My Thoughts: It seems there is both so much & so little that can be said about this book — for we all agree on the good things, and alternatively how My Thoughts: It seems there is both so much & so little that can be said about this book — for we all agree on the good things, and alternatively how does one attempt to adaquately capture the experience of reading this book? To me, "love" feels like such a shallow word, much as "sad" does, both commonly used when talking about A Little Life.
So, what I can say, without a doubt of hesitation, is that this book so deeply and profoundly affected me; and in the words of Maggie Nelson, "I was scalded by it's beauty." It was a book offered mutuality when I didn't realize I needed it: it opened to me, I opened to it; it burrowed into me and vise versa.
The story is a testament to the bonds of friendship, and the transformative power of love, but also the long-lasting effects of childhood & adult trauma. It affirms the saying, "We accept the love we think we deserve." And yet, it gets at the harder truth being that changing our own self image is not always easy or successfully. That the discovery of our true selves can be painful, violent, beautiful...
In speaking about the book as a literary piece, three things stood out to me most:
Firstly, Yanagihara is a beautiful storyteller. Her writing follows a postmodern structure, i.e. stories within a story. And she uses this frequently, often not telling the outcome in one story, only to note it off-handly in another. This helped make the timeline flow in a believeable way from when the boys are in their early twenties and then suddenly we are celebrating Willem's thirtieth birthday.
Secondly, a combination of points 1 & 3 — in using this structure Yanagihara is able to protect the characters, namely Jude. The traumatic stories of his past/present are often broken up, making them easier to process with outcomes being revealed later on. I can say as someone with a haunting memory for scenes involving violence/sexual assault, I was deeply grateful for the way these events lacked graphic detail, being quite clinical. As if in the act of opening up to the reader Jude is still trying to put distance between himself & these realties of his past. Their shocking/gut-wrenching nature thus comes not from the details, but rather from their absence.
And lastly, this all hits harder because Yanagihara has so fully let us into the minds of each character that by the end we include ourselves into this narrative. We feel as fiercely protective for Jude as Willem does, we are brought to tears at the generousity of Andy, Harold, and Richard. We've never wanted to cause physical harm to anyone as much as we do to Jude's past tormentors.
In the end, I found myself the fifth member of ragtag group. I was filled with joy & pride for each of their successes, while also having "the privilege of getting to be present for [their] most dismal moments," that shook me to my core.
Spot on Shelf? Yes. It is a book to be placed on the highest shelf to be pulled down when you need to feel grouded to something. It's a book I can easily see myself rereading over and over. Easily my favorite book I've read this year, if not.. ever....more
How We Met: After listening to, and falling in love with, Circe on Audible, I knew it wouldn't be long before I started Miller Song of Achilles — 5 ★
How We Met: After listening to, and falling in love with, Circe on Audible, I knew it wouldn't be long before I started Miller's next book Song of Achilles in much the same fashion. I purchased the audiobook, and began to listen in November of last year on my runs as it seemed the only time I was really getting out of the house with the pandemic. But then it got colder and sadly there was less and less time for me to listen to the book.
It says a lot about Miller's writing that no matter how much time passed, whenever I came back to SoA, it was so easy to fall into step with it. It's like when you haven't seen an old friend in years, yet when you are together it's like no time has passed at all.
That's what reading Song of Achilles felt like — returning to an old friend.
My Thoughts: This is a unique book in itself as it represents a story we all know the ending to. That was new for me — stepping into a book with certainty that one of the main characters is going to die. Knowing that no matter what lengths Patroclus and Achilles went to they could not rewrite fate or The Fates.
Rather fitting given the backdrop of a ancient Greek myth.
I loved seeing Achilles in a new light. More specifically, as a boy who was charming and forthright; as a boy who quite simply fell in love. It can be easy to forget these iconic figures of myth were at one point children no different than you or I. Children who spent their afternoons playing in rivers, climbing trees and stealing extra figs from the table... long before they became known for what has made them memorable.
For Achilles, it's nothing short of a miracle given the weight of his prophecy, that Miller allows him to find love.
It was even more lovely to see how Patroclus and Achilles' roles shifted throughout the story. From one being the teacher, the "hero," to the other way around. It made their relationship feel like one of equals, which in the end made this book more poignant.
—
As a literary work, I was in awe of Miller's attention to detail & intentionality with mythical characters. Miller explains (in a separate video I watched on her instagram, so I promise this is not an original idea of mine) that she decided to not stick with the traditional/more common "heel" death for Achilles as it has often been used to paint Thetis (Achilles mother) in a light of neglect and carelessness.
At first I was suprised by this alternate death seen, but listening to Miller's explaination, I found myself favoring it. For more context the myth of Achilles' Heel comes from the story of Thetis taking him as a baby to the River Styx, where she dips him into the immortal waters (but essentially "forgets" to switch and dip his other heel).
Miller argues, there is no way a mother as dedicated and watchful as Thetis would make such an err. And thus, Miller uses this other myth of Achilles dying.
In my opinion, the character of Thetis was one of the most intriguing. It's easy to dislike her and the coldness she shows to mortals, but in the end I could not deny her selflessness when it came to Achilles. The complexity of her character is one I keep reflecting on even now.
—
This leads me to my last and final note regarding the sad reality of this time period and the role/perceptions of women within Song of Achilles.
In my mind this book is Patroclus and Achilles story — it is their fate that is both bitter and yet quite sweet. But this story is also so many sidestories of women whose lives are negatively altered: from Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia who is sacrificed, to Achille's wife Deidameia whose child is taken from her, to the faithful Briseis.
Much like my lingering thoughts of Thetis, these are the women I keep thinking about. I keep thinking about the parents and families who were affected by their deaths/fate, and what these stories would say if there were written.
Spot on Shelf? Absolutely. With this book, and having read more than one of Miller's books I think I can offically call her a favorite author! I listened to both this book as well as Circe on audible (both of which are narrated phenominally), but I assure you as soon as I see a copy at my used local bookstore, I'll buy them both and not think twice....more
I received this copy of Justine, Forsyth Harmon's debut novel, from Tin House earlier this year. When I sat down to read it this spring, Justine — 3 ★
I received this copy of Justine, Forsyth Harmon's debut novel, from Tin House earlier this year. When I sat down to read it this spring, the timing felt perfect given the context of the book. Something about a teen at the cusp of life, searching for identity brought me back to my own youth with spring/summer days spent at the park, biking to the Food & Fuel to refill on 50¢ Grandma's Cookies & the evenings *up-to-no-good* sneaking around the park or walking the railroads with my ragtag group of friends.
My Thoughts: This book follows Ali, a teenager who is instantly drawn to a cashier, Justine, who works at her local Shop & Shop. With complete abandon, what insues is a friendship where Ali is taken under Justine's wing & taught the rules of shoplifting, how to be properly anorexic, and how to interact with boys (despite her indifference to them). This fast-paced care-free relationship is juxtaposed with that of Ali's home life — living with her grandmother who does not seem to notice the changes Ali is experiencing. The way Harmon captures the repetitive nature of Ali & her grandma's relationship is incredibly haunting, yet so subtle you almost don't question the sad disconnect.
By the book's conclusion, I found myself yearning to know more about Ali + Justine as Harmon offers us this snapshot of what seems to be a mere couple weeks of their lives together. This brief window (in addition to the sense that Ali may not be the most reliable narrator) made me question character motives/intentions in a way that really hit home — on reflection, it made me uncomfortable thinking back on my own teen years and how little I knew about myself or why I did what I did. Also, the book's concluding sentence (dang, what a line).
Spot on shelf: I think so. This book captured that in-between place as a teen — that space of not *really knowing* who we are (not realizing it takes a lifetime to discover) & how much easier it is to look to others for that sense of self we are too unsure, afraid and unnnerved to find.
Not to mention, Harmon's sketches of everyday items like Diet Coke cans and bare feet add a level of familiarity we can all latch on to. This book is definitely one I can see myself thinking back to in the future.
***If you enjoyed books like Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier or The Seas by Samatha Hunt, this similar haunting coming-to-age story is worth picking up. *Honorable mention to Marlena*...more
How we met: I went to a local bookstore with a friend a few months ago.
It was acutally my first time visiting in-person since theMagic Fish — 5 ★
How we met: I went to a local bookstore with a friend a few months ago.
It was acutally my first time visiting in-person since the pandemic. I knew I was well stocked on books at home, and honestly had no intention of buying a book (pah, I know you all laughed or shook your heads reading that). Naturally, I got through the *entire hour* of book shopping *without* picking up a *single book,* but then right by the register I saw this beautiful book.
I opened it, closed it. Went to pay $17.23 and went on my way.
My Thoughts: Magic Fish is Trung Le Nguyen's debut illustrated work. At first glance this book is the story of a young Vietnamese boy, Tiê’n, and his mother Helen, who have (over the many years) created a norm of reading stories & fairy tales to one another. What started as a way to better learn English, is now a means to bridge their hybrid languages — the English Tiê’n has grown up with, and the Vietnamese his mother and father still rely on.
This is a story about trying to tell someone who you are when you don't know the words.
This is an Immigrant Story, a Queer Story and a Fairy Tale Story.
And really that's all I want to say about the story itself. Just go read it.
What I really want to focus on is how much intention went into every aspect of this graphic "comic."
From the fairy tales Nguyen chooses, to which character is telling *that particular story* & how it mirrors their own personal story (which is explained at the end of the book).
But it doesn't stop there, even the illustration styles echo the characters' personal experiences from Tiê’n, a young boy growing up in the 90s American Midwest; to his mother Helen who grew up in post-war Vietnam; and lastly, her aunt who remembers the time before the war.
This book is a weaving of story, languages, and how we use both to connect with others as well as understand our place in the world.
I'm still struck by the way Nguyen shows the compatibility of this hybrid "English-Vietnamese" language the characters are using THROUGH the use of his graphics which combine their own two "languages'':Text and Image.
This in itself is yet another foil to further support Nguyen's personal experience & belief that these natural hybrid languages, common among immigrant communities, are "the sound of people from very different worlds doing their best to come together and make each other feel at home."
As someone who spent much of their graduate experience examining stories (hermeneutics) — how they change, how they are told from one culture & community to the next — this book really stood out in the profound freedom and agency it gives stories in their ability to change when they need to.
Spot on Shelf? Yes. unequivocally, Yes. And you should add it to yours too....more
How we met: Still being somewhat new to the Bookstagram world, this was *officially* the first book I picked up and read per the suggestion of book-4★
How we met: Still being somewhat new to the Bookstagram world, this was *officially* the first book I picked up and read per the suggestion of book-influence. After seeing @parisperusing posts and praise for Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier, I instantly put in a request at my local library.
Initially this old school 80s-style cover was enough to further entice me, but after realizing this was Kyoung Frazier’s debut novel I was even more curious to see what this new voice was going to share.
I finished this a week ago, and I’m still blown away by Kyoung Frazier’s bold coming to age story that hits on the ways we grieve, grow and try to understand ourselves in the world all through the perspective of a pizza delivery girl in suburban Los Angeles. There is so much intersectionality here from loss, motherhood, aging, to Korean and American culture vs. expectations.
My Thoughts: When getting ready to write my review of Pizza Girl, I saw someone describe the novel as “tender and messy.” And what a perfect way to encapsulate it.
This is Kyoung Frazier’s debut novel and she comes out blazing. Her voice is honest and you instantly fall into step with the main character “Pizza Girl” who is just out of high school, working at a local pizza spot, pregnant with a boy her Korean mother loves, and despite her ability to hide it from everyone — inside she is incredibly alone, feeling misunderstood, grieving the death of her father, her body, her life and trying to cope.
This all changes when she answers the phone and a woman asks her for a pickle pizza (but I won’t spoil it for you).
This novel is a lot of things — it’s coming to age, it’s the power of attraction, it’s unexpected, it’s that feeling that this one thing can make all the other hard things disappear.
Kyoung Frazier depicts female relationships so well and the expectations that come with being a woman/mother/daughter/etc and the sacrifices in particular we feel we have to make. Pizza Girl makes you feel a little less alone and that we really are all still trying to figure it out.
Spot on Shelf? Yes, not only were there so many passages I dog-eared throughout, I’m still so blown away by the writing and Kyoung Frazier’s mature voice that never seemed at odds with Pizza Girl’s adolescence. Right away I laughed, then I cried, then I gasped “Oh no.” I don't think it is one I would find myself re-reading, but I fully recommend if tender, messy, multicultural, relational books are your thing....more
How We Met: I had to pick up this book after falling in love with Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, which resonated with me personally Carry On — 3.5 ★
How We Met: I had to pick up this book after falling in love with Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, which resonated with me personally as a twin from the midwest (only 3 hours from the setting of the book) who also went to college with her twin, much like Cath and Wren in Fangirl.
In that book, Rowell images another popular book series much like Harry Potter, following a magical boy named Simon Snow whose greatest enemy is his posh-vampire roomate, Baz. But the premise in Fangirl is Cath's commitment to her fanficiton which re-imagines a different fate for Simon & Baz. Carry On is *that* story.
Carry On is a magical "Chosen One story," as Rowell puts it, and her attempt to give these characters that started as background characters their own story & journey.
My Thougths: It's important to know that when you jump into this book you're jumping into the characters' final/seventh year at a magical school, Watford. Rowell doesn't have the time (nor is it the purpose of this book) to world build perse, so in the first 50 somes pages you get a crash-course in how we've come to be in this moment.
Naturally this means some intentional overall with HP, but it also means the first 50 pages are a slow start. I know for myself I was so excited & impatient to move into the "now" aspect of the book, that I didn't feel truly invested until the story started to really move forward. From here, I was very happy with what emerged.
The main conflict in the book is between The Mage vs. the Old Magic Families (think Slytherins) and all the Magical People/Entities vs. "The Humdrum" some force that is sucking out magic like vacumm leaving holes in the atmosphere (think Global Warming, but for magic). Simon is an orphan, heir of the The Mage, and the "Chosen One," and Baz is the son of one of the oldest magical families. Need I say more? It's easy to see where the conflict comes in, so I'll leave it at that.
Like any Chosen One story, our ideas of good and bad are constantly changing, and perceptions are constantly being challenged to the point that hatred, infatuation eventually reveal something deeper, something stronger — love.
I didn’t love the “instalove” bht as a whole the characters were gold (even the evil ones I could empathize with).
Simon *is like* the quintessential all-American, thick-headed quarterback in your high school, but uncommonly kind and honest — he sees things for what there are, and says what he feels.
Baz is incredibly clever with a quick tongue, and always certain of himself unless he's needing to be vulnerable..
But in my opinion, Rowell's attention to badass female characters was the real highlight.
From Ebb, Fiona, Lucy, to most notably Simon's best friend Penny who is like Hermione Granger, but 70/40 the version of Hermione that slaps Draco in the face. In other words, she's absolutely brilliant! And her loyalty makes her afraid of nothing, not Baz, not Simon's uncontrollable power, not even the Humdrum. At one point she threaten's Baz and his entire family and I truly chuckeld and dogearred that page.
Spot on Shelf? Yes, maybe not forever, but yes for now. Fangirl holds a special spot for me, but this magical Queer Story definitely surprised me. Rowell tells a story we know in a new and engaging way. It's hard not to fall in love with the characters in it.
Aside:I didn't know where to put this in the review, but the way Rowell imagines casting spells is a very unique spin on the classic proverb "words have power." The attention she puts on linguistics and how we say things, the power of certain phrases over others, etc. was deeply clever and I loved it. My divinity-school self wants to take this notion and turn it into a badass sermon. Maybe in the next life....more
My Thoughts: This was one of those graphic novels that due to its sheer size has the opportunity to be more expansive in its world building and sto4 ★
My Thoughts: This was one of those graphic novels that due to its sheer size has the opportunity to be more expansive in its world building and storytelling as a whole (which often tend to be my favorite, like Blankets by Craig Thompson). Not to mention, the concept alone was enough to thoroughly draw me in:
Somewhere in space we accompany a crew that travels throughout space repairing beautiful and forgotten structures (truly a dream job in itself, imo). The main character Mia is the newest addition to this crew, a profession she's taken on right after finishing school, and while she is working with this team we get to see flashbacks to her time at a boarding school where she fell in love with a mysterious new student Gracie who is from The Staircase, a planet Mia previously believed was a make-believe world. This story covers relationships, friendships, the struggle of expectations, and how far a person will go to say goodbye to the one they love. Tillie Walden builds a world worth visiting over and over again. And there are no men.
Apart from the story, the artwork and monochromatic color choices are absolutely stunning and have a calming effect throughout the book. The characters are all portrayed similar but slightly different from one another by hairstyles and skin tones, which made them *mostly easy* to identify, although there were a few times I had to flip back and forth to be sure I knew who was doing what. The only issue I saw in terms of design was that all body types are the same, which feels a bit homogenous.
Aside from this, living in a world where being queer and non-biniary is normative/embedded into the very makeup of being human felt hopeful and progressive. In a perfect world there would be more installments of this series so we could take a deeper dive into the backstories of Mia's fellow crew members. We do learn more about some than others like Char & Alma. But there was so much more I wanted to know about Elliot and her full experience growing up in The Staircase.
Spot on Shelf: Absolutely. It's a beautiful and imaginative piece of work, and the world Tillie Walden builds is one I truly wouldn't mind spending more time in. Highly recommend this if you're wanting to expand your genre preferences into graphic novels or queer reads. ...more
My thoughts: This was a lovely read because the illustrations were so captivating and detailed especially during the tender moments between 3.5 Stars
My thoughts: This was a lovely read because the illustrations were so captivating and detailed especially during the tender moments between two non-heteronormative characters from different diverse upbringings— i.e. when two characters are so in sync and you lose track of time, or when two characters first touch. I loved that most scenes took place in Ari’s family bakery, as I love food, and the attention put into the method of creating certain items. I also enjoyed Ari’s storyline — misunderstood teen, just trying to figure out how to fit in without losing what makes him truly happy.
I found myself craving more detail, more entry into the characters inner thoughts. This is a graphic novel though, so I understand that perhaps the authors were less interested in using this form of storytelling. All in all, I liked the book. Would own for the illustrations, because we need more queer literature, as well as the sourdough recipe & mix tape list at the end *because I love that extra stuff.*
Spot on Shelf: I rented from the library, but the important concepts of family, heritage, sexuality and overall beauty would make it one I'd be happy to own. ...more
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