Books I Read September 12th, 2023

Autumn in LA, which is a real thing, is peeking its head through the endless sun. Cross your fingers for me, I got stuff going.

Fair Play by Tove Jansson –Continuing with my summer of re-reads, I picked up Jansson's brief, luminous meditation on art, nature, and the quiet joys of a long term love affair. I always enjoy spending time in Tove Jansson's brain.

Confidentially Yours by Charles Williams – A small town real-estate agent is framed for the murder of his new wife.

The Missionaries by Phil Klay – The effects of the US's decades-long policy of permanent warfare as explored through the lives of combat journalists, child soldiers, drug kingpins and military attaches. It's a diverse but well-realized cast, sympathetic and complex portrayals matched by a thoughtful dissection of the broader political situation. Klay does a masterful job of exploring how good intentions on the part of imperial powers invariably leads to horrifying results, never resorting to straw men or easy answers. Shades of Graham Greene, great stuff.

The Bus Driver Who Wanted to Be a God And Other Stories by Etgar Keret – Brief accounts of surrealist-stricken Israeli man-children. Re-reading Keret for the first time in a long while he reminded me of Nick Hornby, with his not-completely-unsympathetic focus on the relationships and rituals which define modern masculinity. I really liked the one about the guardian angel who is a shitty friend.

Professor Bernhardi by Albert Schnitzler – Antisemitism, faith, the disputable merits of an uncompromising moral code are the topics of what turned out to be a play and not a novel by the writer of the recently re-discovered Late Fame, a favorite of mine. I don't read a shit ton of these but for what it's worth I thought it was on the nose.

The Fierce and Beautiful World by Andrei Platonov – In the harsh light of later history it's difficult to imagine the enormous burst of optimism which the establishment of communism in Russia must have been met by many. The hope that a rationalist technocracy would not only improve the economic circumstances of the average citizen but catalyze a cultural and even spiritual evolution, and the realization of how false that hope would prove to be, are the themes of these suite of stories. I confess my feelings are mixed. It's slow going. Platonov's plots are deliberately bare, and his language reputedly impossible to effectively translate. But there is a tenderness and beauty to them which crosses language barriers, and by the end of these eight stories I found myself touches and wanting to continue.

Hatful of Tigers: Reflections on Art, Culture and Politics by Sergio Ramirez – A paean to the early days of the Nicaraguan revolution and the stalwart support of Julio Cortazar. I really like Ramirez, he's a fascinating and laudable political figure and an interesting writer.

The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone – Ruminations on a childhood dominated by a talented, mercurial, narcissistic father and the bitterness it engendered in the author. Touching and well-realized and a little long.

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