ben lerner Archives - robotnic.co

It’s been awhile.

In my mind, I know that I haven’t really written anything longer than a caption, in my own voice, for public consumption, in quite some time. But I still get a shock when I look at my wee blog and realise it’s been well over a year since I wrote on this corner of the internet that I pay, and occasionally log in, to maintain.

The internet has become a fraught place, particularly since I moved to California in mid-2016. I kept up my YouTube/BookTube channel until the end of 2017 but it took it out of me. I rekindled my newsletter in 2018, which I did enjoy but for that whole period I always felt like I had been running a weekly 10k and was suddenly tasked with a monthly marathon instead.

Meantime, I’ve maintained a series of gigs and jobs which have involved writing and, as Austin Kleon says, “typing into boxes,” to earn my keep. Lately I’ve been trying to write again, mostly for myself, but I miss the chat. I miss reflecting on the books I’ve been reading and receiving recommendations in return. So here’s another punt at it.

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

Here’s what’s up with me: I’m still in central California; I recently became a US citizen; I am, like many millions of Americans (yep, still sounds weird) currently furloughed from my job; and I still read quite a lot of books.

Does that about cover it?

It has become abundantly clear that We’re Living In A Failed State.

Fortunately there are some ways to Stay Sane.

Anyway, shall we move on to some other topics?

TOTALLY NORMAL PEOPLE

I’m keeping this subheading as I write over my last blog post to keep the format. Last time I wrote, I’d just read Normal People by Sally Rooney. Last week I watched the TV show. Sorry, I know folk have been boring on about it for an entire fortnight now – decades in internet years – but I really enjoyed it.

I had my reservations about the novel and I think the show was more successful in presenting the characters sympathetically and making sense of their annoying behaviour. Last time I wrote that I wished Marianne and Connell could fix each other. This version still made me want to bang their heads together but it was artfully done. Plus there’s a pandemic and we’re all very emotionally fragile and any portrayal of a “should we long distance or should we break up” conversation is absolutely going to wreck me.

If you haven’t read the novel, you can get a sense of its characters through this short story called At The Clinic.

On an unrelated note, but from the same journal, here’s an exceptional piece from Alice Hattrick: Ill Feelings. I’m looking forward to reading her book when it’s published.

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

Here’s the thing: I’ve read like a hundred and ten books since I last wrote. Now there’s a more effective measure than time! If you’re still hanging off that cliff from my last missive, The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt ended up being one of my favourite books of 2018.

Right now I have an author who I’m cultivating a little literary affection for: Alejandro Zambra.

I should have listened to my colleague and former editor Jane Graham who has sung his praises consistently since about 2015. But I didn’t. But then Fitzcarraldo had an ebook sale and I finally stumped up a few quid for Zambra’s short story collection, My Documents, and a selection of his criticism, Not To Read. My Documents is easily one of the best short story collections I’ve read –– his observations and casual details really sing. He’ll make you forgive some really shit men for doing awful things by sneaking all their baggage in the back door. I also really enjoy the ways he plays with form. There’s a quiet confidence and a real charisma in his writing.

I usually wait a while between books by the same author but it was only a few days before I began Not To Read. The first three articles are available to read online. The next morning, I woke up and ordered all four of his other books in English (from my fav Chaucer’s Bookshop in Santa Barbara). I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.

I’m also currently reading The Topeka School by Ben Lerner, which was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It’s dense at the start as it lays its foundations of Topeka in mid-1990, following Adam (a stand-in for Lerner and the main character of his first book, Leaving the Atocha Station) and his parents. Jeff from Book Riot described Lerner’s approach as, “centring his own experience without centring his worldview,” which I find to be true and refreshing. I’ve read a lot about auto-fiction and quite a few books described as auto-fiction and it still sounds like a designation that’s intended to minimise the author’s invention. But I do think that might be the element that separates what Lerner is doing from some other authors’ work, especially those who are lumped into the same category.

TIL NEXT TIME..?

Your turn! What are you reading? Are you reading? Leave a reply or go ahead and tweet me.

Have a lovely weekend,
Nicola x

I am very late to getting around to posting these. I do apologise.

So – here are my thoughts on the nine books I read in October.

64. Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
★★★★★ – Literary agent Bill Clegg’s debut novel was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and found its way onto my review pile. This is beautifully and subtly drawn. I’m usually a sucker for multiple character perspectives, but these were overly detailed in ways that left me a little cold.

Read my full review in the Big Issue.

65. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
★★★★★ – The more you put into this book, the more you get out of it. It’s a fairly standard story of a marriage, followed by a complete deconstruction of its set-up. Groff’s insights are on point and it’s the characters rather than the plot that spark surprises and turns throughout. One of my favourite books of the year.

Read my full review in the Big Issue.

66. Grandmother Divided by Monkey Equals Outer Space by Nora Chassler
★★★★★ – I read this in one sitting on a train and although a few scenes and general impressions stick in my mind, I can barely tell you what this book is about. It’s a family drama set in NYC, there’s a lot of drugs and alcohol involved, and its most interesting character – a psychic – is incidental to the plot. Give this one a miss.

67. 10:04 by Ben Lerner
★★★★★ – Ben Lerner’s a very decorated author. New Yorky, intelligent, nuanced and insightful characters… yet somehow underwhelming.

68. In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park
★★★★★ – Yeonmi Park’s autobiography tells of her experiences living in then defecting from North Korea. It’s tightly written and, though harrowing at points, never verges into misery or melodrama. I read this in two sittings. A remarkable woman and a remarkable story.

69. Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
★★★★★ – Alasdair Gray is very darkly comic and very on the nose. Here he borrows heavily from Frankenstein and related stories, adding a layer of comedy and politics that’s laid on so thick you can barely read the characters beneath. I was never able to forget that I was reading a story by Alasdair Gray that outlines Alasdair Gray’s cleverness and Alasdair Gray’s ability to put Alasdair Gray in Alistair Gray’s novel. I see what you did there, Ally, but I’d had enough after 100 pages.

70. Barrel Fever by David Sedaris (audiobook)
★★★★★ – My final Sedaris book! I’ve been reading his books for years now, always whenever one happened to cross my path – so reading his first published book last didn’t give it the best chance to stand out. I listened to this as an audiobook with the author’s signature wry vocal performances, some featuring his sister Amy. As ever with his works, I preferred the personal essays to the stories here. Not his best work, but still Sedaris.

71. On Cats by Charles Bukowski
★★★★★ – I couldn’t help but request this title when I spotted it on a website for advanced readers copies. Bukowski’s poetry is gruff and gentle as he expresses love for his pet cats so profound it’s near tangible. Some poems and short passages are a bit repetitive, playing on the same ideas and interactions, but overall this was a great wee collection to read before bed, and would make a lovely gift for any literary cat lover.

72. Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli
★★★★★ – I bought this debut after purchasing the author’s latest book, The Story of My Teeth, but vowed to read it first so as to follow Luiselli’s growth as an author. I loved her essay collection, Sidewalks, and here I found many of her best quirks. The story is fragmented and divided by stars, popping up in different times, places, and character perspectives and relying on you as a reader to keep up – or to break it down farther on your own terms. I’d need a lot more words to do it justice, but I was not disappointed.

Your turn! Read anything good this month?

Reading Week? – Once In A Blue Moon Edition

WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

TOTALLY NORMAL PEOPLE

ON MY NIGHTSTAND

TIL NEXT TIME..?

October Reads | 52 Books 2015