TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism by Hakim Bey
Reading Woodcock's history of Anarchism got me interested in reading more on the subject. My library actually doesn't have much on the subject. Strangely, of the very few things they did have, this off-kilter little volume was one of them. I recognized Hakim Bey from his contribution to Apocalypse Culture and figured this would be worth a read.
The titular essay discusses the concept of creating temporary zones that are out of reach of formal social regulations. One example he gives are enclaves that pirates established on uncharted islands for short periods of time. He explicitly opposes seeing the TAZ as a means to an end of an anarchist revolution, believing the desire to do such would defeat the entire purpose. He also speculates that the Internet may be a breeding grounds for TAZs, though as he notes in the preface to this edition, the essay was written when the Internet was a very new thing and this part is very out of date.
The rest of the book are reprints of communiques/broadsides dealing with various subjects such anarchism, mysticism, pornography, art and philosophy. Some of these essay are written in a style that make them read like complete word salads. For example, I have no idea if the "Hollow Earth" essay was making a point, or was just a weird vignette. For the most part, Bey is a pretty solid writer, but there are times like this where his excesses make him unreadable.
Besides the titular essay, most of this book isn't really to be taken seriously, and I don't think Bey intended it to be. For example, there are parts in the book where he advocates putting curses on institutes that harm society, but given he lists things like the MUZAK corporation as targets, I think it's safe to say he has his tongue in his cheek. I certainly hope so, he can't actually think taking a shit on the floor of a bank during the busy hours is going to accomplish anything.
Overall, this is an interesting book but it's not essential reading. On the topic of anarchism, you'll need a good amount of knowledge going in to get where the book is coming from on that front. Likewise, there are probably better places to go for the subjects of Tantra or art criticism. Still, it's an nicely unusual read. If you have an interest in the kind of fringe thought the Discordians and the Church of the SubGenius put out, this is worth getting.
Buy TAZ: The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism by Hakim Bey here.
The Kingdom of God is Within You by Leo Tolstoy
After I was forced to abandon War and Peace, I decided to give this a try. Given how dense War and Peace was in some parts, I expected this to be the same. Not so, this book is very readable and not at all difficult to understand.
The Kingdom of God is Within You is Tolstoy's treatise on Christianity, pacifism, and the nature of government. This is the book that basically started the Christian anarchist movement and was also a huge influence on Mahatma Gandhi.
Tolstoy's thesis is that the Sermon on the Mount calls for pacifism, or, as he calls it, nonresistance to evil by force. He concludes that the established Churches have perverted Christ's teachings for their own ends and that no Christian can support the existence of the state, which is required to use violence to exist.
Tolstoy's pacifism didn't make him a pushover. He attacks church and state with passion and clarity. There are no punches pulled for his targets like the Russian Orthodox Church or Kaiser Wilhelm. That's what makes this book such a pleasure. It's like reading a sermon from an intense minister.
Even if you're not a Christian or an anarchist, this is an essential book if only for its influence as a philosophical work.
Buy The Kingdom of God is Within You by Leo Tolstoy here.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
New Review at Cultured Vultures + An Announcement
My review of M Kitchell's collection of experimental writing, Spiritual Instrument, is up at Cultured Vultures.
Check it out here.
I have also been asked to be a regular contributor to the site, which I have accepted. As a result, most of my reviews will be going there if there, if not Adventures in SciFi Publishing.
I won't be abandoning this blog, of course. I'll still be putting my "Brief Thoughts" series here and be using it for announcements related to my writing. Any reviews that don't seem to fit elsewhere will go here as well.
Keep an eye out both at CV and AISFP, I have plenty of reviews coming down the pipe both places. I'll also have another announcement coming within the next couple weeks. Stay tuned.
Check it out here.
I have also been asked to be a regular contributor to the site, which I have accepted. As a result, most of my reviews will be going there if there, if not Adventures in SciFi Publishing.
I won't be abandoning this blog, of course. I'll still be putting my "Brief Thoughts" series here and be using it for announcements related to my writing. Any reviews that don't seem to fit elsewhere will go here as well.
Keep an eye out both at CV and AISFP, I have plenty of reviews coming down the pipe both places. I'll also have another announcement coming within the next couple weeks. Stay tuned.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Brief Thoughts 12
Never Die Alone by Donald Goines
A black drug dealer named King David is attacked in the street by people he had previously fucked over. He's discovered by a Jewish writer named Paul who rushes him to the hospital where he dies. Grateful for his kindness, King David leaves Paul everything he owns, including a diary detailing his rise from small to big time dealing. Meanwhile, Mike, King David's killer, is dealing with the fallout his revenge is having.
This is one of Goines' better known novels because of the movie starring DMX from 2004. It's an enjoyable crime thriller. Paul's glance into King David's diary is an excellent analysis of the psyche of a greedy dope peddler, and Mike's story line is full of action and suspense.
It's a flawed book, however. The two story lines don't really come together and both end a little too abruptly. The worst part is that there are one or two glaring continuity errors. Ones that could have easily been fixed by changing a couple words. The editor was clearly asleep at the wheel here.
Despite that, it's still a book worth picking up for a quick read.
Buy Never Die Alone by Donald Goines here.
Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver is a figure from the Civil Rights era who is nowhere near as well remembered as people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. It's easy to see why. In this very book, the man admits to being a rapist, and after the the 70s he became a conservative Mormon who stumped for the Republican party. Even Ishmael Reed's preface in this book is less than flattering. At one point Cleaver lead a group called "Guardians of the Sperm." It's easy to dismiss him as a crank.
The essays in Soul on Ice were written while he was in prison and deal with the subject of prison life, black liberation, the place of black men in popular culture, and sexuality in the context of American race relations. Many of the the essays on prison were originally letters to his lawyer. He was apparently in love with her and these letters come across somewhat as gushy and cloying.
The essays on sexuality divide black people and white people into four categories. Black women's femininity is compromised by servitude while a white women is overdosed on it. Black men are hypermasculine while power makes white men feminized. These essays lack the verisimilitude of his more personal ones and at times feel like mental masturbation.
Another infamous section in this book, besides admitting to having committed rapes, is his criticism of James Baldwin. While Cleaver praises Baldwin's writing, he condemns Baldwin himself as an Uncle Tom. He attributes this to the fact Baldwin was gay and compares homosexuality to raping babies and "wanting to become the head of General Motors." Moments like this are why history hasn't been kind to Cleaver. Still, this part was so blatant and mean-spirited I couldn't help but get a laugh out of it.
While I've been nothing but critical, I honestly loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Cleaver's writing has an absorbing energy that grips you and demands you hear him out to the end. Whatever flaws he had, his talent as a writer is undeniable.
As Reed notes in the preface, Cleaver was ultimately a doubter above all. His doubt lead him to some unusual places, but it allowed him to dissect race in America from a perspective few others could. He's a great example of why we always need people who reflexively distrust what they're taught.
Maybe Eldridge Cleaver was a crank, but if he was, he was an interesting crank and one that deserves to be read. If nothing else, to get into glimpse into what a turbulent time the Civil Rights era really was.
Buy Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver here.
A black drug dealer named King David is attacked in the street by people he had previously fucked over. He's discovered by a Jewish writer named Paul who rushes him to the hospital where he dies. Grateful for his kindness, King David leaves Paul everything he owns, including a diary detailing his rise from small to big time dealing. Meanwhile, Mike, King David's killer, is dealing with the fallout his revenge is having.
This is one of Goines' better known novels because of the movie starring DMX from 2004. It's an enjoyable crime thriller. Paul's glance into King David's diary is an excellent analysis of the psyche of a greedy dope peddler, and Mike's story line is full of action and suspense.
It's a flawed book, however. The two story lines don't really come together and both end a little too abruptly. The worst part is that there are one or two glaring continuity errors. Ones that could have easily been fixed by changing a couple words. The editor was clearly asleep at the wheel here.
Despite that, it's still a book worth picking up for a quick read.
Buy Never Die Alone by Donald Goines here.
Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver is a figure from the Civil Rights era who is nowhere near as well remembered as people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. It's easy to see why. In this very book, the man admits to being a rapist, and after the the 70s he became a conservative Mormon who stumped for the Republican party. Even Ishmael Reed's preface in this book is less than flattering. At one point Cleaver lead a group called "Guardians of the Sperm." It's easy to dismiss him as a crank.
The essays in Soul on Ice were written while he was in prison and deal with the subject of prison life, black liberation, the place of black men in popular culture, and sexuality in the context of American race relations. Many of the the essays on prison were originally letters to his lawyer. He was apparently in love with her and these letters come across somewhat as gushy and cloying.
The essays on sexuality divide black people and white people into four categories. Black women's femininity is compromised by servitude while a white women is overdosed on it. Black men are hypermasculine while power makes white men feminized. These essays lack the verisimilitude of his more personal ones and at times feel like mental masturbation.
Another infamous section in this book, besides admitting to having committed rapes, is his criticism of James Baldwin. While Cleaver praises Baldwin's writing, he condemns Baldwin himself as an Uncle Tom. He attributes this to the fact Baldwin was gay and compares homosexuality to raping babies and "wanting to become the head of General Motors." Moments like this are why history hasn't been kind to Cleaver. Still, this part was so blatant and mean-spirited I couldn't help but get a laugh out of it.
While I've been nothing but critical, I honestly loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Cleaver's writing has an absorbing energy that grips you and demands you hear him out to the end. Whatever flaws he had, his talent as a writer is undeniable.
As Reed notes in the preface, Cleaver was ultimately a doubter above all. His doubt lead him to some unusual places, but it allowed him to dissect race in America from a perspective few others could. He's a great example of why we always need people who reflexively distrust what they're taught.
Maybe Eldridge Cleaver was a crank, but if he was, he was an interesting crank and one that deserves to be read. If nothing else, to get into glimpse into what a turbulent time the Civil Rights era really was.
Buy Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver here.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Brief Thoughts 11
Anarchism by George Woodcock
I had a some bad luck with books the past couple months. I checked War and Peace out from my library and got halfway through it before it was due back. I couldn't renew it because someone had placed a hold on it, so I had to return it. Then right before that, I tried reading a copy of this book I had bought used a couple years ago. It turns out that version was a misprint that was missing the majority of the second half. There's 50 cents that's never coming back. I had to buy a new edition to finish it. Which wasn't an entirely bad thing since the newer edition had some updated information.
The first half is an engaging history of the roots of anarchist ideas. It covers most of the major thinkers like Godwin, Proudhon, Bakunin, etc, and provides a good summary of their lives and ideas. The chapter on Stirner is a bit lacking. It's clear that Woodcock was not a fan, and he doesn't analyze his ideas much. Still, he acknowledges Stirner's influence on anarchist thought in a pretty accurate manner. The section on Tolstoy also came from a more literary based perspective than from a political one.
The second half deals with the history of anarchist movements from all over the world. I found this part to be a dryer read. That's probably my own bias. I tend to be more interested in individuals than mass movements. That said, this section had some good information on where the "classical" anarchist movements started and ended in many parts around the world. It mostly focuses on continental Europe, but the sections on Latin and North America are well done. There were also a few affecting moments here. The optimism that the success (however limited) of the Spanish anarchists during the Civil War instills, and the tragedy of how thoroughly the Soviet Union crushed the movement in a country that produced some of its most important thinkers.
Also, funny story about this book. Bernie Sanders was in my city when I first picked this up, and he ended up coming into the cafe I started reading this in. So I read the first chapter with Sanders sitting at the table next to me talking to his campaign manager
If you're at all interested in Anarchism, this is an essential read. It gives a good rundown on it's history and various streams of thought. It's a good jumping off point as well, naming off major thinkers and works to reference if you decide to delve deeper.
Buy Anarchism by George Woodcock here.
Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard
I've said in other places how much I love J.G. Ballard, but I actually haven't read a lot of his works. Just four novels (counting this one) and a few short stories. He's one of those authors that instantly "clicked" with me. Cocaine Nights is no exception.
The plot of the novel is that a travel writer goes to Spain, where his brother has been locked up. He's been accused of starting a fire in a resort town that caused the death of five people. When he gets there, he finds that his brother has pleaded guilty. Convinced that something suspicious is going on, he sets out to find out who really started the fire and why.
This book is the spiritual predecessor to Super-Cannes. They have similar plots and both revolve around the theme of the place of crime and transgression in society. Specifically, they both put forward the idea that crime is a negative but necessary component of a healthy society. A lack of it creates complacency and breeds ennui.
Because Cocaine Nights reads more like a traditional mystery novel, many may find this to be more accessible than Super-Cannes. Despite that, I preferred Super-Cannes. It was a bit more subtle in its goals and created a better mood. I still liked this book a lot. In fact, it may be a good jumping on point for people new to Ballard. If you like mysteries and are looking to get into Ballard, this book is perfect.
Buy Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard here.
I had a some bad luck with books the past couple months. I checked War and Peace out from my library and got halfway through it before it was due back. I couldn't renew it because someone had placed a hold on it, so I had to return it. Then right before that, I tried reading a copy of this book I had bought used a couple years ago. It turns out that version was a misprint that was missing the majority of the second half. There's 50 cents that's never coming back. I had to buy a new edition to finish it. Which wasn't an entirely bad thing since the newer edition had some updated information.
The first half is an engaging history of the roots of anarchist ideas. It covers most of the major thinkers like Godwin, Proudhon, Bakunin, etc, and provides a good summary of their lives and ideas. The chapter on Stirner is a bit lacking. It's clear that Woodcock was not a fan, and he doesn't analyze his ideas much. Still, he acknowledges Stirner's influence on anarchist thought in a pretty accurate manner. The section on Tolstoy also came from a more literary based perspective than from a political one.
The second half deals with the history of anarchist movements from all over the world. I found this part to be a dryer read. That's probably my own bias. I tend to be more interested in individuals than mass movements. That said, this section had some good information on where the "classical" anarchist movements started and ended in many parts around the world. It mostly focuses on continental Europe, but the sections on Latin and North America are well done. There were also a few affecting moments here. The optimism that the success (however limited) of the Spanish anarchists during the Civil War instills, and the tragedy of how thoroughly the Soviet Union crushed the movement in a country that produced some of its most important thinkers.
Also, funny story about this book. Bernie Sanders was in my city when I first picked this up, and he ended up coming into the cafe I started reading this in. So I read the first chapter with Sanders sitting at the table next to me talking to his campaign manager
If you're at all interested in Anarchism, this is an essential read. It gives a good rundown on it's history and various streams of thought. It's a good jumping off point as well, naming off major thinkers and works to reference if you decide to delve deeper.
Buy Anarchism by George Woodcock here.
Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard
I've said in other places how much I love J.G. Ballard, but I actually haven't read a lot of his works. Just four novels (counting this one) and a few short stories. He's one of those authors that instantly "clicked" with me. Cocaine Nights is no exception.
The plot of the novel is that a travel writer goes to Spain, where his brother has been locked up. He's been accused of starting a fire in a resort town that caused the death of five people. When he gets there, he finds that his brother has pleaded guilty. Convinced that something suspicious is going on, he sets out to find out who really started the fire and why.
This book is the spiritual predecessor to Super-Cannes. They have similar plots and both revolve around the theme of the place of crime and transgression in society. Specifically, they both put forward the idea that crime is a negative but necessary component of a healthy society. A lack of it creates complacency and breeds ennui.
Because Cocaine Nights reads more like a traditional mystery novel, many may find this to be more accessible than Super-Cannes. Despite that, I preferred Super-Cannes. It was a bit more subtle in its goals and created a better mood. I still liked this book a lot. In fact, it may be a good jumping on point for people new to Ballard. If you like mysteries and are looking to get into Ballard, this book is perfect.
Buy Cocaine Nights by J.G. Ballard here.
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Review of Valencia by James Nulick at Cultured Vultures
While I put Valencia by James Nulick on my top ten for 2015, I hadn't posted a review. I had written it, but I decided to shop it around to a few other lit sites. Cultured Vultures decided to pick it up.
Click here to read the review.
Click here to buy Valencia by James Nulick
Click here to read the review.
Click here to buy Valencia by James Nulick
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Book Review: Mistah Kurtz! A Prelude to Heart of Darkness
"What's your name, mate?"Heart of Darkness is one of those books that's so heavily ingrained in English speaking cultures, that many people still know many aspects of it despite never having read it. If nothing else, people will recognize the name Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. But even for people who've read the book, how much do we really know about Kurtz? After all, his mystery is part of why he endures so much. James Reich gives his own take on who Kurtz may have been in this novel.
"Edward. Edward Kurtz."
"Yid?"
"I don't think I'm anything." As I put the ivory between my lips, I caught an abstract scent of gunpowder, and something made me say, "Yet."
I witness my world as an outsider, slipping out of my skin, observing my pale alienage, my transit, and my station. Out there, the Company men are beetles pushing shit. They bore recklessly into the the slop of the earth, hesitating only to witness the cryptic tunnel collapsing slowly behind them. I am a fly, buzzing my own embodiment, a thousand eye lenses aghast. What is Kurtz? Company man, poet, cannonball, or feral god--we shall find him out.Mistah Kurtz! tells the story of Kurtz through the papers which he entrusts to Marlow shortly before he dies. Much of it is letters that were originally intended for Kurtz's fiancee back in England. He recounts his teenage years, how he came to the Congo, and how he ended up becoming a god to the natives.
As a teenager, he is scarred by witnessing a public execution, by the abuse heaped on him by his father, and by the death of his mother. While trying to transport his mother's body to be buried in her homeland of England, his father abandons him and he loses his mother's coffin at sea. He also meets Eric Paine, who instills the idea of going to Africa in him.
Eric Paine took strange delight in his African transformation. Had he a mirror, he would have addressed it--without a mirror, he addressed me. I confess that he was, indeed, mesmerizing, in ways that remind me of Monsieur Prudhomme, the butcher of Charleville, or even my father.In England, he spends some time in a sanitarium due to seizures. There, he takes to producing art and poetry, and his interest in Africa deepens. When he gets out, he spends some time under the wing of a forger, gets caught up in a riot with dockworkers, and meets his fiancee. With the help of her father, he secures a position in the Company and heads off to the Congo. There, his descent/ascension into the mad white god that Marlow would eventually find begins.
The prose in Mistah Kurtz! is intense and vivid. It pulses with the same kind of feverish Modernism that made Heart of Darkness such a gripping classic. Further, Reich brings the violence surrounding Kurtz that was only suggested in Conrad's novel to the forefront.
Sunrise, indigo to pink--I was standing erect within the eviscerated corpse of an elephant, the titanic gray sheath of its hide flowing out behind me, as I forced my head upward through the smashed plates of the cranium, into the bloody hollow where the brain had been.Reich creates a convincing backstory for the brilliant but troubled character of Kurtz. He takes a more sympathetic approach to the character than what most interpretations of Heart of Darkness I've seen do. For example, most interpret the note left by him that Marlow comes upon, "exterminate all the brutes," as a call to commit genocide against the natives of the Congo. Here, Reich takes a very different interpretation.
The prodigal massacre of the elephants would continue until the station collapsed under the weight of ivory. I shot them down with vengeance, as if the sanctity of the universe depended on it. We gave the hollow child what rites we could. His tiny skull remains in my garden.The criticism of colonialism implied in Conrad's novel is made explicit in Reich's to a somewhat heavy-handed point. There is an excellent surreal sequence where Kurtz imagines becoming a tumor that kills King Leopold which gets its point across quite well. Shortly after, he also imagines leading the Congolese on a rampage across Europe which climaxes in beheading Leopold. This part is a little too on-the-nose, especially coming so soon after a better meditation on the same theme.
There are also moments when things drag, such as the cliche abusive father that Kurtz reflects on. He haunts Kurtz's memory throughout the book, yet we don't really learn all that much about him. Reich's masterful prose keeps the book from ever derailing, however. The story of Mistah Kurtz! also meets with Heart of Darkness's very nicely.
There are rumors, Chinese whispers along the sycophantic chains of the company, that I am to be arraigned. Kurtz is to be rescinded--my ideas have become paralogical. It is difficult to regard these accounts seriously, since one simple whisper is milled into so many split grains of half-truth, yet perhaps there is one grain of truth among them. The Company is disturbed: good! I have got above my station.Mistah Kurtz! is an intensely decadent study of one of the most mysterious characters in the Western canon. The prose is as dense and colorful as the Conoglian forests and tells a story as compelling as its predecessor. If you enjoyed Heart of Darkness, Reich's prelude is a must-read.
Pre-order Mistah Kurtz! A Prelude to Heart of Darkness by James Reich here.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Brief Thoughts 10
Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans
I finally got around to picking this up, thanks to some prodding from how Huysmans factored into Submission.
This book is almost overwhelming in the senses it invokes. The story is relatively simple. A debauched nobleman named Des Esseintes gets tired of his libertine life and cloisters himself away in a castle in a country. He resolves to live a life focused entirely on art and literature.
The details in the book of Des Esseintes's castle, of the art he admires (such as Gustave Moreau), and the discussion of the writers he admires (such as Schopenhauer) are incredible vivid. One of the most memorable moments is where Des Esseintes has a dream that he's being attacked by a woman who he believes to be syphilis in human form. It's easy to see why this is regarded as one of the best works of the Decadent movement.
Because of how much Huysmans's eventual conversion to Catholicism was a part of Submission, his fixation on religion in this book really stood out to me. Des Esseintes admires many theologians, religious artists, and church music, but he's unconvinced of Christianity.
Despite that, he's even more disgusted with the vacuous modern life of Paris. It's easy to see why, as Des Esseintes is likely a stand in for Huysmans, that he would eventually convert.
This is a beautiful work, and it's easy to see why Houellebecq found so much inspiration in it.
Buy Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans here.
Lump It or Leave It by Florence King
I've been a fan of Florence King since I read With Charity Towards None, a funny and intelligent look at the subject of misanthropy. So I was saddened to hear when she died on January 6th of this year, one day after her 80th birthday.
While I had read some more of her articles online, I hadn't picked up another one of her books since. I decided to grab this one from my library.
Unlike With Charity Towards None, this book doesn't have a central theme. Some of the essays are personal, some are about the hot button political topics of the time, and all of them are entertaining and hilarious.
For example, in her essay on going through menopause, she talks about how the greatest compliment she received from a man was when a pair of obvious purse snatchers decide to leave her alone because "she a mean lady."
She also relates a hilarious story on dealing with a sketchy literary agent that ends with the agent's daughter trying to kill her mother in a bathtub. This is probably the chapter I had the most fun reading. King can tell a great story, and I need to pick up her memoir sooner than later.
On political topics, she shows herself to be an iconoclast. She supports traditional values, but hates traditional value voters because they're all idiots. She's bisexual and hates the gay rights movement, who don't much like her either. She hates feminism, but she can't help but admire the fire and wit that Andrea Dworkin displayed in Letters from a War Zone.
Florence King was one of a kind. One of the best writers of invective since H.L. Mencken. Her death is a great loss to America.
Buy Lump It or Leave It by Florence King here.
I finally got around to picking this up, thanks to some prodding from how Huysmans factored into Submission.
This book is almost overwhelming in the senses it invokes. The story is relatively simple. A debauched nobleman named Des Esseintes gets tired of his libertine life and cloisters himself away in a castle in a country. He resolves to live a life focused entirely on art and literature.
The details in the book of Des Esseintes's castle, of the art he admires (such as Gustave Moreau), and the discussion of the writers he admires (such as Schopenhauer) are incredible vivid. One of the most memorable moments is where Des Esseintes has a dream that he's being attacked by a woman who he believes to be syphilis in human form. It's easy to see why this is regarded as one of the best works of the Decadent movement.
Because of how much Huysmans's eventual conversion to Catholicism was a part of Submission, his fixation on religion in this book really stood out to me. Des Esseintes admires many theologians, religious artists, and church music, but he's unconvinced of Christianity.
Despite that, he's even more disgusted with the vacuous modern life of Paris. It's easy to see why, as Des Esseintes is likely a stand in for Huysmans, that he would eventually convert.
This is a beautiful work, and it's easy to see why Houellebecq found so much inspiration in it.
Buy Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans here.
Lump It or Leave It by Florence King
I've been a fan of Florence King since I read With Charity Towards None, a funny and intelligent look at the subject of misanthropy. So I was saddened to hear when she died on January 6th of this year, one day after her 80th birthday.
While I had read some more of her articles online, I hadn't picked up another one of her books since. I decided to grab this one from my library.
Unlike With Charity Towards None, this book doesn't have a central theme. Some of the essays are personal, some are about the hot button political topics of the time, and all of them are entertaining and hilarious.
For example, in her essay on going through menopause, she talks about how the greatest compliment she received from a man was when a pair of obvious purse snatchers decide to leave her alone because "she a mean lady."
She also relates a hilarious story on dealing with a sketchy literary agent that ends with the agent's daughter trying to kill her mother in a bathtub. This is probably the chapter I had the most fun reading. King can tell a great story, and I need to pick up her memoir sooner than later.
On political topics, she shows herself to be an iconoclast. She supports traditional values, but hates traditional value voters because they're all idiots. She's bisexual and hates the gay rights movement, who don't much like her either. She hates feminism, but she can't help but admire the fire and wit that Andrea Dworkin displayed in Letters from a War Zone.
Florence King was one of a kind. One of the best writers of invective since H.L. Mencken. Her death is a great loss to America.
Buy Lump It or Leave It by Florence King here.
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