The most arresting book I have read in recent months is Lara Pawson’s unclassifiable non-fiction, Spent Light. I’m not sure I could explain what it’s about and it’s better to arrive without preconceptions, anyway. But among its themes are the coexistence in our world of domesticity, sex, and unendurable violence.
No thanks, Kieran. Sounds artful but too close to horror, a genre I gave up in adolescence. There’s so much real horror in the world today, I’m looking for reading that doesn’t amplify it. I don’t need to wonder if I’m already dead. But maybe a longer review would change my mind.
"Gilead," for sure. Richard Powers' "Bewilderment" more recently. And his earlier "Generosity"... and I'll bet we could come up with a good long list if we tried.
No thanks, Kieran. Sounds artful but too close to horror, a genre I gave up in adolescence. There’s so much real horror in the world today, I’m looking for reading that doesn’t amplify it. I don’t need to wonder if I’m already dead. But maybe a longer review would change my mind.
I liked the book but my reading was influenced by reading her previous book
www.discontinuednotes.com/2024/01/24/shudder-to-think/
"Gilead," for sure. Richard Powers' "Bewilderment" more recently. And his earlier "Generosity"... and I'll bet we could come up with a good long list if we tried.