"Her Body and Other Parties" by Carmen Maria Machado (published 2017)


I could not finish this one (I read 133 pages of 248). I think it's more a matter of writing style than anything else, not subject matter. Though the stories were creative, they didn't give me pause. Also, the irony within the text was a bit too direct for my taste.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Libidinal Economy" by Jean Francois Lyotard (published 1970)

Image
For a philosophical text translated from French to English, reading Lyotard's Libidinal Economy (1970) wasn't too difficult, albeit requiring, of course, ample time and concentration. And for the book having been published a little over fifty years ago, the text remains significant today as a commentary on those forces that drive us, either towards death or into life, passionately, lovingly, flailingly, pathetically, skillfully, terribly, hatefully, so on and so forth... enmeshing us within Lyotard 's concept of the libidinal band - that kind of mobius strip exemplifying the only kind of economy we'd want to be a part of - one that knows no difference between the revealing physical exteriors and the inner, innate, structures that define what lies within. Much of the fascinating aspects of this text ride on the socio-cultural manifestations concerning how the libidinal economy flourishes (as opposed to an economy purely political or purely religious). Sexuality, Marxis...
Read more

"Sea Shells" by Paul Valery (published 1937)

Image
“Ignorance is a treasure of infinite price that most men squander, when they should cherish its least fragments; some ruin it by educating themselves, others, unable so much as to conceive of making use of it, let it waste away. Quite on the contrary, we should search for it assiduously in what we think we know best. Leaf through a dictionary or try to make one, and you will find that every word covers and masks a well so bottomless that the questions you toss into it arouse no more than an echo.” Paul Valery’s essay, “Sea Shells”, which, in its Beacon Press Edition, is put beautifully within a red covered and gold titled illustrated book, is, quite simply, a masterpiece of thought. It makes sense that this book would not be classified under philosophical works, but rather a form of (literary) criticism and theory. In it, Valery thinks about seashells. His goal is to write down his thoughts and observations of and about seashells without using any pure framework. Even so, this...
Read more

“Classic Japanese Fairy-Tales [Volume 1]: Mimei Ogawa: The Father Of Modern Japanese Fairy-Tales” by Mimei Ogawa, translated by J.D. Wisgo

Image
“Classic Japanese Fairy-Tales [Volume 1]: Mimei Ogawa: The Father Of Modern Japanese Fairy-Tales” is a new collection of Japanese fairy-tales translated into English by J.D. Wisgo (2018). This beautiful collection of six Japanese fairy-tales is precious and unique because it is the first publication of its kind: so widely available (unlike other publications of Ogawa’s) and with refreshed translations of classic tales, many of which are not widely known. Wisgo’s renderings of these stories are brilliant, extremely sensual and vivid, and full of poignant reflection without being overtly literary.  The six tales in this volume include: The Red Candle & The Mermaid, The Clockless Village, The Golden Hoops, Saffron Wine & The Desert Town, The Chocolate Candy Angel, and Many Years Later. To be sure, all of these are indeed fairy-tales (as opposed to fables). The lessons and meanings are subtle and abstract. When towns disappear is it due to bad luck or mermaids? Or, what is ...
Read more