Books I Read February 23rd, 2023

Went to the New Year Parade in Chinatown yesterday, watched a band of mostly Latin bagpipers play the Caledonian March in front of distant mountains left snow-capped by the week's rain. I would also like to add that there is a very big difference between a short list and a long list.

This Other Eden by Paul Harding –The inbred descendants of a freed slave and his Irish wife live out their final days on a tiny island off the coast of Maine. A genuinely odd, interesting setting, along with a story full of rich detail and vibrant characterization. There's something maybe a little...over-clever about it? Stylistically and philosophically, it seems very in sync with the literary trends of the moment. But you can't deny the artistry or skill.

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by R.H. Tawney – Modern capitalism and the notion that economic activity should be unencumbered by conventional ethics was the unintended offspring of the Reformation. I picked this up completely arbitrarily because it was mentioned in a Walter Tevis book—I have a thing about following authors I like into author's I don't know, it helps me read things I wouldn't have otherwise. This was dense but brilliant, and it left me with two thoughts, one regarding the content of the essays, the other their quality; the first is that it's always kind of staggering to think that there was a long period of human history where people actually cared about God, and the second is how much smarter everyone used to be. There isn't a public intellectual alive who writes with this much clarity and vigor, and if there is you can sure as shit believe no one is reading him.

The Road Does Not End by Olubunmi Familoni – A street child finds fame.

The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Argualusa – A soul reincarnated into a gecko and his master, a forger of identities, navigate the tragic and turbulent history of modern Angola. If asked, I would say that I'm pretty much over magical realism, but every so often you do read something which works and this is one of them. The writing is lyrical and evocative and it doesn't overstay its welcome. I like Argulausa and am looking forward to the next thing I've got by him on the shelf.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden – A repressed young woman in post-war Holland finds her life shaken by the arrival of her cad brother's girlfriend. An enchanting and well-realized queer romance, if extremely predictable. That I knew what was going to happen basically from page 2 didn't stop me from enjoying it.

By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah – Two Zanzibari exiles whose pasts are miraculously intertwined recount existences marred by misunderstanding, bitterness, anger, and a corrupt and totalitarian government. Sympathetic, well-executed, Gurnah has an earthy humanity to him which makes for a morally satisfying read.