I returned to The Notebook in anticipation of Agota Kristof's upcoming memoir, which details her childhood escape from Hungary during the suppression of the anti-communist revolution. Somehow, it inspired the 2006 video game "Mother 3," but I'll leave you to make that connection.
A contemporary of Vasily Grossman, Platonov's philosophical satire of Russian "Total Collectivization" depicts a sisyphean societal project, the construction of a massive edifice in which the proletariat will live out their utopian future. As the project drags on, however, the laborers begin to forget their purpose; the discovery of meaning and truth becomes mired in endless toiling. Platonov, with irony and tenderness, never forgets the beauty of memory, existence, and the human soul.
A perfect gift for the aspiring writer who may need one final bit of sage advice, or for those interested in craft, routine, and the writer’s life. An essential for the Murakami completionist, and for fans of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
A beautifully quiet and contained narrative that begins with the disappearance of objects, desire, language, and memory. A modern classic that explores the power of collective memory, kindness, and the work of the artist in the face of fascism.
For fans of the TV show Severance, analog horror, and The Backrooms urban legend largely popularized by Kane Parsons on YouTube. Wylesol’s illustrations, which have been featured in The New York Times, The Paris Review, and The Guardian, are hypnotic, humorous, and surreal. Embark on this “choose your own adventure” and see if you survive.
A collection of memories that heave and delight like a murmuration of starlings. Beneath these dark and humorous moments, which are all given equivalent weight, sometimes from morbid to mundane to moving all on the same page, a surreal subtext releases the hold of narrative on the reader’s life by revealing the beauty of the absurd.
A delightful, Eisner Award-winning anthology rendered in beautifully divergent styles, Peow Studio's Ex Mag has something for everyone. Their issues cover genres like Cyberpunk, Mecha, and Paranormal Romance. It's particularly interesting to see the influences of each artist in the interview cards at the back of the issue. Linnea Sterte and Valentine Seiche's work is my personal favorite in Volume 3.
Written by a professional insultor on the renaissance festival circuit, Buehlman's foray into fantasy is a rollicking adventure to lose yourself in. The voice is quippy and sharp and the world is richly drawn; laid low by the miasmic poisons of the goblin wars which led to the extinction of horses and decimation of the patriarchy. Kinch Na Shannack sets out with a bawdry, charming, and violent band to pay off his student debt from the thieves guild. If you're looking for an untrustworthy bard to spin you a yarn, look no further.
Catherine Lacey has written a staggering work of new American allegory in the tradition of Flannery O'Connor and mode of Herman Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener," that explores free will, the tension between social and individual identity, and theological stricture. Absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking turns of phrase punctuate a growing sense of dread around a community's response to an unclassifiable visitor before a mysterious annual festival. Sure to be a classic, Pew is my favorite book in years.