Reading Wednesday

[sabotabby]

 Just finished: Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay. What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? It's brutal, it's incendiary, it comes with all of the trigger warnings. It's Gay's story of trauma and moving through the world as a fat person, specifically a fat, queer, Black woman. It felt so vulnerable and personal that it's hard to imagine these words even being published. It's not uplifting, apologetic, or inspirational. There's no neat resolution. I don't recommend reading it if you're not in the greatest mental state.

Currently reading: Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson. This is a follow-up to Son of a Trickster, which I really enjoyed, and so far the sequel is also shaping up to be quite excellent. Her protagonist, Jared, now 17, is a year sober and headed to Vancouver for school, and is trying to avoid all things magic, despite being the aforementioned son of a trickster. His housing situation doesn't work out and he's being stalked by his mother's asshole ex. It's the kind of grounded urban fantasy that I love, with flawed, compelling characters and genuine grittiness.

Comments

[dagibbs]

Hm... I think I'll add Son of a Trickster to my "to-buy" list, then.

[sabotabby]

Oh yeah, you would love it and then you will want the sequel.

[dagibbs]

I hope so!

[kore]

I LOVED those Tricksters books (on a rec from Mucca I think) and really really want the next one.

Hunger was so well-written, but one of those books I read only once. So painful.

[sabotabby]

I usually don't re-read books anyway, but yeah. That one definitely not. I feel honoured to have witnessed such an intimate part of a stranger's life, but once is enough.

*

[minoanmiss]

*adds to my pile, as I have been thinking of getting back into urban fantasy*

Re: *

[sabotabby]

I felt kind of burned out on urban fantasy despite the fact that I'm technically writing one, but between Eden Robison, Rebecca Roanhorse, and Seanan McGuire, I'm feeling it again.

[notasupervillain]

I feel like "being the protag in a novel" and "avoiding magic" have never worked out for anyone.

[sabotabby]

Yeeep.

Which is why all my characters are genre-aware and are like, okay, I have magic, let's magic the shit out of this. Which leads to all kinds of other problems but at least they know what they signed on for.

[notasupervillain]

Eliza is genre aware. Just, wrong genre.

[notasupervillain]

Now I'm imagining a bunch of kids frantically testing different things to find out what genre they're in. "Okay we told Sally and Jerry to make out and no one's parents turned up so downside this isn't a teen comedy, but also neither of them are dead so upside not a horror."

"Can we be sure until we split up?"

"Honey we are not splitting up unless this is a fucking musical on ice."

"Ooooo say fuck four more times, let's find out our rating!"

[sabotabby]

This needs to exist. I feel like Cabin In the Woods almost got there.

[notasupervillain]

It would make a decent short story but I'm not sure it would be interesting any longer than that.