Fitzgerald in Hollywood and Proust in a Prison Camp
Andrea Long Chu, perfumery during the Soviet Union, and the ideal woman
Since that Andrea Long Chu piece on Ottessa Moshfegh that everyone read, I’ve gone back to a few other pieces by Chu that I love. Her cutting review of Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld, metoo and bad tv, her iconic piece, “On Liking Women,” and her game changing review of A Little Life. There’s also this profile of Hanya Yanigahara, the author of A Little Life, if you’re interested.
There was this article in Book Forum titled Mixed Doubles: Elaine Sturtevant’s tennis game about the titular artist that I quite enjoyed, more on the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial and its particular brand of misogyny, and a feminist film journal.
I read this rather long piece on The Gap recently which was incredibly interesting. I suggest following it up with this odd article about music that played in the retailer’s stores and this one on millennials and Uniqlo. Finally, wrap up that odd rabbit hole with a musing on fast fashion and copycat designs.
On joining the BTS army, why we’re still interested in Casanova, and, one of the more interesting things I’ve read recently, the era of unapologetic bad taste. Finally, a brilliant article on champagne socialism and perfumery in the Soviet Union.
If you’re in the literary mood, Fitzgerald in Hollywood is always an interesting path to wander down and no one does it quite like Toni Morrison, as this interview makes abundantly clear. As we know, I love the existentialists, so here’s a great piece on Sartre. I’m a big fan of Ted Giola’s writing, and I recently took a deep dive into his work outside his Substack, so here’s the death of satire, lectures on Proust in a Soviet Prison Camp, and a review of Infinite Jest.
If you’re in another kind of literary mood, remember when James Patterson said its harder for older white men to find jobs in film and literature? A great tweet from Roxanne Gay that summed up my sentiments rather well:
Also, on booktok’s infatuation with sad girl books, the Fleabag era, and a critique of the ideal woman. An incredibly convenient spreadsheet of shared fashion resources.
I thought I’d doing something a little different and recommend some videos to you as well. This excellent video on the cinema of Dolly Parton, the angry men of twitter, and modern art. Also, Yhara Zayd does not miss and she didn’t start with Nice White Teachers, Bad Brown Schools: Hollywood’s Pedagogy on Urban Education.
I recently read a short work by Patti Smith titled Devotion, Virginia Woolf’s Oh, to Be a Painter!, a collection of her essays on art that I purchased when I visited the Met, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt, again. I’ve been reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, and get an assurance that its an excellent book every time I go to a restaurant.