At the bookstore where I work, I talk to a lot of elderly folks. They come in to browse while their children and grandchildren are hiking or biking or skiing. They’re on anniversary holidays. At their vacation homes. Reconnecting with old friends. Sometimes they lean on my counter and ten minutes go by—I learn about how this or that used to be, where things came from, what is no longer left. Today I introduced a septuagenarian to Braiding Sweetgrass, the impeccable essay collection by Robin Wall Kimmerer, who blends Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge in treasured teachings about us and our relationship with the earth. The woman before me, an art teacher from an hour away, skimmed the pages as I told her my favorite bits about it. It’s a book I’ve read three times and think should be required in the U.S. “I’ll take it,” she said, closing it up. “When you’re young, you think you have all these years left, and then one day, you don’t.” It’s true, I could see plainly. I do think I have all these years left. She was telling me she no longer does. Older people are always making me think.
On Thursday I rang up books for another older woman when I scanned a Rocky Mountain gardening book that caught my eye. “I could’ve read that this year,” I said, setting it back on her pile. “My garden kind of struggled.” She looked up at me through her thick glasses, back bent, and shrugged. “Eh, you can always do more,” she said, batting the air away.
WHAT I’VE BEEN READING
Dog of Summer, by Andrea Abreu. Summer is over but there’s always time to read a short and beautifully executed novel about female friendship, isn’t there? This story is of two best friends who live on the flanks of a volcano in the Canary Islands, who both dream of making it to the beach at least once this summer. I wasn’t sure how a 10-year-old narrator would read, but I loved it—the young girls so effortlessly come to life in their run-down town, which borders the “forener” resorts and holiday homes. Their adolescent antics are fascinating. When was the last time you peeked in the mind of someone who’s only been alive a decade? Andrea Abreu is a Spanish writer, and her translator (Julia Sanches) kept and wove in bits of colorful Spanish and Canary Islands slang throughout, all to wonderful effect.
The Empire of Dirt, by Francesca Manfredi. Translated from the Italian, this book traces three generations of women wrestling with a family curse. Again we have a young protagonist (12 or 13) closely paired with a friend—there’s plenty to read between the lines in this coming-of-age book, though I liked Dogs of Summer more.
The Vaster Wilds, by Lauren Groff. What to say about this book? It has been throbbing in my mind since I put it down more than a week ago! I LOVED it! Groff’s style is stunning and atmospheric (even if it takes a couple pages to get into). Right away, we find a young servant woman who has arrived in Jamestown in the early 1600s, and who has decided to escape the colony (and its violent men, diseases, famine) to instead try out her fate in the wilderness… Will she survive? What happens as a human grows more primal?
Into the House In the Dark of the Woods, by Laird Hunt. “The eerie, disturbing story of one of our perennial fascinations — witchcraft in colonial America — wrapped up in a lyrical novel of psychological suspense.” I couldn’t agree more! If you’re looking to jump-start your spooky season, this is a great book with which to begin.
Land of Milk and Honey, by C Pam Zhang. I loved this quirky near-future cli-fi. A smog has covered the world, plants and animals are unable to sustain themselves any longer, and an elite group of wealthy investors has created a “research country” on an Italian mountaintop—one of the final places food can still grow. Our protagonist is a scrappy chef with nothing to lose. She submits an application to work as a chef at this elitist enclave… and when she’s hired, her relationship to food, herself, and the world is tested beyond belief.
Violence Beside, by Jade Lascelles. This collection of poetry comes from a Boulder-based artist, who I had the pleasure of interviewing for a forthcoming Boulder Weekly article. I also wrote a small review for The Colorado Sun:
Violence is a noun, but it is no person, place or thing. It is a happening, an action done to or received by a person, or thing, in some place in time. It’s also the sticky and affecting subject of Colorado poet Jade Lascelles’ latest collection of verse: “Violence Beside.” Throughout her varied and clever poems, Lascelles wrestles with and describes conditions of life in proximity to violence — which can also be phrased as life on planet Earth, a place where violence, particularly for women, is currently inevitable or at least inescapable.
Lascelles works hard to avoid further traumatizing or adding violence to the readers’ experience. As such, her poems serve as a light for all who navigate the darker corners of humanity.They also reflect the rewarding and necessary work of joy under such conditions. It’s cathartic and somewhat healing to feel you’re not alone in your suffering, which is the magic, not just of poetry, but of the work Jade Lascelles has now given to the world.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO
Sam Smith performing on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.
Zadie Smith and Terry Gross in conversation on Fresh Air about The Fraud, Smith’s newest novel, a historical fiction set in Jamaica and England. When Terry asks about creating lives in the much-more-constricted Victorian Era, “Were you imagining what it would be like for you if you lived in those times as a woman?” Zadie’s answer surprised me:
I'm always having that thought, but it's a double thought.… What would it be like to live in times in which I had less freedom? But there's something about that argument which is very flattering to us, right? It always assumes that there is an arrow that arcs towards progress, and we are the final and most perfected result of that system. And I don't feel that. I guess I feel both things. Obviously, at a practical level, I have less civil freedoms than in 1870 or 1850. But I was also interested in the idea is - of, what was it like to live without categories?
That really interested me - slightly prior to the invention of linguistic and conceptual categories for our experience, there must also have been freedoms contained within that. You know, it's like saying, what were the 2,000 years before photographs like? What kind of freedom is involved with not knowing your own image, with not being photographed, with only ever seeing your reflection in water or perhaps in a mirror if you had money? Freedom works both ways, you know what I mean? You gain freedoms, but you also lose things that might also have been of value. So it's that double-thought process that's in my mind when I go backwards historically. I'm not only assuming that I am the perfected version of the past. I never assume that.
WHAT I’VE BEEN WATCHING
(⭐️/5)
Midsommar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The best-done movie I’ve seen in ages! How can something so colorful and bright turn out so creepy and scary? Starring Florence Pugh, this thriller follows a group of friends to a culty midsommar festival in Sweden. The visual effects (loved) enhanced the emotional twists and turns.
Pearl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Continuing our spooky thriller theme… this movie also slapped. Our protagonist, Pearl (Mia Goth, who also starred in the 2022 thriller/horror X that I wrote about last year), is a young woman trapped on a farm, and as you’ll see… she’ll do anything to get herself off of it.
Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones ⭐️⭐️ If you’re into any of Netflix’s behind-the-scenes food shows (Fat, Acid, Salt, Heat; Chef’s Table; etc.) you’ll probably like this series. I learned a lot about the “blue zone” concept (areas of the world where people consistently reach age 100), and the various factors that contribute to or assist human longevity beyond food. My favorite activities that can vitality and oomph to our final years:
spending time with elders
gardening on a daily basis
forging a deep sense of community connection
The Novice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “A college freshman joins her university's rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.” Don’t let the sporty theme fool you… this movie is about so much more! Thrilling and captivating… highly recommended to any current or former Perfectionists out there… it’s intense in a way it has to be (and trigger warning, re: self harm).
WHAT I’VE BEEN EATING
Oy, please send your food inspiration my way… I need some invigorating ideas! What’s coming to your autumnal menu/table this year?
WHAT I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT
—Ocean Vuong, poet, essayist, and novelist.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LEARNING
I am capable of softness, even in my most pointed and heated wraths.
I am capable of patience, even when all feels imminent and scary.
I am capable of truth, even as reality disappoints me.
I am capable of light, even when the blackest hole resides in my stomach.
WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO
This ongoing, marathon-like process of applying to MFAs… I’m excited and nervous about putting myself out there. I am dreaming big and I refuse to do otherwise! Again, if anyone has experience with or advice about the application process, I’d love to chat.
xx Emma
What’s been tickling your senses this month? Leave a comment or hit the reply button!