August Reading Recap

I had another great month of summer reading, and now I can begin on my anticipated fall reads!

→ CRUX by Gabriel Tallent: Dan and Tamma are best friends in their last year of high school, and all they want to do is climb rocks together. Every evening that they can get away from troubled home lives, they make another attempt on the boulder that's at the limit of their skills. They climb without the safety of ropes or crash pads—not for the challenge, but because they can't afford any gear. When they aren't tackling the boulder problem, they're struggling with the unsolvable problems of home. Dan's parents expect him to live out their dreams of college and career, while Tamma's family doesn't expect her to make anything of herself, until they expect too much. Only on the rocks, risking their lives, do they feel in control.

This novel is so harrowing and so good. Dan and Tamma are complicated, original characters. Though they often relate through ridiculously vulgar banter, their friendship is deep and loving. Their family situations are also complicated, involving a range of difficult material. Tallent writes the climbing sequences with effective, jargon-laced description that powerfully conveys what's happening both physically and emotionally. The threat of death hangs over the story, and some scenes are so intense that I was barely breathing as I read. I recommend this to any readers prepared for the intensity, particularly anyone with an interest in climbing.

→ COOL MACHINE by Colson Whitehead brings the Harlem Trilogy to a satisfying close. It's the 1980s, Ray Carney has reached middle age, and he's proud that the success of his Harlem furniture store has earned him recognition as Northeast Regional Dealer of the Month (August). Carney hardly ever engages in his side business as a fence anymore, except sometimes when he does. And when he does, just like in the past, those shady dealings can entangle Carney and his associates with more complicated crimes, dangerous situations, and violent characters.

This final installment is just as good as the first two, with a familiar style, tone, and humor. There's an appropriate sense of the time that's accumulated over the course of the trilogy (the first book opens in 1959, and this one concludes in 1986). Carney and the other characters are frequently aware of their advancing age and reflecting back on previous exploits. The 1980s portrait of a gentrifying New York City is also often depicted through memories of what was there before.

If you like reading about conflicted criminals, the details of heists and shakedowns, and stories where the setting is another character, I recommend this series. A television adaptation is now in the works, and I think it will also be great on screen.

→ WHAT AM I, A DEER? by Polly Barton: A young woman from England has recently moved to Frankfurt for a translation job at a video game company. The big life change is exciting, but she constantly feels out of place: She doesn't care for video games, and while she's fluent in the Japanese she's translating to English, her German is poor. A shift in her Frankfurt experience begins when a stranger returns her forgotten umbrella as she steps off the tram. She discovers he works in another department at the large game company, and though they have no further interactions, she develops an obsessive crush. She's unable to shake the fixation, even as she enters a relationship with a different man who works at the company, forms friendships with her coworkers, and indulges in her love of karaoke as a way to sing out all her feelings.

I found this novel compelling, delightfully odd, and frequently funny, but it's not going to be for everyone. The narrative follows the protagonist's stream of consciousness in disorienting directions, the lengthy sentences require close attention, and not much happens. What pulled me in and kept me interested was that the character and her situation felt so real and specific. I wanted to find out how her various relationships (and non-relationships) were going to pan out and what she'd figure out about herself. And I wanted to know all her thoughts about translation and karaoke!

→ GHOST CITIES by Siang Lu opens with the story of an emperor who gains the throne after his father dies choking on a chicken bone. Among the emperor's first acts are to outlaw the eating of poultry, to execute the imperial taster, and to appoint the taster's three-month-old baby to the role. The continuing tales of this empire feature more of the ruler's absurd edicts and cruel treatment of his court and subjects. In alternating chapters, a modern-day story unfolds: Xiang Lu has been working as a translator for the Chinese consulate in Sydney. Problem is, he doesn't speak any Mandarin and has been doing all his work using Google Translate. Once he's caught, his firing goes viral and attracts the attention of a film director who hopes to attach Xiang's questionable fame to his own infamous projects.

This is a strange, entertaining novel. The two storylines are both full of absurd situations and memorable characters. These become connected through an increasing number of parallels and cross-references, though there's no tidy explanation for the pairing. I wanted a bit more from the end of this novel, but I enjoyed reading it, and I'll definitely be interested in more of Lu's work.

→ THE ECHO WIFE by Sarah Gailey: When Evelyn is honored at a gala for her research into human cloning, she tries to keep focus on her professional success, not the recent ending of her marriage. If anyone knew the details of Nathan's betrayal, it would be not only embarrassing, but damaging to the reputation of her work. Nathan left her for what he imagined was the perfect woman: a clone he created using Evelyn's methods, and her genetic material. Martine is a double to Evelyn physically, but her personality was designed to be docile and accommodating. Legally, she isn't supposed to exist, and so Evelyn has been attempting to pretend she doesn't. But after something horrific occurs, Martine calls Evelyn in desperation, and the two must work together to hide ever-larger secrets.

This science-fictional spin on a domestic thriller kept me engaged. I enjoyed the scientific worldbuilding around Evelyn's research, and wished for even more detail to set the context. The thrillery escalation of plot complications kept the story surprising, though I occasionally questioned the logic of events or character decisions. At the center of the story is the evolving dynamic between Evelyn and Martine, and that was consistently interesting. Gailey especially does strong work with Evelyn's narration, which increasingly reveals how her perspective is skewed by past trauma.