Thank you so much for this Celine! I've added all three novels to my TBR, but I'm especially interested in Permafrost--what an interesting idea for a story, and I too love novels written by poets. It's so interesting to see how they play with language!
Permafrost is REALLY good—like Baltasar is doing extremely fun, energizing, original things with language, but it never feels heavy (even when she tackles some difficult topics). It's so skillfully written and translated!
Jess!! thank you for reading 💌 and yes, her paintings are so cheerful and enlivening…especially in the middle of the very gray weather I'm experiencing now!
I absolutely love your posts! I usually don't gravitate toward "what I read/watched" kind of newsletters but the way you review your experiences always intrigue me and make me feel like I'm genuinely learning something. Keep up the good work!
1) Adding Permafrost to TBR, sounds so interesting. 2) I love the idea of making a painting my phone background! Now just tk decide which painting... Most of the art I see, I see when I'm scrolling (substack intro images, and there's a meme/tumblr account on ig, uncreativeseaurchin, which includes a painting with every post), and the reaction "ooo, that's pretty" is common but it hardly ever stops me in my tracks. Maybe I'll take the one you mentioned, just to try it.
i really like how you've framed and defined “comfort” reads! i think the character going through a real struggle is what makes the good ones so good -- because that issue gets explored in an interesting way and the character grows, while the happy ending + coming through unscathed is like wish fulfilment. i added permafrost to my TBR, and thanks for introducing the NYRB Classics Book Club! i’ve read show your work twice now, but i love the part you’ve highlighted about attribution (it never stood out to me before!), and definitely agree that it reflects your newsletter’s approach. hope you’re enjoying march!
i look forward to your monthly roundups each month!!
this is so kind!! thank you Elle, and hope you're having a lovely start to March
Lovely round up!
thank you Lauren! 💌
Thank you so much for this Celine! I've added all three novels to my TBR, but I'm especially interested in Permafrost--what an interesting idea for a story, and I too love novels written by poets. It's so interesting to see how they play with language!
Permafrost is REALLY good—like Baltasar is doing extremely fun, energizing, original things with language, but it never feels heavy (even when she tackles some difficult topics). It's so skillfully written and translated!
Cannot wait to read it! Thanks Celine :)
I so enjoy these roundups. thank you!
thank you Ochuko!!! high praise from the queen of trend reports and reading recaps
Arendt has been on my mind but I have never read something of hers fully - I want to!! love your newsletter x
thank you for reading!! also…if you want to read around Arendt a bit more (in preparation for actually reading her?), Samantha Rose Hill's essay on Arendt's rejection of hope in favor of ACTION is really good https://aeon.co/essays/for-arendt-hope-in-dark-times-is-no-match-for-action
Florine Stettheimer <3
Jess!! thank you for reading 💌 and yes, her paintings are so cheerful and enlivening…especially in the middle of the very gray weather I'm experiencing now!
I enjoyed The Suicides a lot, far more than The Silentiary, which I thought was comparatively dour and drab.
this is good to know! I've seen a lot of interesting reviews on Antonio di Benedetto's entire trilogy, like Becca Rothfeld's review here: https://www.bookforum.com/print/3103/nowhere-fast-61644
but it seems like even the descriptions of The Suicides are more lively than those for The Silentiary
Great post. I have Permafrost on my reading list, too. The second book in the series, Boulder, won the International Booker Prize some years ago.
I absolutely love your posts! I usually don't gravitate toward "what I read/watched" kind of newsletters but the way you review your experiences always intrigue me and make me feel like I'm genuinely learning something. Keep up the good work!
1) Adding Permafrost to TBR, sounds so interesting. 2) I love the idea of making a painting my phone background! Now just tk decide which painting... Most of the art I see, I see when I'm scrolling (substack intro images, and there's a meme/tumblr account on ig, uncreativeseaurchin, which includes a painting with every post), and the reaction "ooo, that's pretty" is common but it hardly ever stops me in my tracks. Maybe I'll take the one you mentioned, just to try it.
i really like how you've framed and defined “comfort” reads! i think the character going through a real struggle is what makes the good ones so good -- because that issue gets explored in an interesting way and the character grows, while the happy ending + coming through unscathed is like wish fulfilment. i added permafrost to my TBR, and thanks for introducing the NYRB Classics Book Club! i’ve read show your work twice now, but i love the part you’ve highlighted about attribution (it never stood out to me before!), and definitely agree that it reflects your newsletter’s approach. hope you’re enjoying march!
Thank you for the review and all the tips. Pure luxury. (And one can never mention Proust too often—he should be mentioned everywhere, all the time.)