In the genre of graphic novel memoir, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is among the very best.
The artist had already done the underground Dykes to Watch OuIn the genre of graphic novel memoir, Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is among the very best.
The artist had already done the underground Dykes to Watch Out For decades before creating this personal tome, which was always a subversive and witty comic. But Bechdel's mastery of the craft came into its own with this autobiography.
Meticulously illustrated, powerful, about a most interesting and tragic life.
It's a case study about herself and her family, and jumps around in time revisiting pivotal points in Bechdel's life. It would already be an interesting story if it was just about the artist finding herself and coming out of the closet etc., perhaps not terribly original but a valid story. But the addition of her father's secret life and (probable) suicide makes this an incredible and emotionally layered narrative.
To explain it simply, Bechdel grew up in a small town with a quirky family in a big strange house. They also ran a funeral home business. In college, Bechdel came out as a Lesbian and then her father killed himself soon after--and that came with the revelation that he'd had affairs with teenage boys all along.
This is not quite told in order. It's necessary, when analyzing one's life, to go back and reinterpret memories upon learning the context of what came after. And that's what this story is all about.
Told through illustrations and comics makes for the perfect medium for an artist such as Alison Bechdel. Then there's the adaptation: Fun Home later became a critically-acclaimed musical theatre production. While I haven't had the opportunity to see it live, I've only listened to the original cast album, I'm glad that this graphic novel has had such a legacy. But for anyone who came across this story via Broadway, please do yourself a favor and read the book as well. ...more
Elle Reeve is still famous for her viral 2017 Vice video about the Charlottesville white supremacist rally, nearly a decade later, which is sadly stilElle Reeve is still famous for her viral 2017 Vice video about the Charlottesville white supremacist rally, nearly a decade later, which is sadly still extremely relevant.
Her new book Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics is a deep dive into all the background of that day, and its aftermath. And moreover, it’s about the background and aftermath of all that has happened to the entirety of America (and the world) in this unfortunate era.
The book starts with a surprisingly personal tale of the journalist’s childhood—of when Reeve’s childhood neighbor stalked and harassed her family. There’s a direct line, she explains, from how she learned to deal with that at a young age and to how she later made a career out of interacting with extremists.
When it gets to the modern internet era, there is an exploration of incel culture featuring interviews with Fred Brannon, the disabled programmer who founded 8kun and even had a connection to the start of the QAnon movement. Brannon disavows his earlier work, and is very open about his regrets from those wild days of the internet when they didn’t know being offensive and “ironic” online would lead to such horrific real-world repercussions. There’s also a very frank discussion of sexuality, not only about how these people felt as older virgins but also about how they felt when they first had sex and didn’t get to be a part of the incel community anymore. A fascinating and counter-intuitive perspective.
The book then continues into the culture of abject white supremacy, and it is grim. She interviews Richard Spencer and others of the alt right, getting into all their crackpot theories and hateful ideology. It gets dark. Some of the worst of it isn’t even the racism, but the sexism, because as she explains they never quite got their fascist revolution and chance to play out their racist fantasies: So therefore, they rather focused on controlling the women in their personal lives. I thought I knew a lot but I had never before heard the term “white sharia,” and just how much they hate women having any freedoms. It’s a strange thing that so many racist women joined the movement, because they thought it would benefit them, and then felt oppressed by these abusive men, which happened again and again.
Eventually, that movement seemed vindicated by the 2016 election and then comes the terrible Unite the Right rally of the following year which ended in a deadly car attack. This is when Reeve focuses on interviewing Christopher Cantwell, who incriminated himself so much in the famous Vice report and later became known as the Crying Nazi after his life fell apart. He is a very disturbed individual, with emotional and addiction problems, which feels like a sort of vindication to learn.
Reeve warns, however, that it’s not enough to think of these people as losers. Many of them are quite smart in fact, at least by some metrics. The simple truth of it is that it doesn’t matter if they are losers, many so-called losers don’t become domestic terrorists, and it doesn’t matter if they are smart as many smart people don’t become vicious extremists online. The important thing is to analyze the big picture and understand why the internet and society as a whole has driven so many people in this direction. Brennon, sadly, speaks of how wrong he was when he envisioned his website as a way for “unlimited” free speech to lead to positive ideas, and instead it turned into a nightmare of shitposting in which only the worst of humanity got the most attention…
While most of the awful characters in this book get their comeuppance, such as Richard Spencer who loses everything and faces devastating legal consequences, it’s hardly a happy ending. Yes, these figures specifically ultimately lost everything and completely failed at becoming part of the mainstream. But that’s little comfort at this point.
The book was published before the most recent election, when it seemed that January 6th, 2021 was the worst it could get. Now we are on an even darker path influenced by these people blackpilled on the internet, and while many of the outright fascists didn’t get any material benefits it sure seems like their ideas are majorly influencing this current government.
Personally, I don’t know how Elle Reeve could stand to be around them and get so much information from these people. But I’m glad she did, because it is necessary to learn in order to fight back.
No doubt she’ll have to write another book when this administration is over and America needs to do some serious soul-searching, and indeed she will be uniquely qualified to understand what the hell has happened....more
Robert Anton Wilson was a man frighteningly ahead of his time.
The co-author of the seminal Illuminatus! Trilogy is sadly missed in these days of too mRobert Anton Wilson was a man frighteningly ahead of his time.
The co-author of the seminal Illuminatus! Trilogy is sadly missed in these days of too many conspiracy theories. The radical agnostic understood how to satirize the phenomenon and never take it too seriously. That’s something that has been sorely lacking in the current era, in which misinformation and post-ironic memes are taken with the utmost certainty by at least half the population, and nobody quite knows how to handle it while society seemingly falls apart.
If only more of us read Robert Anton Wilson. The premier psychedelic philosopher of the 1970s and 80s, who wrote many illuminating guides on self-programming such as Cosmic Trigger and Prometheus Rising, he got it. One wonders how he would have interpreted the modern world where conspiracy theories have become mainstream. Unfortunately, Wilson was always something of an underground figure. Perhaps he will soon be remembered and further studied, and the world will be better off for it.
If so, the biography Chapel Perilous has done a tremendous service for future readers by cataloging his life and works. Gabriel Kennedy, also known as rapper Prop Anon, has written the authoritative book on the subject. Through laborious original research, Kennedy has assembled the stories of RAW’s birth in New York, throughout his years as a struggling writer and Playboy magazine editor, on to the backstories of the writing of Illuminatus! and of when he left America to move to Ireland, and ends at his death in California in the 21st century.
There is much about his family life, from his loving marriage to Arlen to the tragedies of his murdered daughter and son who struggled with mental health. For such an important writer of the occult, it’s disheartening to learn of his personal and financial struggles. Bob never quite got it together in his life, at least by the metric of money, but he left an important legacy.
Chapel Perilous is a serious scholarly work, full of citations and features a list of RAW’s published articles never before compiled, and it is also very readable and entertaining. There are many fascinating vignettes: Like that time he met Philip K. Dick, his relationship with Timothy Leary, along with introductions to figures like Aleister Crowley who inspired him and then introductions to later punk movements like Chaos Magic which RAW directly inspired. It’s a broad education within this book, and hopefully will inspire readers to learn more.
There are also some criticisms of the writer, which are fair and noteworthy. Was his hostility towards second-wave feminism valid, or is that something that has aged badly? Was it hypocritical for a self-described “libertarian” to take government welfare? These are questions worth asking, as nobody should ever be above criticism, and Bob would surely agree.
Robert Anton Wilson has long been one of my own favorite authors, and I have found there was still much I didn’t know about him. For example, his more well-known (though still underground) novels like Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy are among my favorites, yet I wasn’t aware of the historical books about the Illuminati until reading Chapel Perilous. And moreover, I wasn’t aware of the degree of his personal suffering, which indeed is the inspiration for the title of this biography. Perhaps we are all going through a Chapel Perilous in this harsh world, on the long road to enlightenment…
The forewards to the book are written by Grant Morrison, the legendary trippy comic writer of conspiracy saga Invisibles which was inspired by Illuminatus! and more, and Douglas Rushkoff the tech writer who has been warning about the dangers of consolidated information technology for years—and host of the essential RAW-esque Team Human podcast.
Frankly this book should really be more well-known. I do not know if it will be a runaway hit, perhaps not, but it’s all on record now should readers care to know. Gabriel Kennedy did the world a profound kindness by writing this definitive biography, so that the next generation of truth-seekers can keep learn from this great mind who never stopped questioning.
Chapel Perilous: The Life & Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson is available on Amazon and is currently free for Kindle Unlimited....more
James Baldwin is a very important 20th century American writer, and these essays highlight his powerful prose and poignant takes on racism and AmericaJames Baldwin is a very important 20th century American writer, and these essays highlight his powerful prose and poignant takes on racism and Americana (and even international issues) from the mid-century times.
Although racism was clearly worse back then, it's incredible--and very tragic--how much of these takes still perfectly apply today. He could be talking about white supremacy in education based off headlines of the 2020s, when he talks of America must mythologize the past and lie to itself.
The best essay is the eponymous one, Notes of a Native Son, about his personal family life meditating about his father's funeral and the hardships Baldwin went through growing up in his household. Another one I enjoyed was about being an expat in Paris, much about how Americans act abroad, which also felt contemporary to me and my experiences as a matter of fact.
Unfortunately, it is a dated book in other ways through no fault of its own. His social writings on movies, for example, takes a bit of research to keep up with after so many years later. A lot of context and backstory, best to read with an understanding of African American literature and James Baldwin himself already. There's also not anything other than a few hints of Baldwin's other minority issues besides being Black: he doesn't really speak of being LGBT+ but that doesn't matter as the racial themes are important enough on their own. Overall, I'm still very glad I read these essays....more
Yuval Harari's latest book is probably his best since Sapiens, and potentially much more important.
The popular historian has often said that history Yuval Harari's latest book is probably his best since Sapiens, and potentially much more important.
The popular historian has often said that history is the study of change. And it is with this view that he breaks down how important information networks have been throughout history, and then goes on to speculate how new technologies could become extremely life-altering. Specifically, the bulk of the book is a focus on the dangers of AI.
There's a fascinating history lesson in the first third, which Harari as always excels at. Taking the complex histories of various religions and then the printing press and the scientific method and more, and presenting these in ways easy for the layman reader to understand and process at a Big Picture scale.
The majority of the chapters are more about modernity and computers. In that vein, many examples are given, which are not so much future possibilities as they are records of what has already gone wrong when social media upends entire societies around the world: The genocide in Myanmar is explained at length, to highlight that these are not just hypothetical situations. We can also see how populism came about, making something coherent out of all the nationalist ideologies around the globe which do tend to be contradictory, giving the reader perhaps an overly fair assessment of why they've been so appealing to voters.
Harari certainly talks a lot about misinformation, and how it's been so prevalent with the rise of engagement-driven algorithms which are incentivized to bring out the worst in people. Frankly, at times it's a bit frustrating how he doesn't call a spade a spade and blame the right-wing specifically for this. There have been many studies proving those on the political right are far more likely to share misinformation online, but Harari has a style of being "above it all" and won't quite say that outright. Either way, there is something happening with this current phenomenon of information and communication breaking down, and it does need to be objectively studied.
Another valid criticism is a lack of analysis about capitalism. It is kind of assumed that democracy is a superior form of government, whether philosophically a Kantian or a utilitarian, which I of course agree with. But contrasting with lengthy examples of oppression in, say, Stalin's Soviet Union or religious fundamentalism in Iran, capitalism as the system causing what is now happening is only passingly mentioned. Which is a shame, because it is rather obvious that tech companies are already breaking down society so much precisely because of the profit motive.
By the end of the book, what leaves the biggest impressions are warnings about the future of AI, which will most likely exacerbate all these issues. There are the obligatory positive potentials mentioned, in healthcare for example, yet we all know there is much to fear. The list of worse-case scenarios about how AI could destroy both democracies and dictatorships--and then become the worst imaginable dictatorship, these go on and on. It is indeed frightening.
Something Harari explains well is the "garbage in, garbage out" principle, about how we must be skeptical of machine learning and language models because human biases are inherent in the data they collect. Moreover, as we grow more dependent on AI, which version of human nature will win out... Will we be able to remain skeptical, or will we end up trusting these seemingly godlike technologies as infallible? So, if it's the latter, how dangerous will that become?
The overall question of the whole thesis, is whether or not democracy be able to survive the tumultuous 21st century. Harari speaks of how dictatorships tend to fall because of rigid institutions and lack of reality-based communication, and how democracy has major advantages due to self-correcting mechanisms and the ability to adapt.
With the rush of current events that have occurred since this book was published, in this year, does that seem to apply to the United States anymore?
Unfortunately, it's hard to imagine many reasons for optimism any longer.
Harari does repeatedly say that history and technology are not deterministic. That there are many paths that may appear, and there's no reason to believe there's only one way it has to be.
But is this a good thing or a bad thing? The assumption that more information will inevitably lead to more truth, is something he calls the naïve view. He's not wrong; this perspective supporting the free-for-all online doesn't seem to be working out at all. And a major example in history before was the printing press. Everyone thinks that more books inevitably led to the enlightenment and science and an eventual higher standard of living. But that wasn't necessarily destiny, in fact. One of the first best-seller books in those easy days when the technology was new, was the Hammer of Witches. A psychotic and perverted treatise pandering to sick fantasies, kind of like QAnon, which brought about an era of witch burnings in Europe. Perhaps it's only an accident of history that the printing press later seemed to have worked out better for at least some of humanity.
With that in mind, we should definitely be working much harder to create more self-correcting mechanisms to fight against AI and algorithms gone awry. Before it's too late. Very tragically, that's not something rapidly aging government officials holding on to power are interested in whatsoever, or even barely understand. The tech giants and the ultra-wealthy influencing so much seem to have the opposite view, that they should empower computers and informational chaos even more, just on the chance they might make even more money.
It feels bleak, there's no other way to put it.
Whether or not Nexus by Yuval Harari is perfect or not, it is vital that the mainstream learn about these issues one way or the other. Read more, study more, get other perspectives. If this book by a popular nonfiction author is the way to get more people thinking, then that's what it takes.
I recommend it very much, and most of all I hope at least some of these ideas trickle up to those in power so we can face what's coming and against all odds, somehow, finally create a better world....more
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a crucial writer for this era we find ourselves in now, in this chaotic year of 2024.
When so much seems to be going wrong in the wTa-Nehisi Coates is a crucial writer for this era we find ourselves in now, in this chaotic year of 2024.
When so much seems to be going wrong in the world, it’s important to have writers and artists lay out how the world is (and how the world should be), to interpret and express the contradictions and horrors of America, and of the world America has made.
For some activists who are very tuned into certain current events, Coates’ book The Message won’t quite say anything new. But that isn’t really the point. It’s not a history book—it’s not meant to be a scholarly review of everything racist within America and in those countries propped up by American support.
Rather, The Message is a personal book by a writer who overlays these issues through the filter of his own experiences. And that is where its true value lies.
This memoir is made up of three essays, each more powerful than the last. In the first, Coates goes to Senegal to reflect on his African heritage. It’s a fascinating insight, and he gets into his own inner conflict over his lifelong connection to his very name. It’s a perspective on the African American experience not often explored: How Black African nationalism inspired his parents to give him the name Ta-Nehisi, and how he has had questioned the validity of that.
The theme of racial pride by way of imagining past empires, some real and some fictional, it’s something he goes back to again and again. It gives the reader much to think about.
At least there is some optimism as he finds himself pleasantly surprised by the development in Senegal. Even as that surprise comes with his own reckonings for being so instinctively pessimistic beforehand. If nothing else, it’s an excellent travelogue about a country seldom written about.
The second essay is extremely topical, and more directly focused on the land of his own birth, in which he goes to South Carolina to visit those who have used his previous works to fight against censorship. It’s a study on how America has rewritten its own history for the sake of white supremacy, and how America continues to do so right now in so many Southern states. Sadly, in the wake of the last election, moral panics about DEI and CRT are as relevant as ever. Sometimes these fights are won, and Coates indeed speaks of how inspirational the power of writing can be, but overall there is a sense that the forces of justice are currently losing.
In fact, there’s a feeling of profound sorrow prevalent in this book. A sense of loss, and even guilt, as Coates travels the world and finds so much failure in these systems that we live by. And that brings us to the final essay: He goes to Palestine. It covers more than half the book, and the majority of the discourse Coates is currently going through as well.
It gets deep. Coates has strong things to say about Israel and the occupation. A careful and meticulous writer, his is a is a very well-thought out book that does not try to be bombastic. It is admittedly not meant to be some overarching and objective history lesson. As Coates explains, there are already plenty of Israeli points of views in the West. He is instead seeking out a chance to tell the Palestinian side, as fairly as possible.
There is plenty of research herein. Coates can be a serious journalist when he needs to be. But again, the most poignant of these writings is simply the stories of going to Palestine and Israel, to Hebron and the settlements and East Jerusalem, and then explaining what happened there with humanity and empathy.
When criticism of Israel comes up, there are always those who immediately bring up the Holocaust. And not without cause, it is certainly part of the context of the history of Zionism. So let me say that Coates does write very much about the history of anti-Semitism, of the legacy of the Holocaust and Nazis and of how Jews were absolutely singled out throughout the racist era of Europe in the 1800s and beyond. He goes back to this repeatedly throughout the book, quoting the early Zionists and contrasting on the sad irony of how so many did support colonialism and how so many white supremacists have supported Zionism.
“Your oppression won’t save you,” is a key line. It doesn’t just refer to the Jews of history and the Israelis of today. It’s something that refers to everyone. The ultimate tragedy of history is that those who were oppressed often become the oppressors to others. He even mentions Liberia as an example, as no group is spared this lesson.
Coates also writes about his guilt concerning his explosive 2014 Atlantic article, ‘The Case for Reparations.’ He then used postwar German reparations given to Israel as an example in his case, and now realizes how wrong he was for expecting nation-states to be accurate representatives on the suffering of individuals. He was never an expert on international affairs, and had always thought it was too complex to delve into. (I happen to think he’s too hard on himself with all the guilt, it’s unfortunate but he’s hardly unique in that. It’s ultimately a positive thing to grow and change as one learns more.)
There is much writing about writing. As said, these are major world issues but this is still a personal memoir. He regrets putting so much faith in journalism, in expecting the institution of the Atlantic to truly make a difference. He speaks of his other books as his children, with plenty of flaws therein, and wonders if he has been true to himself all along with his mainstream writing career.
Sadly, The Message has proven to be perhaps his timeliest book. Written before October 7th of last year and the subsequent—and brutal—Gaza war, it now matters so much. Personally, I’ve found his current media tour in promoting this book and discussing its controversies to be invaluable in bringing these issues to the forefront.
Much has been already been written by others comparing the Israeli occupation of Palestine to the system of apartheid. And Coates does do his homework and researches well, speaking of Bantustans and ties to South Africa during the latter country’s oppressive past. Plenty of dates and quotes showing the history of Zionism and the development of the modern state of Israel. But what the book is truly about, is simply the people he meets and listens to. Simply the telling of their stories—and an ending on a final note lamenting the lack of Palestinian voices in the world of journalism.
As a Black man from America, Coates cannot help but liken the occupation to Jim Crow. The comparisons are valid, and inevitable.
At last, Coates returns to the themes from earlier in the book. About the narratives people tell themselves to justify who they are and what they have done.
“What I saw in the city of David was so familiar to me. The search for self in the mythic past, filled with kings, and sanctified by an approximation of science.”
It’s not just about Israel. It’s about African Americans, it’s about pride and what could have been if history went another way. It’s about Ta-Nehisi Coates’ own life, and it’s about the stories that were told to oppress his people and other peoples over the centuries.
I have never encountered anything—any book or movie or series—that has aged so badly and so fast as White by Bret Easton Ellis.
Ellis was one of my favI have never encountered anything—any book or movie or series—that has aged so badly and so fast as White by Bret Easton Ellis.
Ellis was one of my favorite writers, who frankly peaked at a very young age. There was the numbing Less Than Zero when he was a teenager, and then of course American Psycho which was absolutely brilliant and defining and somehow was written in his twenties.
He wrote some other pretty good novels and short stories as well, but his 21st century output just hasn’t been the same. Lunar Park and The Shards, which both star fictional versions of himself, are too self-centered to ever be considered classics.
Still, I thought I’d be a completist and check out his controversial nonfiction book of essays. I have to say, I wish I hadn't.
White really starts out so promising. Ellis spends a lot of time reviewing movies and music, especially from the 80s, which seems to be among his favorite topics. He says some interesting things about being queer as well, especially in the context of film and Hollywood's evolving norms. Most of all, the background on writing Less Than Zero and then American Psycho are excellent. Very much worth reading for fans. Even the backstory of the latter’s film and yes its musical adaptation are great reads. Plenty of celebrity name-dropping for good measure.
But that’s not really the point of White. The point of this book, is to complain about the kids these days.
He doesn’t use the word woke, which wasn’t quite in fashion yet, but it’s an incredibly familiar list of complaints. Couldn’t be more cliched.
Basically, 2017 and the subsequent years since then were an annoying time and some people went overboard. We all know. And yet, this was written right before 2020 when sh*t got so much more serious. And it could not have aged more badly.
His premise more or less is that the MAGA movement isn’t that bad, people complained too much about the president which annoyed him (the greatest sin there is apparently), and just generally trying to normalize that awful administration.
He devotes thousands and thousands of words to this. Having read a few political books in my time, what's frustrating is how much Ellis talks about ‘aesthetics’ without actually caring about the policy aspects of politics whatsoever. He doesn’t have anything to say about immigration, or women’s rights, or even gay marriage or anything like that. He seems to think presidents and governments don’t do much of anything, and so all the fears the winey libs had are overblown.
Wow this aged badly after January 6. Like, he reveals how his boyfriend is a Millennial and acts like he deserves points for that—which is kind of problematic with the age gap actually, since when was it progressive to be 20 years older than your partner, not that I really care. He calls him a member of Generation Wuss, and has nothing to say about substantial LGBTQ+ issues of which that administration was extremely hostile.
Sure, he makes the perfunctory statements how he’s not right-wing and didn't vote for that. But the both side-ism doesn’t work, when he uses almost all his energies to complain about “the left.”
He keeps saying he has friends who voted Republican, how amazingly diverse his social group is, but he never says why they voted that way. There's no real argument. Politics is all an abstraction which doesn’t apparently affect anyone in real life.
Ellis mocks the term, but there’s really not other way to say it but this: He’s incredibly privileged.
Who cares that dinner parties were awkward for him because people freaked out too much? So what? There were real human beings affected by family separations at the border, and the Muslim ban, the hurricane response in Puerto Rico, trying to overturn the ACA, etc., etc.
Not to mention COVID!
And since then, Roe vs. Wade has been overturned and Project 2025 is now a viable threat and democracy is being undermined and there's a host of other serious issues. Sorry, but it turned out that his hyperventilating friends were completely correct.
Remarkably, the book ends on a note with defending Kanye West of all people. It’s nuts reading this in 2024. Like the whole “dragon energy” take Kanye had, it’s all about the vibe, and zero about how the government functions in a way would help anyone.
And then it gets worse. He says Kanye can’t support white supremacy if he's Black, and then he defends Candace Owens and Roseanne Barr. The worst examples you could come up with. Somehow he throws James Gunn in there, without mentioning or even understanding that Gunn’s cancel moment was a right-wing smear job, and of course a lot has happened since then with the director’s resurgence because it fundamentally wasn’t the same as those other bigoted celebrities who went off the deep end and have turned out to deserve every criticism.
Bret Easton Ellis has always been an incredibly talented writer, but he should never have gotten into politics. Especially this kind of petty grievances-style blogging.
He’s become exactly what he used to satirize.
Take this quote: “However, my socialist boyfriend, whom I often accused of liberal fascism, now believed that my obsession with aesthetics had become, by the summer of 2018, essentially fascist as well.”
So if you follow that, it’s so bad that his boyfriend believed Ellis essentially a fascist. Even though he accuses his boyfriend of being a liberal fascist in the same sentence.
Which is it? Is it lame overreacting to call anyone fascists, or is it that the libs are the real fascists and that makes it okay to call them fascists?
If you haven’t noticed, this writing actually isn’t any good at all…
Lastly, there’s this term ‘Empire’ and ‘Post-Empire’ that Ellis is fond of. I simply don’t get what the point is ultimately, what's supposed to be so great about post-Empire. What he’s really talking about is being anti-establishment, but where’s the value of being contrarian for its own sake? He never explains. All these essays and he has nothing actually political to say in the sense that politics is about policies that effect the lives of millions. And the only thing that’s a big deal, in the end, is people on Twitter vaguely making him uncomfortable sometimes.
For Bret Easton Ellis, what really matters is but the surface-level, with nothing fundamentally there, an empty tirade all focused on only… the aesthetics....more
Jerusalem: Chronicles From the Holy City, is a graphic novel in the somewhat simple and direct autobiographical style, and also happens to be one of tJerusalem: Chronicles From the Holy City, is a graphic novel in the somewhat simple and direct autobiographical style, and also happens to be one of the best books about the Middle East I have ever read.
Guy Delisle is famous for his travel memoirs, usually about lesser known exotic places within dictatorships, like Pyongyang and Burma. Years ago, I read his book Shenzhen (published in 2000) which I didn’t enjoy it because I felt his version of the city was very outdated and so it didn’t resonate with me.
Reading Jerusalem was so much more of a thoughtful and informative experience. Delisle really put his soul into it, becoming a master of the comics storytelling craft after many years at it, and with 300+ pages this book has a lot to say. Sadly, although it was published over a decade ago, the tragic realities of this city are worse than ever. The book doesn’t feel dated at all. I wish it did.
What makes Guy Delisle’s experience so important, is that he was not just another Western tourist who goes to Israel and only stays on the Israeli side. Most people never encounter the occupied territories and basically pretend like they don’t exist. This is in fact by design, the country is physically structured that way (as the book explains), but Delisle’s wife worked in East Jerusalem for a year with the MSF humanitarian organization. This made for many fascinating interactions with Palestinians within their own land, as opposed to the curated version so many other travelers have been limited by. At least, from the point of view of myself as a Westerner who went to Israel, it’s incredibly apparent when I read this book how sheltered that side is.
What makes Delisle’s book more personal and interesting than some complex history book, is how he just goes there as an outsider and explores. He goes to settlements. He goes to the West Bank, to Gaza, and talks to people going through the complex Kafkaesque legal nightmares and he listens to what they have to say. He’s unburdened by the nationalism that inflames others, he isn’t Jewish or Muslim—or Christian for that matter and he meets many Christian expats as well.
Sometimes the cultural differences make for strange conflicts, as he doesn’t necessarily get along with some of the more traditional Muslim people, and he admits to enjoying the secular modernity of places like Tel Aviv. Israel is, to put it mildly, a weird place. The bigotry of the ultra-Orthodox and of extremist settlers is something that does come up repeatedly, and can’t be avoided as he spent a year getting a deep dive education in this land. Worst of all is the security state apparatus, the injustices of the military at checkpoints which create such an unwelcome and hostile life for so many.
It’s not a preachy book. It’s very in-depth, as he goes to various churches and learns about obscure religious communities and Arab minorities and Samaritans, and meets diplomats at parties and NGO workers and gets into Islamicist controversies about European cartoons and the violence and on and on. It’s incredibly packed, yet it’s always told in such a cordial, almost whimsical way without quite taking sides. This turned out to be the perfect way to learn.
It is often the outsider who has the most objective perspective, who can step outside of emotional battles and see clearly what is happening. Guy Delisle’s Jerusalem is the book everyone should be reading to define the soul this place, without romanticizing it all. And that’s actually the perspective the world really needs, I should think....more
I'm a sucker for cult shows, and Keith Reniere inspired multiple documentary series.
Yet it still feels like such a mystery as to why so many people foI'm a sucker for cult shows, and Keith Reniere inspired multiple documentary series.
Yet it still feels like such a mystery as to why so many people followed this strange and obvious fraud. One never really gets to know what drove him, how anyone could find him charismatic, and what his philosophy even coherently meant.
Perhaps there's nothing there. Just a compulsive liar getting away with as much as he could until he went so far that he finally landed in jail.
Toni Natalie's book is a helpful resource on understanding his earlier years, before the branding and abuse headline with C-list celebrities. She was his ex back in the 90s, when he was but a simple pyramid scheme con artist. She tells many personal things about herself, from her own troubled childhood to sorrid details about her relationship with this awful man, which does give the memoir heart. Even though it's apparently not possible to ever figure out anything deep that drove Reneire.
Natalie went through a terrible time of abuse and legal harassment throughout the 2000s, highlighting the cruelty of this cult and its very brainwashed followers.
I found it an excellent supplemental read if one wants to learn more. An in-depth, scholarly biography of Keith Reneire will probably never be written, because there is a limit on how much to say. He lied constantly and was a depraved sex addict, that was it. All the self-help fake genius jargon was meaninglessly complex in the end. This book does as good a job as can be by expanding on the subject, by someone with intimate knowledge. I'm glad Toni Natalie told her traumatizing tale, and it was brave to do so....more
Excellent memoir by the great George Takei, about his childhood growing up in internment camps during WWII, about tGeorge Takei is a national treasure
Excellent memoir by the great George Takei, about his childhood growing up in internment camps during WWII, about the Asian American experience and overcoming prejudice to find the best in life.
It's a specific story of American history that hasn't been told enough, and it is told very well here. Full of humanity in the face of discrimination, and doesn't shy away from the complex legacy of Roosevelt and of America. Takei is no radical, he takes in the good as well as the bad, but presents what happened to him as something that needs to be dealt with while still embracing America.
It's also not about his life in the closet, nor as an actor, as the majority of the story focuses on childhood and Star Trek etc. is only glanced over briefly. I wouldn't mind another graphic novel about his adult life, if he should ever decide to do it. ...more
Disclaimer: Tig Notaro is an excellent comedian, but this book is not funny.
It's something else. A heartfelt account of her bad recent years, in whicDisclaimer: Tig Notaro is an excellent comedian, but this book is not funny.
It's something else. A heartfelt account of her bad recent years, in which she got sick and her mother died and she got breast cancer. Tig really loved her mother and talks about it at length.
To be honest, I think the book got better toward the end when she expanded to talk about her complicated relationships with her stepfather and biological father which we don't get details about earlier.
Ultimately, I'm Just a Person is about family. About Tig Notaro's family that she grew up with, and about the new family she was growing at the time of the writing. Now we know she is happily married with kids, healthy, and seems totally confident all the time after the mammectomy and virally joking about the cancer. It is worth knowing how hard it was for her to get there, and how she truly felt despite all the comedy......more
Powerful and tragic and relevant as ever in the 21st century as power structures around the world continue to dehumanize innocents. Sadly, it never enPowerful and tragic and relevant as ever in the 21st century as power structures around the world continue to dehumanize innocents. Sadly, it never ends.
Anne Frank was a gifted writer, and I truly believe she would have fulfilled her dream of becoming a journalist if she had survived this dark time in history. It's a small consolation that she is remembered, and has been able to communicate her humanity.
If only we had all learned better not to repeat these tragedies. In every warzone in the world, every bombing campaign and apartheid oppressive system, there are children full of heart with souls of their own who deserved to have their voices heard... ...more
A very solid European album-style graphic novel, for lovers of history. Fabien Nury does a brilliant job of summing up the complexities of the violentA very solid European album-style graphic novel, for lovers of history. Fabien Nury does a brilliant job of summing up the complexities of the violent politics of the Soviet Union following the death of the dictator Stalin. Beria, the ruthless chief of the secret police, is the main antagonist. And spoiler alert (this all did historically happen in 1953), Nikita Khrushchev wins out which is a relatively happy ending all things considered.
The opening scene with the concerto, which may be among the least historically accurate parts which I think is fine for a dramatization, is great for building the mood of showcasing the terrified average citizenry of the time. The majority though concerns the powerful men of the Central Committee, although Stalin's son and daughter are also interesting characters.
Of course, I am only aware of this graphic novel because of the new satirical film--which is also excellent and highly recommended. The plot is very much the same, but be warned the tone is quite different. Death of Stalin the book takes itself more seriously, and while both may stretch the truth I'd probably recommend this graphic novel for the sake of learning history.
All in all a good afternoon read with quality artistic storytelling and well worth it to revisit this unique farce in history! For the full effect, read this and also watch the movie and be left with a somewhat better understanding of the Cold War era......more
In 1929, socialite Bernadine Szold Fritz left America at the age of 33 to move to Shanghai. She stayed there for the better part of the following decaIn 1929, socialite Bernadine Szold Fritz left America at the age of 33 to move to Shanghai. She stayed there for the better part of the following decade, until war with Japan forced so many to leave. The world Bernadine inhabited and thrived in was alien in many ways, but also surprisingly familiar to anyone who has also made the trek from the West to East Asia in the 21st century.
It was a time of great change, when Shanghai was a cosmopolitan city yet split apart by a complex network of colonial powers. It was the early days of the Republic of China, before the culmination of the second World War and when civil war would force the KMT to flee to Taiwan.
The stories and places described in the book Bernardine's Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China are told through the eyes of a remarkable person, who achieved much in a time when women in either China or America had few rights compared to today.
Susan Blumberg-Kason, the author of her own memoir Good Chinese Wife about life and marriage in 1990s Hong Kong, did extensive research when writing this biography. It is a deep character study, listing a plethora of facts and figures, but also speculating on the deeper motivations and feelings Bernadine must have felt when going through the various personal challenges of her life abroad.
Bernadine was a journalist, writing most prestigiously for the New Yorker among other outlets, but unfortunately during this era she was forced into marriage as a way to support herself and her daughter. Indeed, she originally moved to Shanghai because of a proposal and often throughout the book she is held back by her marriage to businessman Chester Fritz. (It was her fourth marriage, in fact. Bernadine lived quite the life.)
The book is very much not romantic. Her husband, and previous ex-husbands, were products of the misogyny of the time, and tried to control and limit her in many ways. Despite that, Bernadine went as far as to help found the International Arts Theatre which produced many successful plays, ballets, and operas. The Soul of the Ch'in was the largest ballet ever performed in Shanghai until then, and the adaptation Lady Precious Stream was ahead of its time by being the first English-language production to have an all Chinese cast, a positive revolutionary moment considering previous versions of the play always utilized white actors in yellowface.
Throughout her years, Bernadine met many other famous writers and artists and the book namedrops quite the list of 1930s celebrities. She was good friends with author Lin Yutang, wrote letters to Hollywood actress Anna May Wong, and even knew the politically-connected Soong sisters who had such an impact on the history of China and Taiwan, such as Soong Mei-ling—the future wife of dictator Chiang Kai-shek.
With the expat perspective, Western readers who have lived in places like modern Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Taipei as well will be struck by how similar the sentiment is today. One disgruntled quote from a visiting friend of hers describes it well: “Thirty years—sometimes more—without troubling to learn the language, and these ‘Old China Hands’ pickled in alcohol considered themselves supreme authorities on the country and the people. They prided themselves on never mixing with the ‘natives.’ Was it due to the climate? They were inveterate grumblers.” Personally, I have met of those exact kinds of people in 2024.
Another interesting aspect of the book is Bernadine’s evolving Jewish identity. Perhaps that was why she felt like an outsider in her own homeland, and was able to move so far away. She says in one discussion, “I don’t know what to think anymore. I’ve gone through all the phases of hating it, of hating all Jews, of being proud of it and hating lots of Jews, of not minding one way or the other and having a few friends who are Jews, or deciding always to take the bull by the horns and in the most obvious way possible tell people right off.” Although she was never religious, as the years went by and horrors of Nazi Germany became more apparent, she participated in Jewish causes in order to aid refugees during the war.
Politics are ever present in the background of the book, but the most fascinating sections are focused on her own private life. Sexuality within her failed marriage is explored, there’s a breast cancer scare, among other issues with her career and family. The saddest aspect of all was her relationship with her daughter Rosemary who she chose to send to boarding school thousands of miles away in America, something hard to understand today, and that story ultimately ends in tragedy.
Bernadine Szold Fritz may not be well-known today, but she very much deserved to have a book written about her and Susan Blumberg -Kason is proven to be up to the task. Fans of history and of women’s issues will appreciate this ambitious book which gives a human angle to such a tumultuous time in the world. I certainly learned a lot, and enjoyed the read. ...more
Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman is a powerful memoir, written succinctly with elegant prose and direct language. It’s personal, honest, as Feldman shareUnorthodox by Deborah Feldman is a powerful memoir, written succinctly with elegant prose and direct language. It’s personal, honest, as Feldman shares her unique truth fearlessly.
It is too short, but basically this book is about the first half of her life. Feldman has since written about the latter half, which I hope to also read. The core of Unorthodox is not about how she became “unorthodox” and embraced a secular life in the modern world, but rather is about how she was raised ultra-orthodox in such a stifling and punishing world.
The Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, specifically the Satmar group as opposed to all the different ones, might as well be from another time let alone another country. Lifelong New Yorkers wouldn’t even recognize the world she describes. It is cruel, hypocritical, and is concerned with patriarchal control far more than anything that could be defined as spiritual religiosity.
Without even getting into debates about mainstream Judaism, the legacy of religion on humanity, and philosophical questions about atheism and the supernatural, it’s important to remember that this cult does not represent the vast majority of Jews. They are a minority of a minority, although they do have too much political power in some places but that is not the subject of this particular review.
The book is a window into an insular world which outsiders rarely get to learn about. That said, it is author Deborah Feldman’s story and she would not presume to speak for all Jews or even all Hasids. Her experiences are her own. She is, however, based on that an expert in a sense.
The narrative is mostly chronological, beginning with her childhood and explaining the circumstances of her family. Her mother left long ago, and her father appeared to be mentally ill without treatment due to religious fundamentalism. She was raised by her grandparents, whom she does love, although they do have their flaws. The extended relatives and in-laws who surrounded her in this family-focused community are often awful people, judgmental and petty who seem to get off on telling others what to do.
Jewish readers will find some of the culture familiar, and other aspects very strange. These are not your average Jews. Even though they live in the biggest city in America, Yiddish is their mother tongue and they look down on the English language. And as pedantic as they can be with following every little letter of the Talmudic law, there are constant rumors of child molestation and even murder that people get away with. It seems very hard to argue that this somehow fosters a superior morality compared to secular laws.
The focus is especially on women, who have few rights are not allowed a full education. Feldman finds herself in an arranged marriage at 17 and pressured into getting pregnant young. Without any sex education, she is traumatized again and again. And her husband is just not a figure of respect, to put it mildly, who even gives her an STI. Throughout it all, she insists on hiding away novels and continuing her love of reading and learning, and remains an independent thinker. It shows remarkable spirt and willpower, while her peers were barely literate she comes out of it an accomplished writer.
It is unfortunate so many others were left behind. There is a growing movement of young people leaving, but it’s quite an uphill battle. Something I learned in reading this book, is how much the ultra-orthodox obsess over the tragedy of the Holocaust. It is fair, of course, since many of elderly lived through the war directly and remained traumatized their whole life. But the way it is framed as “God’s punishment” for sin, it is clear that the suffering is now used as a method of control by what can only be described as a cult. There is something about human nature that sadly responds to extreme negativity, letting these kinds of emotions manipulate everything until people barely have the ability to think. And yet these people consider themselves scholars.
In truth, their ancestors in Europe did not live this way. The ultra-orthodox Hasid religion is a modern movement, constructed after the horrors of the second world war. It is not healthy, it is not bringing any kind of light to the world, and only continues the cycle of suffering.
The tagline of the book states “my scandalous rejection”, but the scandal is that so much abuse is allowed to continue in seemingly modern, human rights-respecting societies to this day. That may be a topic for another article, about education standards in New York or current political influences in Israel. The hopeful thing is, after reading this book, more and more young people are rejecting this lifestyle. Unorthodox just happens to tell of Deborah Feldman, and she is far from the only one.
She does escape with her son in the end, which happens somewhat abruptly after she slowly takes more steps in her adulthood such as going to college, and mostly the transition is a story for her next book aptly titled Exodus. There is also a Netflix adaptation, which is named after Unorthodox but is focused on its aftermath. This book is about her past, where she came from, and what she must move beyond. Unfortunately, in the 21st century, it’s a story so many people still need to read....more