So intrigued by Brandy Sour (great name). Relentlessly gut-wrenching is a good way to put it for Brotherless Night—but I also learned masses. And those jazzy little bullet points at the end are VERY clever
Brandy Sour is very fun & accessible in its uniqueness because of the length - I'd be really interested to hear what you'd think of it. I have 2 other books from Foundry Editions that I am going to get round to much quicker now because I am that impressed with Brandy Sour (agreed - great name). I also learnt so much from BN! Hahaha the jazzy bullet points are very joyful!!
Fantastic average this month! Heavy on the ‘buy’s—we love to see it.
I’ve read all of Brandon Taylor’s books, so I can confirm they all have that je ne sais quoi we discussed. Although, both The Late Americans and Filthy Animals are interconnected short stories, so the execution is a bit different!
Very interested in Brandy Sour, The National Telepathy and Brotherless Night!
Such a buy heavy month!!! we love to see it!! I think I now understand that Taylor's je ne sais quoi just might not be for me - BUT I did enjoy Real Life even for all the shortcomings I was determined to mention in this review, he's just not an author I think I would revisit.
I would be so interested to hear your thoughts on any of those! Especially The National Telepathy because it is so kooky.
“Silly but serious” I’m sold!! Can’t wait to buddy read Solenoid and I agree you have better taste in translated lit than anybody really. I am simultaneously excited and maybe avoidant of reading your take on bolano because I still need to read him and if you dislike it I might not be able to go through with it.
Haha silly but serious is MY religion - I'd be so interested to hear what you'd have to say about The National Telepathy. It was so much fun to read and so hard to review because of said silliness. I can't wait to read Solenoid with you either!! And thanks for the vote of confidence in my taste xox
The Bolaño comment made me laugh - I understand the desire for avoidance if it comes to it. I do it sometimes when someone whose taste I admire comments on a book I know I want to read/have on my shelf. Imo, the blurb does not make any attempt at accurately describing the book because 100 pages in it is so not what I expected, and I don't mean that in a bad way!!! It just isn't what I thought it would be? I am unsure how to phrase it rn - more casual in many ways, more silly and strange than I thought? But the rest of the book might change in tone so we shall see. So hopefully I can prepare your expectation of it more accurately.
queen of the weird and obscure! I'm ordering brotherliness night asap. a part of history I know almost nothing about, and you make it sound so compelling!
a part of history I didn't know much about either! I have read books that discuss Sri Lanka before and its history, but never in the way Brotherless Night does! It is so compelling
Re: Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans is more fluid, a smoother reading experience for me but... it definitely reads like a Brandon Taylor novel. It's a little abrasive at times which I personally like a lot but if you thought it was off-putting in Real Life, I think you would find it off-putting in The Late Americans too.
I am definitely going to check out Sons, Daughters - it is so rare to find LGBTQIA+ books from our part of the world.
I am currently reading On The Calculation of Volume v.1 - it's been hard to get into because I had a frazzled week and I think this particular story requires a quiet mind, but I am super committed to it. Can't wait to hear where we all land on it.
Thank you so much for your Taylor thoughts Petya! I am intrigued that you say The Late Americans is more fluid, but again do think his writing style might not be my fav! I did enjoy the story of Real Life a lot, but just couldn't shake that feeling that the prose was trying a bit too hard for my liking!
Would love to hear your thoughts on Sons, Daughters - it's a grower. Agree, its the first EE book I have come across that explores the lives of queer individuals! I read a few critical reviews of it that it flattened them, which I didn't agree with (or perhaps I should say isn't how I read it), so I'd love to hear your take! I thought it to be very earnest in all it attempted to discuss about the changing of culture in Croatia and by extension that part of the world.
Ooo quiet mind ok noted for when I pick up On The Calculation of Vol - I can't wait to hear where we all land on it too. I might read it this month so we can coincide and chat about our thoughts!
The National Telepathy seems like my kind of book too. I will keep an eye on it. Tbh, of the International Booker Prize longlist the one that I really intrigued about is Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico. It seems like a modern problem that I'm really curios how the author will tackle it.
I think you'd like The National Telepathy too! I'll keep my fingers crossed that copies surface in the Philippines soon! I would agree re Perfection - I asked for an advanced copy from the publisher in January but they had run out of copies, so I guess that shows perhaps how much people enjoyed it! I haven't got round to getting my hands on one, but I do think I'd like too. It sounds like it could be very on the nose for our generation, and I would quite like to see how he tackles that too!
Thanks Matt! I have heard lots of positive comments about Tin Man, I might have to pick it up! I have also been meaning to read Blackout by Torres for forever - maybe this is the reminder I needed to get round to it. How does it compare to We The Animals?
Amazing list! I placed an hold on The details at my library.
In February, I finished 3 books (Good Girl, Kim Ji-young born 1982 and Prophet Song), one non-fiction audiobook (how to read like a writer), a short story (The marquise of O) and I'm still reading Anna Karenina (1/3). The best one? Prophet Song, though very disturbing in the current political panorama.
"I don’t enjoy stories where everything falls into place in the end, because that is not indicative of real life." I felt I was the only one to think that way and my friend often make fun of me because of this but I'm glad to read that we share this pov! Thanks again for sharing with us your diverse reading. I have already shelves "Brotherless Night" and "Brandy Sour" thanks to you!
Another excellent reading month! I also felt mid about Real Life and haven't tried his others. I honestly prefer his essays in his newsletters. I'm so glad you loved Brotherless Night!
Hi Martha! so happy to have found Brandy Sour through your post <3
Since you loved it and it’s anthropomorphic approach I would highly recommend checking out The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak based on Nicosia and spoke through pov of a fig tree . It is one of my most favourite book of all times !
I became a dedicated fan of Brandon Taylor’s Sweater Weather Substack so I started Late Americans, didn’t get pulled in and stopped reading. I find him so brilliant as a teacher/explainer of craft and as a critic that. I had perhaps unrealistic expectations of his novel. I jumped back in here to comment because I am in the middle of another brilliant and fascinating post by him about his experience teaching creative writing and what he is resorting to in our new era of what he calls “post-literate” writers in which many of his students are not widely read and don’t know the basics of storytelling. He’s not complaining and he’s not basing them. He’s sharing what he is teaching them—wonderful stuff for anyone who strives to write fiction.
Wildly enough I have not read any of Taylor’s fiction yet, i gotta fix that. Brandy Sour sounds so intriguing, i got at least three books from this letter to add to my TBR. Folks, Martha’s Monthly does not disappoint!!
So intrigued by Brandy Sour (great name). Relentlessly gut-wrenching is a good way to put it for Brotherless Night—but I also learned masses. And those jazzy little bullet points at the end are VERY clever
Brandy Sour is very fun & accessible in its uniqueness because of the length - I'd be really interested to hear what you'd think of it. I have 2 other books from Foundry Editions that I am going to get round to much quicker now because I am that impressed with Brandy Sour (agreed - great name). I also learnt so much from BN! Hahaha the jazzy bullet points are very joyful!!
Fantastic average this month! Heavy on the ‘buy’s—we love to see it.
I’ve read all of Brandon Taylor’s books, so I can confirm they all have that je ne sais quoi we discussed. Although, both The Late Americans and Filthy Animals are interconnected short stories, so the execution is a bit different!
Very interested in Brandy Sour, The National Telepathy and Brotherless Night!
Such a buy heavy month!!! we love to see it!! I think I now understand that Taylor's je ne sais quoi just might not be for me - BUT I did enjoy Real Life even for all the shortcomings I was determined to mention in this review, he's just not an author I think I would revisit.
I would be so interested to hear your thoughts on any of those! Especially The National Telepathy because it is so kooky.
and the ‘Brotherless Night’ hive keeps getting stronger. i love it! ❤️🔥
It is a hive I am happy to be a part of!! Such a brilliant book 🩷
“Silly but serious” I’m sold!! Can’t wait to buddy read Solenoid and I agree you have better taste in translated lit than anybody really. I am simultaneously excited and maybe avoidant of reading your take on bolano because I still need to read him and if you dislike it I might not be able to go through with it.
Haha silly but serious is MY religion - I'd be so interested to hear what you'd have to say about The National Telepathy. It was so much fun to read and so hard to review because of said silliness. I can't wait to read Solenoid with you either!! And thanks for the vote of confidence in my taste xox
The Bolaño comment made me laugh - I understand the desire for avoidance if it comes to it. I do it sometimes when someone whose taste I admire comments on a book I know I want to read/have on my shelf. Imo, the blurb does not make any attempt at accurately describing the book because 100 pages in it is so not what I expected, and I don't mean that in a bad way!!! It just isn't what I thought it would be? I am unsure how to phrase it rn - more casual in many ways, more silly and strange than I thought? But the rest of the book might change in tone so we shall see. So hopefully I can prepare your expectation of it more accurately.
queen of the weird and obscure! I'm ordering brotherliness night asap. a part of history I know almost nothing about, and you make it sound so compelling!
a part of history I didn't know much about either! I have read books that discuss Sri Lanka before and its history, but never in the way Brotherless Night does! It is so compelling
Adding to my tbr list! My goal for march is to read more books in translation.
I read 'The Other Profile' in feb and highly recommend!!
I've not come across 'The Other Profile' before - thank you for the rec! I look forward to hearing what books in translation you read in March <3
Re: Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans is more fluid, a smoother reading experience for me but... it definitely reads like a Brandon Taylor novel. It's a little abrasive at times which I personally like a lot but if you thought it was off-putting in Real Life, I think you would find it off-putting in The Late Americans too.
I am definitely going to check out Sons, Daughters - it is so rare to find LGBTQIA+ books from our part of the world.
I am currently reading On The Calculation of Volume v.1 - it's been hard to get into because I had a frazzled week and I think this particular story requires a quiet mind, but I am super committed to it. Can't wait to hear where we all land on it.
Thank you so much for your Taylor thoughts Petya! I am intrigued that you say The Late Americans is more fluid, but again do think his writing style might not be my fav! I did enjoy the story of Real Life a lot, but just couldn't shake that feeling that the prose was trying a bit too hard for my liking!
Would love to hear your thoughts on Sons, Daughters - it's a grower. Agree, its the first EE book I have come across that explores the lives of queer individuals! I read a few critical reviews of it that it flattened them, which I didn't agree with (or perhaps I should say isn't how I read it), so I'd love to hear your take! I thought it to be very earnest in all it attempted to discuss about the changing of culture in Croatia and by extension that part of the world.
Ooo quiet mind ok noted for when I pick up On The Calculation of Vol - I can't wait to hear where we all land on it too. I might read it this month so we can coincide and chat about our thoughts!
The National Telepathy seems like my kind of book too. I will keep an eye on it. Tbh, of the International Booker Prize longlist the one that I really intrigued about is Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico. It seems like a modern problem that I'm really curios how the author will tackle it.
I think you'd like The National Telepathy too! I'll keep my fingers crossed that copies surface in the Philippines soon! I would agree re Perfection - I asked for an advanced copy from the publisher in January but they had run out of copies, so I guess that shows perhaps how much people enjoyed it! I haven't got round to getting my hands on one, but I do think I'd like too. It sounds like it could be very on the nose for our generation, and I would quite like to see how he tackles that too!
Nice summary! Added a few to my TBR!
My favorites in February were We The Animals by Justin Torres and Tin Man from Sarah Winman.
Thanks Matt! I have heard lots of positive comments about Tin Man, I might have to pick it up! I have also been meaning to read Blackout by Torres for forever - maybe this is the reminder I needed to get round to it. How does it compare to We The Animals?
Amazing list! I placed an hold on The details at my library.
In February, I finished 3 books (Good Girl, Kim Ji-young born 1982 and Prophet Song), one non-fiction audiobook (how to read like a writer), a short story (The marquise of O) and I'm still reading Anna Karenina (1/3). The best one? Prophet Song, though very disturbing in the current political panorama.
"I don’t enjoy stories where everything falls into place in the end, because that is not indicative of real life." I felt I was the only one to think that way and my friend often make fun of me because of this but I'm glad to read that we share this pov! Thanks again for sharing with us your diverse reading. I have already shelves "Brotherless Night" and "Brandy Sour" thanks to you!
So many great books this month! Very intrigued by the structure of Brandy Sour.
Also can't wait to hear what you think of Savage Detectives next time! It's on my list for this year.
Another excellent reading month! I also felt mid about Real Life and haven't tried his others. I honestly prefer his essays in his newsletters. I'm so glad you loved Brotherless Night!
Hi Martha! so happy to have found Brandy Sour through your post <3
Since you loved it and it’s anthropomorphic approach I would highly recommend checking out The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak based on Nicosia and spoke through pov of a fig tree . It is one of my most favourite book of all times !
I became a dedicated fan of Brandon Taylor’s Sweater Weather Substack so I started Late Americans, didn’t get pulled in and stopped reading. I find him so brilliant as a teacher/explainer of craft and as a critic that. I had perhaps unrealistic expectations of his novel. I jumped back in here to comment because I am in the middle of another brilliant and fascinating post by him about his experience teaching creative writing and what he is resorting to in our new era of what he calls “post-literate” writers in which many of his students are not widely read and don’t know the basics of storytelling. He’s not complaining and he’s not basing them. He’s sharing what he is teaching them—wonderful stuff for anyone who strives to write fiction.
Wildly enough I have not read any of Taylor’s fiction yet, i gotta fix that. Brandy Sour sounds so intriguing, i got at least three books from this letter to add to my TBR. Folks, Martha’s Monthly does not disappoint!!