"Hot weather opens the skull of a city, exposing its white brain, and its heart of nerves, which sizzle like the wires inside a lightbulb." — Summer Crossing, Truman Capote
reading corner
Jazz - Toni Morrison: The prose here is so exquisite. Attacking the corpse of your husband's lover whom he shot at her funeral is the type of story that only could've sprung from Morrison's mind. Because the chapters with Golden Gray seemed so out of place to me it's not quite the perfection I expected but it's still a terrific read from America's greatest novelist.
Yellowface - R.F. Kuang: I listened to the audiobook and was thoroughly invested. It's a sharp distillation of how white women victimize themselves, themes of ownership, who’s allowed to tell certain stories, and the fickleness of the publishing industry. June Hayward is an unlikable character but she's still a lot of fun to listen to. She isn’t sympathetic; no one who says queer Asian stories hit ‘diversity checkmarks’ can be. The book’s usage of an anonymous twitter account accusing an author of theft is similar to The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz, which I highly recommend.
"And no one cares about the inner musings of a plain, straight white girl from Philly." 😢 While I really enjoyed Yellowface, this even-handed critique provides a lot more context.
The Summer Book - Tove Jansson: The creator of Moomin wrote this treasure, a slice of life set on a Finnish island. File this under stories that should be made into Ghibli movies. The dynamic between six year old Sophia and her grandmother is irresistible. Both are feisty and headstrong, traits they share with other Ghibli girls and women. The two mirror each other; Grandmother was probably the same at Sophia's age, and Sophia seems like a cranky old lady despite her youth. I love this book but it's way too short. Quietly funny, contemplative, and with as much depth as the most respected novels.
Kathryn Davis writes in the introduction that like Sophia, Jansson’s mother had also died,
a condition mirrored in the book's unusual point of view, which hovers above and around the island and seems not so much to move from grandmother to granddaughter as to share them, inhabiting both sensibilities in the manner of weather. Like the weather, this world asks only to be acknowledged. There is nothing comforting about it, and yet if you are afraid to see it in its own terms and look to it for comfort, for solace, you will be left worse off than you were before.
This is not a beach read and it doesn't have the usual trappings of summer: white sandy beaches, ice cream, and lighthearted fun. It confronts real questions about death and love. I love how tough and simple it is.
Great essays:
music notes
Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain - Raveena: A silken album a mermaid would listen to in her grotto. Very lush and dreamy, perfect for languid summer days/evenings.
Big Ideas - Remi Wolf: This album is so much fun! Wolf's voice is distinct, husky and passionate. The songs here are a lot like being shaken awake, not aggressive at all though, just bold and spirited.
B5 debut album: The 4*TOWN of my youth! I didn't need any reminding of just how good this album was. I was humming one of the tracks which led me to listen to it for the first time in FOREVER. Teacher's Pet is the one misstep, very cringe, not cute at all. Even as a kid I didn't like it. My brother made fun of me for loving these boys, same as he did with my sister and The Backstreet Boys, but was surprised and impressed by the album. Even though they never quite reached the stardom they were destined for, only released one other album, there was so much potential and personality. The songs are catchy and well produced, sweet and only slightly cloying. They’re not at all generic even if some of the lyrics are. My cousin used to joke about "between your eyes and your smile / girl you're killing me" "So...her nose." None of the songs sound dated, either. It's perfect r&b tailored to a teen audience.
screening room
Godzilla (1954) dir. Ishiro Honda: If only our ecological destruction was merely symbolized by an angry creature rising from the sea, and not a dire reality afflicting the poor. I've seen the recent Godzilla reboots and the 1996 film, but those are tedious spectacles with none of this film's potent blend of action and emotion. Not only do the special effects hold up, the film just looks better than current blockbusters. And it has a soul!
The Magnificent Seven (1960) dir. John Sturges: I love when a film lives up to its vaunted reputation. Even better when it's my least favorite genre (western). For a film described as testosterone filled, its pathos and humanity are all the more impressive. I had no idea Yul Brynner sounded like that. The 2016 remake stars Denzel but there's nothing else very noteworthy about it. This is the second film I can picture with Lee Marvin in James Coburn’s role. (The first is Charade - Lee terrorizing Audrey is one of those scenarios I torture myself with). Coburn even resembles Lee, but with a sickening body and softer features. Also Charles Bronson!! An adventure crowded with virile, charismatic men who are very easy on the eyes.
Tampopo (1985) dir. Juzo Itami: Finally some good food! A quest for the perfect bowl of ramen, this is one of those films you shouldn't watch on an empty stomach. Dynamic, spontaneous, brimming with energy. A flavorful adventure, not only about the joys of preparing and eating a meal, but savoring life itself.
A Perfect Day (2015) dir. Fernando León de Aranoa: Aid workers in a remote Balkan village during war (or peace?) time keep bumping up against fraught challenges that range from mines underneath dead cows, unhelpful locals, and even more unhelpful bureaucratic red tape. This small team are working to remove a dead body from the town's well but what should be a simple job keeps getting delayed. I love the structure of this film, how contained it is. It's also darkly funny and so compelling, never glossing over the mundane realities of the job or making this ragtag bunch out to be heroes. Sophie is the sole idealist learning to be cynical.
Perfect Days (2023) dir. Wim Wenders: We all live like this. Maybe we don’t clean toilets, but we might still have boring jobs. Toilet cleaning however, is one of those unglamorous but necessary jobs that most people wouldn't depict in a movie. After all, a person who cleans toilets cannot be very interesting. Perfect Days doesn't have this view, but Hirayama is just an ordinary guy. We might not do the same job, but we spend our hidden lives like he does: listening to music, reading, and sitting underneath a large tree, smiling at shards of sunlight through the leaves. Perfect days, perfect film indeed.
Later days and hope you have a magnificent August! 🍜