...the Soul of Wit - Short Reviews

Last month was a pretty crazy reading month. I joined many reading groups where I read books out of my comfort zone I wouldn't normally have chosen, but also re-read books from years ago I had almost forgotten about. But in the end it feels good to stray from the plan every now and then and rediscover old stuff. Enjoy the wrap up!

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

This is one of those books that you know from page one that it will break your heart and make you cry. Did I say page one? Cover page would be more accurate, because that's already where you find out you'll read the story of someone dying. When you start reading and realize it's a young person, a teenager who doesn't fit in with the conventions and rules of the place they live in, the bitterness the title suggests becomes all the more pervasive. Not that it prevails throughout the whole book, though - for me The Death of Vivek Oji is also a portrait of Nigeria in general and how it treats its outsiders in specific, the story of a handful of friends from a similar background going about their lives and the story of a big love.

Emezi's writing is, as always, completely immersing and except for the ending, which felt a little rushed to me, this is a superlative book.

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

Being the only black editorial assistant in one of the biggest publishing houses in New York is hard for Nella Rogers. She does her best to change that, to open the doors of her workplace for more diverse people and is failing spectacularly at it. Her dreams come true when surprisingly another black girl, Hazel, is hired and she's perfect: the Harlem-born and -bred buddy Nella has been waiting for a long time. It is only when Hazel becomes the absolute office darling that Nella starts to realize something is fishy. If someone is too good to be true, then they probably are...

Actively hostile attacks on Nella, like the little notes left on her desk telling her to leave the company, prompt her to look for ways to unveil Hazel's deceitful intentions and to expose her. Meanwhile something completely different and unexpected is going on!!!

This was not only a detailed introduction into black girls' hair-care regimens, it was also a very sharp and engaging thriller-read that develops in very very unexpected ways. Pretty genius actually! Highly recommended!

Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

I initially mistook Coyote Songs for a short story collection and thought the short, striking, partly devastating little chapters a literary experiment; short excerpts about life in and around the US-Mexican border in the Trump-era. Until I realized that the characters keep recurring and recognized Iglesias' different literary approach of breaking strings of stories into smaller pieces and presenting them in rotation. Knowing this would have saved me some time because I was thinking in terms of short stories and when I read short stories I finish them and file them mentally as finished and move on to the next. Having before me various storylines presented as short stories, I finished reading them as such and forgot about them and realizing they actually continue, I later needed to return to the start and read a few passages again. When you get used to that rhythm though, it is an utterly rewarding and unique read.

It is significant that it is not the supernatural elements (the vindictive ghosts, a monster who eats children, the Virgin that tells a Coyote to kill for justice or the soul of a mother who has died in the back of a truck while trying to make it over the border and who vows for revenge for her dead child etc.) that are the elements of horror here; in this book the most horrifying parts are the stories of refuge, of poverty, of police violence and of racism. Very bitter, very in-your-face and a must-read. I still think about it time after time. 

The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein

My first re-read this month is a masterpiece of cosmic dread: T.E.D. Klein's one hit wonder The Ceremonies. The first time I read it was for the Otherland Horror Book Club some couple of years ago, way before the pandemic. I remember that everyone present was excited about this awesome modern Gothic/cosmic horror mash up and anyone who has ever read with a group will know what an achievement it is to please each and every one. So, I see that as a confirmation of the greatness of this book.

To this day, The Ceremonies remains T.E.D. Klein's only full-sized novel, though he has many spectacularly well written short stories in various anthologies and even one collection entitled Dark Gods. So, what makes this book so special apart from being the only novel of an obviously talented author? I personally think it is the pretty unique blend of Gothic novel with cosmic horror. Main character Jeremy Freirs being a graduate student and uni teacher on Gothic Literature lays the foundations of that blend and him going to spend his summer reading Gothic novels on a farm in Gilliad New Jersey whose owners are subject to interplanetary wrath elevates the novel to dark cosmic territories. The journal he keeps to take notes on the Gothic novels he reads is just a delicious little amuse-bouche among others, a kind of a love letter to the genre.

Having bought back said farm that once belonged to his family, Sarr Poroth and his wife Deborah are in desperate need of the financial boost that renting their former storage will provide, even though it is against their religious customs to do so. While the whole community is highly distrustful of a tenant from the big city, Freirs' mind is very occupied by the cute and rather reserved librarian Carol he met in New York, shortly before leaving for the summer. Carol, on the other hand, is confused by Freirs' mixed messages and spends most her summer, not least because she is broke, with Mr. Rosebottom, Rosie, the little old man she met at the library. So much for appearances... Because most things aren't what they seem at all and there are inconceivably evil forces at work. 

Having read it for the second time, and (with the advice of my fellow goodreads reading buddies) having also read the short story "The White People" by Arthur Machen which apparently has a great influence on this work I liked it even more this time and think it is an absolute masterpiece that everybody should read. Go grab it!

Shrine by James Herbert

I was determined that my first read by James Herbert would be the infamous The Rats that I kept on hearing about. But then I saw Unholy, the movie adaptation of Shrine and thought it was kind of bad. Since it is a widespread phenomenon that the worst movies are usually based on good books, I decided to take an early shot with this one.
Journalist Fenn finds the story of his life when he accidentally meets Alice, a girl of eleven who has lost her hearing and speech ability as a toddler. When she suddenly begins to perfectly hear and speak, talks about Mary and the immaculate conception and heals other people too, literally all hell breaks loose. While all the world believes Alice is the reincarnation of the virgin, there are signs that she may in fact be possessed by something sinister and evil.
There are indeed lots of differences to the movie and in that sense I think the book is obviously superior, although not superior enough to be really good. Still, Herbert's net of well fleshed out characters that have some kind of connection to Alice is more than accomplished and that, beside the interesting subject matter, keeps you well engaged throughout the whole book. There are specifically two scenes - one riot and one car accident, that are epic in their description and should have been in the movie too... I personally also liked the long talks taking place among the high horses of the Catholic Church and, not for the first time, came to the conclusion that no religion should have so much weight when it comes to people's health - there are many dialogues about the sick and disabled people who are being cured in masses by little Alice and the discussions of representatives of the Church were really intriguing to follow.
On the other hand, there's one point in which this book didn't age well, like the cringeworthy descriptions of some disabled people (e.g. "death and dumb") and the action scenes were a little dragged out.
All in all, it was an OK read, I still have The Rats on my list!

The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

Now this, on the other hand, this really wasn't my cup of tea...

I actually think it's pretty bad so I'll just quickly wrap it up: after taking a DNA test Alberta Monte finds out she in fact belongs to the Italian aristocracy and has miraculously inherited a castle somewhere in the Alps and a flat in Paris. When she travels there she will have the shock of her life!!! The Ancestor starts off as the perfect Gothic novel, maybe too perfect for a good while, which then takes a completely off the charts left turn into a direction I really don't much care reading about. It seriously feels like the author lost control over the story after the twist and it went all over the place. There are also a few inconsistencies that bothered me - like everybody in Italy speaking American English, in an Alpine region where an accent mixed with French is spoken. Even great grandparents from a century ago writing their journals in American English. Every trace of Italian was erased in a story set there. I understand some ancestors are British and most of the time stuck in a remote castle, but surely not all of them... In any case and even without that bothersome detail, it wasn't the horror novel I expected.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

My second re-read this month is a work that has had a groundbreaking influence on speculative fiction generally and LGBT-SF specifically. I first read this book about fifteen years ago, and can say that it has had an enormous influence on me too, helping me understand SF as a truly boundless genre.

The Left Hand of Darkness follows the story of Genly Ai, a human ambassador in Gethen, sent to persuade the planet to join the Ekumen, a sort of planetary league in Le Guin's Hainish universe. The natives to this alien world have a peculiarity that is initially a little... off putting for Ai; they can change their gender according to where they are in their reproductive cycle. Ai must not only overcome his own reservations and prejudices but also those of the Gethenians, which proves difficult and even life-threateningly dangerous at times.

If you're even vaguely familiar with Le Guin's work and especially the Hainish cycle, you will know how her writing style forces you into focusing, into a mindful read which can be really rewarding if you hang on. It doesn't always work with me, but when it works, it does wonders and The Left Hand of Darkness is that wonder for me.

I am a great fan of Le Guin but I can also criticize her harshly at times, especially in one case where she commercially used and fictionalized the stories, myths and legends of an extinct indigenous American people, which I personally find problematic. In Left Hand, Taoist philosophy skilfully creeps through every page - especially blatant in the way people see and interact with each other and also in the ways of Gethenian governments. The relationship that's budding between Genly Ai and his companion Estraven, their acceptance of each other, their solidarity is so touching that it is by far my favorite aspect of the book. I also enjoyed the little chapters inbetween the frame story that introduce and explain the Gethenian culture, the fictional myths, stories, the cultural peculiarities.

As I mentioned above, I have read this book as a young girl about ten to fifteen years ago for the first time and as my second Le Guin after The Dispossessed, and it left its mark on me. I have read many books by her ever since but none of her other work has quite elicited the same level of enjoyment, of comfort in me. I guess it will always stay my favorite Le Guin and reading it again has confirmed that.