friday newsletter
discussing more books than reality tv today ... a milestone for a newsletter about reading ...
reads
I finally finished Either/Or. I don’t totally know why it took me so long!!! I loved the writing just as much as I did in The Idiot. I think my assessment of it last week was correct — it ended up being just a touch too analytical without enough of a really driven plot, and I think that’s why I didn’t feel much of an urgency to finish it. The whole thing basically consists of main character Selin referencing different classic works of literature and using them as analogies to her own life and also mulling over different theories about human interaction and romance and how they apply to her, all of which is interesting, but didn’t always work for me as the meat of the book. The Idiot just balanced those two aspects a bit better.
Of course, this is still a fantastic read. As mentioned a few sentences ago, I was incredibly impressed Batuman’s stellar writing. Selin is as hilarious and vulnerable and foolish and relatable as ever. I saw an article referring to it as a Portrait of the Artist-type journey, and that stressed me out because I forgot I was supposed to start reading Ulysses again, so I didn’t read the article and have no idea what the author thinks about the book itself. But the title did help me contextualize the book’s conceit a little better and appreciate it more — I like thinking of it as a humorous and sort of ridiculously real modeling of the Bildungsroman (apparently Portrait is a “Künstlerroman,” which refers to the evolution of an artist specifically, something I’m sure I learned in Ireland when I definitely went to class every day).
I would still certainly recommend Either/Or, because I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. In fact, this is a rare moment in my recent reading history where I’m glad there’s a sequel to a book that didn’t necessarily need one, because Batuman has so much more eloquence and hilarity in her writing for me to greedily consume. If you do read it post The Idiot, however, go in with different expectations. Not lower expectations — just different ones. It’s still great in so many ways, but never hit me the way its predecessor did. Probably looking at aaaaaaaaa 4.3.
I also read Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things, loaned to me by Deirdre, who is a self-professed reader of everything trauma related. This one is about a lifelong best friendship between two adult women in which one is taking care of the other one as she’s dying of cancer in hospice. I love lit fic (SAD lit fic) as much as the next gal, but Deirdre, I implore you to read Fourth Wing or something because we all need a break to be a little dumb sometimes.
Anyways, this novel has a lovely conceit and certainly will evoke many a feeling and perhaps even a tear in you. Friendship is so powerful and the links that tie us together can be heart-wrenchingly strong and I could deeply appreciate the sadness and the beauty that the author reflects so well here. But I wasn’t really into the writing style, nor did I think the relationships, or, quite frankly, the individual characters, were delved into enough to make me feel particularly invested in anyone in particular. Side relationships and personality traits feel a bit jammed in and never prioritized over just general descriptions of memories and the events at hand. Obviously, the general story and framing at hand is engaging and tragic in itself, but I think it could have hit much more powerfully if we just delved deeper into everyone involved and their histories and interpersonal relationships. You might be like, how on earth would a book of this topic not be automatically deep? It does in a lot of ways when we think about these concepts generally, but not with its characters, which was a shame to me.
Of course, I appreciated reading this, if only to reflect — a really incredible friend of mine passed away from cancer while we were in college. I thought about him a lot while reading, and when I found out he was dying, and I think it’ll speak even more meaningfully to you if you’ve experienced a form of loss. I’ll say 3.6/5 for now, though this could go a tenth of a point up or down depending on how I feel if I get around to a full instagram review before the end of the year. Also, great cover.
a book i read within the time frame of starting this newsletter and totally forgot to mention
I realized just now that I never talked about Hiromi Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo, a novel I read last month. This is shocking because I really enjoyed it! It’s a delightful read about a sort of romantic relationship but also sort of platonic deep friendship between a young woman and an older man. It sounds a little creepy on the surface, but we actually see a lovely relationship unfold between two confidently solitary but also sort of (unbeknownst to themselves) lonely people. The writing style is sparse, sometimes to a deficit in terms of character development, but it’s also quite cheeky and heartwarming and just sweet. Definitely my favorite women in translation book this I’ve read this year. 4.2/5.
ulysses corner
I can’t believe I have to lug this stupidly large book I haven’t opened since July to my next apartment.
reviews
A few of my loyal readers have told me that they miss the consistency of my Instagram posts (their exact words were “why is readwithmith a newsletter now? bring back the instagram. I miss when it was posts. They were so easy to like”), so I put up some more words on Romantic Comedy, though real fans know the online newsletter is the future of media. I initially intended this to be a joint review with another read, but it turns out I had more to say than anticipated. Many readers seemed to agree with me that the first third of the novel was the strongest and so intriguing, and then they were sorely disappointed by the rest of it. If you’ve given this a go, let me know, comment below, poet and I don’t even know it, etc.
other media
reality tv corner / whole section section
I’m taking a bit of a break from Vanderpump Rules after a deeply entertaining second season because watching the Tom-Ariana-Kristen-DJ James Kennedy situation unfold in season three has been incredibly stressful for me with the power of foresight. This means, however, that I can put my undivided attention towards the show that initiated me into the Bravo Universe: The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. Mary Cosby is back. Heather’s on an apology tour. Meredith and Lisa are trying to make amends. Angie is just painful to watch. After a sort of unbearable third season, Salt Lake is so fucking back. I can’t stop changing alliances every minute. We’re only on the fourth episode and all I know is Monica is a STAR. Honestly? I don’t miss Jen.
I’d like to report to all those gravely concerned that my real estate hunt has ended in success. Well, as much success as you could ask for in New York. Seriously, people keep saying rents are going to go down and the bubble will pop (I don’t know what the bubble is but I hear it referenced often), but I think landlord greed is just going to drive everyone out of this city. And although I work for a nonprofit and make peanuts I have significant privilege and friends I could stay with and parents I could live with if everything goes to shit and it was fucking impossible to find something affordable!
Did you know that there are now about 100,000 people in the shelter system in New York City, and the size of the unhoused population has reached Great Depression levels? And there are tens of thousands of empty units (and, quite frankly, fucking office buildings that I know aren’t supposed to be used for housing but who cares) littering the streets that could be housing people because of fucking corporate landlord greed? I am not, as always, saying anything new, but this city has the highest income disparity in the country. It feels unconscionable. No one should be under the poverty line in this country.
Okay, that’s all to say that things are grim and we should all remember that capitalism is a farce and we must RELISH our ultimate feast on the rich. Stay tuned for my experiences cramming all of my furniture into a fourth floor walk up miniature studio that I’m pretty sure doesn’t have a fire escape but is still legally fit for residency.