The Complete Stories of Truman Capote

4/5 stars

What's it about? Capote dazzles and delights in his short fiction, ordered here chronologically, that captures the angst of youth in the rural South, the loneliness of mid-century American cities, and the intricacies of nuanced sexuality.

How’d I find it? A dear friend of mine knew Truman Capote and dismissed him as a “fascinating drunk.” The comment inspired me to read him all the more, having adored In Cold Blood.

Who will enjoy this book? If you appreciate F. Scott Fitzgerald, you’ll love these smart tales. Let’s be real: this book appeals to all short story aficionados.

What stood out? I started reading this book at the end of a New York trip, and it suited the occasion perfectly. Take this collection with you in the bustle of a city. Read it in a crowded bar. These stories of daily failure, from a Haitian prostitute settling down, to a child examining his unusual relationship with an adult cousin, prove Capote’s gift in crafting vivid worlds. “Jug of Silver” and “The Headless Hawk” were standouts.

Which line made me feel something? This horrific little detail from “The Headless Hawk:” “Dusk, and nightfall, and the fibers of sounds called silence wove a shiny blue mask. Waking, he peered through eyeslits, heard the frenzied pulsebeat of his watch, the scratch of a key in a lock. Somewhere in this hour of dusk a murderer separates himself from shadow and with a rope follows the flash of silk legs up doomed stairs.“

Old New York by Edith Wharton

5/5 stars

What's it about? In these four outstanding novellas, Edith Wharton hones in on the constraints of class within New York society of the mid-1800s.

How’d I find it? It’s no secret that I love a pocket edition. I was browsing a neighborhood library book sale in Washington, DC, and this tiny Wharton collection in mint condition (no longer) had to come home with me.

Who will enjoy this book? This is Literature with a capital L. If you like the big names in short fiction, these novellas will charm you. This is also a great book for fellow Austenites looking for a cunning period read. Wharton delivers.

What stood out? I may not have enjoyed Ethan Frome, but this book is a real winner. Each story is unique — a young man is entrusted with his family’s legacy in “False Dawn,” while “New Year’s Day” plays with the trope of a woman scorned — which makes the collection extra engrossing. The ending of “Old Maid” came out of nowhere and instantly put me in tears.

Which line made me feel something? From “The Spark,” in which a certain Civil War poet makes an appearance: “Those four years had apparently filled to the brim every crevice of his being. For I could not hold that he had gone through them unawares, as some famous figures, puppets of fate, have been tossed from heights to depths of human experience without once knowing what was happening to them—forfeiting a crown by the insistence on some prescribed ceremonial, or by carrying on their flight a certain monumental dressing-case.”

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood

4/5 stars

What's it about? Set in 1962, this sweet book follows a day in the life of George, a British expat and professor living in California. George mourns the recent loss of his partner Jim and grapples with the realities of aging.

How’d I find it? I’ve known about this book for many years, but finally picked up a copy when I saw this stunning pocket edition at Powell’s.

Who will enjoy this book? A Single Man recalls the Joycean minutiae of Ulysses and the themes about life found in Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, one of the greatest character studies I’ve ever read. For those who crave West Coast fiction, this is very much a California book.

What stood out? As we follow George to work, the hospital, the gym, and a night of boozing and flirtation, Isherwood slides along the spectrum of existence, from the intimacy of George’s thoughts to the corporeality of the body to the movements of the soul. The result is a powerful statement on the fragility of life and its miracle, a marvel on a small scale. George can be nasty and prone to rants that are infamous among his friends, but he’s a fascinating mind to inhabit for a short while. Look out for some devastating writing about love in these pages.

Which line made me feel something? George drinks in the reflection of his naked body: “The neck is loose and scraggy under all circumstances, in all lights, and would look gruesome even if he were half-blind. He has abandoned the neck altogether, like an untenable military position.”

I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution by Emily Nussbaum

4/5 stars

What's it about? Emily Nussbaum sets out her thesis about the unique importance of television via essays on The Leftovers, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Lost, and a myriad of other shows. A page-turning contemplation on television as art and how it converses with and represents culture.

How’d I find it? As a bookseller, I combed through every section to better know our stock, and you can bet Solid State Books has a solidly curated film and television section. I Like to Watch is a book I’ve eyed for years before finally tucking in.

Who will enjoy this book? TV watchers, this book is for you. You’ll be inspired to watch shows you’ve overlooked (Ryan Murphy’s œuvre) and second guess those you love (True Detective has “so much gravitas it could run for president”).

What stood out? Nussbaum folds in such a variety of perspectives on so many TV shows that there’s truly something for everybody. I respect how seriously she takes her chosen subject. Despite the richness of ideas, the essays flow together as if they were written for this book, a testament to their editing and arranging. While published in 2019, some aspects of I Like to Watch already feel dated for a reader in 2024. The mood around the 2016 elections, the overall ickiness of #MeToo revelations—dead horses that have been beat plenty.

Which line made me feel something? From a fabulous essay on Jane the Virgin: “…the soap, the rom-com, the romance novel, and, more recently, reality television. These are the genres that get dismissed as fluff, which is how our culture regards art that makes women’s lives look like fun.”

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

3/5 stars

What's it about? Kaling's second collection of essays muses on fame, work, and love. A light-hearted, delightful read.

How’d I find it? I’m a millennial who has seen every episode of The Office more times than she can count.

Who will enjoy this book? The bottom line: if you like Mindy and celebrity memoirs, you'll enjoy this book. Looking for a read-alike? Try You Can't Touch My Hair by Phoebe Robinson.

What stood out? Kaling's essay on weddings (and why being a bridesmaid stinks) is a hilarious and touching reflection on female friendship. "A Perfect Courtship in My Alternate Life" imagines Kaling's life if she'd ended up as a Latin teacher at a Manhattan private school, told via email exchanges.

Which line made me feel something? A loud cackle escaped from me at the following description of a certain sorority: "Their finely toned arms replace a finely honed sense of irony."

The Singularity by Dino Buzzati

4/5 stars

What's it about? In this slim tale of horror, Ermanno Ismani accepts a government appointment to a top-secret research facility, so secret that no one seems to know where it is and what the scientists actually do there. When Ermanno and his wife Elisa arrive and realize the truth, it may be too late to save themselves.

How’d I find it? After seeing this incredible cover (drawn by the author himself), I signed up for the NYRB Classics Book Club. Hurray for book mail!

Who will enjoy this book? If you agreed with my review of The Invention of Morel or loved that “Be Right Back” episode of Black Mirror, you’ll enjoy The Singularity.

What stood out? This great little story feels modern, speaking to the uncertainties around artificial intelligence with which we’re currently grappling. The reveal of the research project delivers a shock, and Buzzati mounts the horror and tragedy with each page. I found that the narrative style lacked cohesion, but the plotting of this tale means I won’t forget it soon.

Which line made me feel something? From a long monologue by the mad, sad Endriade, lead scientist of military zone 36: “No spending limit, understand? Billions, tossed there in front of me like pebbles, as much as I liked. The old dream. But now…Now I was completely uninterested. That’s how we men are, wretched flesh.”

P. S. My curating skills must be improving, because I’m finding so many 4-star books this summer.

Long Island by Colm Tóibín

4/5 stars

What's it about? In the unexpected sequel to Brooklyn, we find Eilis Lacey twenty years later, living on Long Island with Tony and their two children, surrounded by the Fiorello family as neighbors. Tony has an affair with a married woman that results in a pregnancy, and when Eilis realizes she may be expected to accept this new child, she returns to Ireland for her mother’s 80th birthday and to decide her future.

How’d I find it? I recently listened to an interview with Colm Tóibín about the release of Long Island on The New York Times Book Review podcast and was sold, as I adored both the film adaptation of Brooklyn, with Saoirse Ronan’s outstanding performance as Eilis, and the original novel.

Who will enjoy this book? Readers of Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchett will like Long Island. You don’t have to read Brooklyn first, but you really should.

What stood out? Colm Tóibín writes Eilis beautifully, this character who others find inscrutable but whose mind we get to pick through over the course of 300 pages. The complex interiority of her character is the novel’s best feature, as we don’t get far into the actual events of the story. Without spoiling too much, Tóibín leaves the reader wanting, and the place in the action where he chooses to end the book is abrupt and unsatisfying, almost as if he’d written the other half but wants to string this out into a trilogy. Either way, the writing is sharp, and I would revel in another installment.

Which line made me feel something? “Tonight would be the first time she would ever sleep in a house alone, when there would be no one in the bed with her or in the next room. In all her years with Tony, it was something she had often dreamed about, especially at the beginning of their marriage—slipping away, getting a train or even driving to some town and finding an anonymous hotel to spend two nights away from everyone.”

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

4/5 stars

What's it about? Half of a Yellow Sun takes place in 1960s Nigeria, when the eastern part of the country seceded to form Biafra. The novel follows beautiful Olanna, academic and activist Odenigbo, their young houseboy Ugwu, Olanna’s estranged twin Kainene, and her British lover Richard. A richly told account of the ravages of civil war.

How’d I find it? Adichie’s writing talents make me interested to read anything she’s published. This particular copy was a Christmas present my husband received.

Who will enjoy this book? For similar themes, check out the short story collection Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan or the film Blood Diamond.

What stood out? Adichie paints every scene painstakingly so that reading this novel is a transportive experience. Take just three sentences from a whole paragraph describing a dining table: “Master’s plate was always the most rice-strewn, as if he ate distractedly so that the grains eluded his fork. Olanna’s glass had crescent-shaped lipstick marks. Okeoma ate everything with a spoon, his fork and knife pushed aside.” And so on. This level of description bloats the novel by at least 150 pages that could have been trimmed to rev up the pace. Half of a Yellow Sun also suffers from occasional toggling between the early and late sixties, a device more successful in jarring the reader than in building anticipation.

The novel’s great success is its luxurious detail about Igbo language and culture and Nigerian politics. I enjoyed learning from the characters, so thoroughly lovable (yes, even Richard with his passive racism) that there’s always someone to root for amidst the violence and grief.

Which line made me feel something? This possible definition of hell gave me pause: “The bumpy ride lying in the backseat of the Peugeot 404 and the fierce sun that sparkled the windscreen made Ugwu wonder if he had died and this was what happened at death: an unending journey in a car.”

God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer by Joseph Earl Thomas

3/5 stars

What's it about? Former army medic Joseph juggles doctoral work, family demands and worries, and the workplace drama of a fast-paced Philadelphia hospital in this stream of consciousness novel that follows Joseph through one seemingly neverending shift where people in his life are constantly showing up as patients. Can someone please get Joe some lunch?

How’d I find it? I have yet to read a review of a book as sparkling as this one in Kirkus Reviews and requested a copy immediately.

Who will enjoy this book? Though Thomas showcases a style all his own, similar themes and approaches to humor can be found in Jamel Brinkley’s A Lucky Man and in Bryan Washington’s work.

What stood out? Thomas’s debut novel feels contemporary in a way so few novels do: the language, the disillusionment with military service, the way systemic racism infects who and how people are treated in our healthcare system, and the complexities of American family life. It’s all there, though God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is more snapshot than investigation. I could read a whole book just about Joe’s relationship with his mother or his best friend Ray. While jarring, the dips in and out of Joseph’s present align with breaks in his train of thought and maintain the lightning pace set on the first page. The hospital setting didn’t read wholly authentic to me, but I’m a nurse in Portland, Oregon and recognize that things may work differently in Philly.

Which line made me feel something? If this gorgeous sentence doesn’t draw you in, nothing will: “Folks online always thought he was older, though I could never see what they saw, his text always sounding the way he looked as a baby, his avatar, an older black woman with white locs exemplifying the too-familiar and impossible amalgam of mother and lover most of us longed for, coaxing it out of the women in our sphere or otherwise overrepresenting our imaginations as reality, a consequence of our unfinished forebears and that necessary love, that forceful love, that elegant and deeply painful love otherwise foreclosed to us by the world.”

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

5/5 stars

What's it about? Tayo returns to the reservation after serving in World War II, barely surviving his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder. In connecting with his heritage and his people’s knowledge, he reconciles with the world around him and his place in it. A one-of-a-kind novel about the power of storytelling and the ignorance of human violence.

How’d I find it? I’ve long been reminded of my need to pick up Ceremony by displays at independent bookstores. Now that I’ve read it, I can affirm that it’s canon.

Who will enjoy this book? The writing is a blend of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Annie Proulx, visceral and visual and poetic. Those who enjoyed Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas should appreciate the themes in Ceremony.

What stood out? Leslie Marmon Silko wrote a perfect book. Ceremony is beautifully and creatively crafted, at times dreamlike and at others taut with the anticipation of loss. I loved the inclusion of Pueblo stories and descriptions of the rituals that encourage Tayo to heal. Tayo himself is a complicated character to inhabit for so many pages, and time in his mind provokes anguish that makes the novel immersive.

Which line made me feel something? “The silence was inside, in his belly; there was no longer any hurry. The ride into the mountain had branched into all directions of time. He knew then why the oldtimers could only speak of yesterday and tomorrow in terms of the present moment: the only certainty”.