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If someone asked me to list the greatest living American novelists, Ward would be in my Top 5. Sing, Unburied, Sing is an absolute stunner, both lived-in and otherworldly, such aching and beautiful prose. And Ward can be blunt too, evincing the steps and steepness of life. Her most recent novel, Let Us Descend, is profound and painful, the story of an enslaved girl, of conjured humanity despite brutal circumstances. I love how Ward’s stories fuse generations, those living and beyond; I’m always transfixed as a reader.
Jan 16, 2024
Related Recs
both by Toni Morrison. More heavy, intense, uncompromising than the descriptors in the ask but close enough – any opportunity to rec Toni Morrison simply must be taken. She writes characters like no one else – incredibly full of life. She writes about the complex experience of blackness and of girlhood/womanhood with incredible candor and care. It’s both extremely personal and always political.
TW: probably everything, so please be wary if you have sensitivities to traumatic shit.
May 13, 2024
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by Toni Morrison
Her treatment of time is so beautiful and lyrical. She pulls U into the past and it’s like being swept away by a current or a riptide + I often didn’t notice it happening until I was well in it.
It’s a beautiful + harrowing read. I genuinely could not put it down (ended up finishing it in a day). Cried many times. Best thing I’ve read so far this year.
Jun 28, 2024
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Such a powerful, beautiful, lyrical, and gutwrenching examination of race, beauty, femininity, family, etc, etc.. I could go on about it, but I'll just say that its prose somehow embodies not only poetry, but as this old NYT review states, also "history, sociology, folklore, nightmare and music." If you haven't read it, you should!
1d ago
Top Recs from @carrie
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Real Life, Modern Romance, Lost in America, Defending Your Life. That quartet of films possesses so much DNA that I witness in today’s comedy. I love Brooks’ melding of earnest, trenchant, and silly. He’s always exploring the pitfalls of idealism and exposing self-awareness as a curse. Yet his films aren’t cynical, they’re heartfelt.
Jan 16, 2024
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I know, it’s obnoxious to be part of this trendy bandwagon. For all I know, you’re someone who has called to complain about the sound of people playing the game, which I’ve heard happens in certain neighborhoods. I get it. It’s essentially very loud and very big ping pong. If I can make one argument for taking up the sport, I’d say it’s that the age range of people with whom you hang out will expand greatly. The other day, I played with a 10-year old, a 30-year old, and a 70-year old. Plus, it’s a real-life interaction, and it’s easy to come up short on those sometimes.
Jan 16, 2024
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Julia Davis and Vicky Pepperdine are absolutely mental. And brilliant. And I probably laugh out loud more at this than anything else. So, if you like your comedy dark, like a cave or a hotel room with blackout curtains, this is for you. It ’s essentially an advice podcast, where the questions are fake and the answers are shocking. Plus, you learn about the sordid lives of Joan and Jericha along the way.
Jan 16, 2024