate that magic, but the romance is weighed down by both MCs' emotional baggage (mostly grief and guilt, with a bit of career crisis thrown in for good measure). Debut author Tessa Bickers gets high marks for realistically showing how Erin and James individually work through their pain and emerge on the other side. The notes that they leave each other in the Little Free Library books are most interesting when they actually discuss their reactions to classics such as [b:To Kill a Mockingbird 2657 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553383690l/2657.SY75.jpg 3275794] and [b:Great Expectations 2623 Great Expectations Charles Dickens https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631687432l/2623.SY75.jpg 2612809]. Eventually, however, they give up the literary pretense, and just start writing personal questions and heartfelt responses, which tend towards cliched exhortations to “follow your dreams.”I'm not going to spoil the revelations of the MCs' shared past, except to say that IMO the author doesn't establish the previous bond between them emphatically enough, so its severance feels like a shame more than a tragedy. The book barely squeaks by with 4 stars for several reasons. I liked both MCs and the evolution of their relationships with their respective BFFs. I thought the family dynamics, especially James's, were insightfully portrayed. Although the romance didn't quite work for me, I respected the journey each MC took to get to their HEA. Ignore the light & fluffy vibes promised by the book cover, and proceed with caution if you are not in the mood for some pretty heavy shit.Advanced reader copy received through Net Galley in exchange for objective review.
TW: portrayal of several miscarriages and the callous 1960s response to them by the medical (and general) community
Understated but powerful novel about the wives who accompanied their husbands to Vietnam in the early 1960s, before US troops were directly involved in the war. The book is narrated primarily by Tricia, the shy newlywed whose greatest dream is to be a good “helpmeet” to her Naval husband. But the character who leaves the strongest impression is Charlene, an experienced corporate spouse with the face of an angel and the personality of a shark. Charlene ropes Tricia into her scheme to make money by selling Barbie dolls dressed in traditional Vietnamese garb and then using the proceeds to buy food and toys for hospitalized Vietnamese children. Do her actions reek of white privilege, cultural appropriation, and colonial arrogance? Is she making a real difference in the children's lives considering the larger reality that they are the victims of a deadly proxy war that will eventually destroy their country?
McDermott doesn't supply easy answers to those questions. Although the novel shows a variety of relationships between parents and their children, she doesn't pass judgement on their relative merits either. After a devastating reveal about Tricia's final days in Vietnam, the book ends abruptly in the present, leaving a multitude of unanswered questions. McDermott has crafted a haunting portrayal of a pivotal moment in American history and filled it with fascinating, flawed characters. Not a happy read, but one with sufficient grace to keep the overall tone from being a total downer.
Read via Kindle Unlimited. The novel starts with a tragic death in the first chapter, and the mood remains bleak throughout. I'm not opposed to sad books, but the author's decision to split the narrative focus among seven characters made it challenging to connect with any of them, so the grief itself is more memorable than the mourners. The author is a talented writer, and the plot is based on real events that happened to her own family in the 1930s. YMMV if you don't mind the melancholy tone, and have an affinity for Jewish historical fiction, Atlantic City at its peak, and Nazi storm clouds on the horizon.
Journalist Dana Mattioli provides an overview of 30 years of rule breaking, tax evasion, and ethical malfeasance by the company that claims to be “relentlessly customer-focused.” I knew that Amazon was Evil but this book helped me to understand the breadth and depth of its vileness. It's so depraved that stories about warehouse employees who pee in a bottle in an attempt to meet the company's unreasonable productivity metrics might not even make a list of the Top 5 Worst Things About Amazon.
As a Wall Street Journal investigative reporter, Mattioli herself helped uncover one of Amazon's darkest secrets: its history of offering partnerships to innovative businesses, learning enough about their products to reverse engineer them, stealing allegedly confidential consumer data, and then mysteriously revealing their own identical products at a lower price. That's how they got Alexa, folks!
I suspect that few people will give up their fast, easy package delivery of toilet paper and facial cream after reading this book (myself included). Amazon is already integrated into every facet of our lives. (The fact that they own Goodreads is its own strange irony.) If it's a war, they've already won.
I know very little about Peter S. Beagle (if I ever read the classic [b:The Last Unicorn 29127 The Last Unicorn (The Last Unicorn, #1) Peter S. Beagle https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524764327l/29127.SY75.jpg 902304], it was decades ag0), and the title of his latest book led me to believe that it was going to be a light-hearted story. Nope. While there is definitely humor to be found, especially in the scenes with the well-intentioned but totally useless Crown Prince Reginald, the plot goes to some very dark, disturbing places. Those cute baby dragons that our hero Robert keeps as pets? The ones that should get their own Disney movie? It's his job to exterminate or capture scores of their bigger kinfolk. Those who aren't killed go to the marketplace to meet a grisly fate that I wish I could forget. But once I adjusted my expectations, I became engrossed in the deceptively simple plot and enchanted by the trope-turned-on-its-head characters (even Reginald). Within a fairy tale framework, issues of responsibility, expectations, heroism, and love are deftly explored. While there are no cliffhangers, the answer to “what's next?” for our MCs, given the dramatic changes in their lives, is wide open. Considering the author's octogenarian status, and the fact that this book was in publishing limbo for almost 20 years, we may never be blessed with an official sequel. But maybe it's better that way. I know Robert, Cerise, Reginald, Ostvald and Elfrieda well enough now that I can give my imagination free rein to craft their next adventures. (Yes, I know that's why god invented fanfic, but I'd rather let the characters live rent-free in my brain.) I'm open to recommendations about where to begin my journey into Beagle's backlist!
3.5 stars. Standard Nora Roberts romantic suspense summer book release, although this one adds a paranormal element. Nora seems to be grooving on the “traumatic event happens to MC in her youth; 20 years later, a love interest enters the picture and the Bad Guy resurfaces” narrative structure. I'm okay with that, it reminds me of the old [a:Judith Kranz 26240132 Judith Kranz https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] novels (albeit with less champagne and diamonds). But I know some readers miss Nora's single title 100% romances, so caveat emptor.Mind Games has: less house/garden porn than usual; MC's annoyingly perfect grandma, BFF and brother; 3rd Act Breakup that feels artificially contrived; a good dog; a preschool-aged boy who makes the LI seem even more wonderful; and several unanswered questions (namely the origin of the killer's own paranormal talent, which refutes the "only women have The Sight" rule in the MC's family).
Serviceable memoir from the poster boy for “Yacht Rock” and a shout-out to my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, where McDonald was born and raised (Ferguson, actually - !!!) I was most interested in reading about his time with my favorite band, Steely Dan, and he does deliver a few classic Donald Fagen and Walter Becker stories. Then he joined the Doobie Brothers, and despite his protestations to the contrary I still think he ruined them (the rocking “China Grove” vs. easy listening “Minute by Minute” - you be the judge).
McDonald did a lot more drugs and alcohol than I would have guessed, although he writes about their hazardous effects on his health without much emotion. In fact, the entire book reads like someone who has gone through therapy and understands the roots of his unhealthy behavior, primarily on an intellectual basis.
Although the book didn't wow me, I respect McDonald for not taking his reputation too seriously; he recalls the SCTV skit in which Rick Moranis plays McDonald, riding like the wind to repeatedly sing his six-word backing vocal (“such a long way to gooooo”) on Christopher Cross' smash hit fondly and without rancor.
TW: One of Kasher's many unsuccessful hospitalizations is a unit for kids with intellectual disabilities. Kasher uses the “R word” to describe them numerous times.
How is this memoir written by a former drug addict different from all other memoirs written by former drug addicts? For starters, Moshe Kasher is the hearing child of two deaf parents, and his father was an ultra-Orthodox Jew from the insular Satmar group. He was one of the few white kids - and the only Jew - in his Oakland neighborhood school. And the kicker is that after Kasher got sober, he became a successful stand-up comedian. His obvious intelligence and graveyard humor got me through half of this raw, raunchy saga, before it became both repetitive and increasingly disturbing.
Kasher was an angry kid who resented his parents' deafness, the time he was forced to spend with his father's new family, and his older brother's angelic behavior. He started drinking at the tender age of 12 to stop feeling like shit, moved on to hard drugs, and finally became sober at 16 after realizing that the drugs no longer masked the pain. But in those four years he did some really fucked up shit (physical abuse of his mom, selling drugs to a kid who then had a heart attack, stealing whatever he could to support his habit. Kasher was also suspected of gang-raping a girl; he claimed that his friend tried to have sex with her; she said no, and then went to the police with false rape accusations.).
After almost 300 pages of unsuccessful rehab facilities and futile mental health hospitalizations, Kasher's recovery and young adulthood fly by so quickly in a brief wrap-up chapter that they barely leave an impression after all of the awful stuff. I'm sure Kasher has gone through the 12 steps and made amends to those he hurt, but I don't think I'll ever be comfortable watching him do stand-up comedy again.
Read via Kindle Unlimited
Take [b:The Great Gatsby 4671 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490528560l/4671.SY75.jpg 245494], jump ahead ten years, and omit most of the tragedy and you'll get Rules of Civility. I'm probably in the minority, but I liked this novel more than the much beloved [b:A Gentleman in Moscow 34066798 A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1711726088l/34066798.SY75.jpg 45743836] because Towles takes off his rose-colored glasses long enough to acknowledge the existence of working class and even poor people. He portrays a vivid New York City during the course of 1938, when the Depression was starting to lift, war was looming in Europe, and WASPs were ascendant. Towles' writing is so sharp that I can (just barely) overlook the fact that the MC, Katey Kontent (accent on the second syllable please), never sounds or behaves like a real human female. A few of my highlighted passages: “I turned to find a woman in her midforties in a skirt suit and glasses standing at a respectful distance. She had lovely red hair tied back in a ponytail. It gave her the appearance of a starlet playing the role of a spinster.““Whenever [the winter wind] blew, it always made my father a little nostalgic for Russia. He'd break out the samovar and boil black tea and recall some December when there was a lull in conscription and the well wasn't frozen and the harvest hadn't failed. It wouldn't be such a bad place to be born, he'd say, if you never had to live there.“I tend to avoid novels by straight white men because f*ck the patriarchy, but I'll make an exception for Amor Towles.
I'm not very familiar from Hanna's music from either Bikini Kill or Le Tigre (I believe I was listening to Barney and Elmo when BK was in their heyday) but I was still fascinated by her raw and honest memoir. “Each song felt held together with Scotch tape and was somehow minimal and complex at the same time.” That's Kathleen Hanna describing the music of another band, the Raincoats, but it is also an apt description of this book: short, choppy, episodic chapters that together build a portrait of a woman who experienced numerous traumas but used them to create groundbreaking feminist music and support other women with similar experiences. That's true Girrrl Power. The Spice Girls can kiss Hanna's ass.