Everything else I read in June and July
More summer books, lost paintings and films, a 60s road trip, bears
I’ve already written about some of the books I’ve read in the past two months (see The conundrum of ‘summer reading’ and A mid-July miscellany) but I got through a lot of others… particularly in the second half of July because I had to have a week off work with Covid and was very bored.
Best use of cringe: Rejection: Fiction by Tony Tulathimutte. This is an absolutely brutal and brilliant collection of short stories that reminded me of Paul Dalla Rosa’s An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life and Kristen Roupenian’s You Know You Want This. Tulathimutte writes lacerating character studies that revolve around dating, the internet, the soul-crushing combination of the two, repression, and, obviously, rejection. These, though, are themes explored in a lot of contemporary fiction; what makes this book great is Tulathimutte’s ability to pare his narratives right back, leaving them raw, shorn of any restraint, horribly true. It’s so effective in such a squirm-inducing way that I hesitate to say I found anything relatable in these stories, even though I very much did. (Review copy; out 17 September.)
Book of the month: A Different Kind of Light by Simon Bestwick. Ashok and Danielle are old friends/lovers who discover an old film reel of the deadly 1955 crash at Le Mans (a real event) that shows the horrific aftermath – and may have captured something even more terrifying along with it. Then their plan to sell it to an unscrupulous collector goes horribly awry. This book scratched every itch for me: the cursed film trope, a creepy and original haunting, an investigation-based plot, strong characters and narrative voice (it’s a ghost story, but it’s just as much about Ashok’s pathetic infatuation with Danielle). The novella format is perfect for it – long enough to establish the characters properly and flesh out the world in which they exist, not so long that any particular aspect is overcomplicated. Doesn’t put a foot wrong. Loved it.
Hidden gem: Bear Season by Gemma Fairclough. Jade, a troubled PhD student, travels to Alaska for a conference, then disappears; though no body is found, a reclusive older woman is accused of murdering her. What really happened, and what do mythical stories about bears have to do with it all? Fairclough’s excellent debut – the first publication from indie Wild Hunt Books – frames the story as a factual investigation by a journalist, supplemented by Jade’s ‘doctoral thesis’ (actually a personal account of her life leading up to the Alaska trip) and a lengthy interview with the alleged murderer. I loved the storytelling here; I raced through it. Just wish it had been longer!
Best ‘summer book’: The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd. This is EXACTLY the sort of book I was thinking of when I wrote about summer reading. Following the loss and rediscovery of a valuable painting by a forgotten surrealist artist, it’s soapy, fun and easy to read, but also extremely well-written and expertly plotted. Ellery Lloyd is the name not of a person but of a writing team made up of husband and wife, and the strengths of that approach are very evident in the chemistry between Caroline and Patrick, our two leads. The downside is that Juliette (the artist) never really comes to life, despite being the title character. But it’s still a fantastically fun and absorbing book – Fake Like Me with a bigger historical angle (and some typically British class anxiety).
Second best ‘summer book’: Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman. This is an established formula: something bad happens to some friends when they’re carefree teenagers; years later, one of them comes back into contact with another and is forced to reflect on the events of That Fateful Summer. Before We Were Innocent doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and it’s too long, but the characterisation is solid and the details ring true. If you’re looking for a ‘read on a sunlounger’ type of book, this absolutely fits the bill.
Most difficult to categorise and/or figure out: Sanderson’s Isle by James Clarke. In 1960s London, an itinerant construction worker (Tom) becomes unlikely friends with a posh-yet-seedy TV presenter (Sanderson). They go on a road trip to the Lake District, where they end up in a cult-like commune. I struggled a lot with my dislike of the unpleasant Tom, who’s the sole narrator. Meanwhile, Sanderson (no more likeable but much more interesting) is a fascinating character who is frustratingly not the main focus of the story, despite what you’d expect from the title. It picks up in the second half – there’s more of a plot once everyone’s in the Lakes. Hasn’t left a big impression on me, though, to be honest.
I also read:
The Coin by Yasmin Zaher. Buzzy book of the summer about a rich, unstable Palestinian woman in NYC. Well-written, and I think comparisons to Ottessa Moshfegh are apt, but personally I’m sick of reading stories like this about extremely wealthy people.
Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia. Non-fiction book exploring the costs of AI through the stories of people affected by it. While this is undoubtedly important research, I found neither the approach nor the style particularly engaging – it all feels better suited to a series of articles and gets boring over the course of a whole book.
Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky. A trans woman is forced to participate in a blokey boys’ trip... on a manmade island where a tech-bro cult may be trying to sacrifice everyone to a sea monster. Enjoyable concept, sadly mediocre art.
Antichrista by Amélie Nothomb, translated by Shaun Whiteside. Very short novel about a teenage girl whose manipulative new friend worms her way into the family. The story doesn’t come to much and it’s all very YA.
Dead Letters: Episodes of Epistolary Horror by various, edited by Jacob Steven Mohr. A big (almost 500-page) anthology of horror stories written in various epistolary formats. A brilliant idea, but many were just not to my taste; this is a collection heavily weighted towards cosmic horror, dark fantasy and monster stories, none of which I especially enjoy.
Books I’m thinking about right now
Well, I suppose I should mention that the Booker Prize longlist has been announced? I haven’t been bothered about the prize for years now, and this list doesn’t do much to change that, although it’s given a tiny bump to the two I was already sort-of interested in (Stone Yard Devotional and Enlightenment).
I have no concrete reading plans for August. Head empty. Just going to go wherever the mood takes me.
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