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  • Personal Review: KUDOS by Rachel Cusk

    (SPOLIERS, but I don’t think you can spoil this novel…)

    I’m a big fan of Rachel Cusk. Ever since I read a piece on her in The New Yorker a while ago, and I think the article was about the OUTLINE Trilogy, I have found her to be a huge inspiration and a fascinating author. She does a great job in fooling me in believing that we are close friends, and the conversations she shares with me, makes me feel smarter. Like all very talented writers, she’s also part magician – conjuring a relationship with the reader that never really existed, and making us feel that we are the only person she is talking to.

    I finished KUDOS, the final novel in the OUTLINE Trilogy last week. All in all, it took me the span of five years to read the three novels. I can understand how a person would argue that this delay in completing the series would be detrimental to my understanding, if not appreciation of the trilogy. Yet, I don’t believe it has. Returning to these books is like visiting an old friend from college. Things pick up right where they left off, no feeling of lost time. And this friend doesn’t try to guilt me for my absence.

    If one were to look up reviews for these books, almost all of them will make references to how these books are a new form, even an experimental version, of what an autobiographical novel can be. Some will even compare the books to Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle series, which might be applicable. I don’t agree with the comparison, as Karl is overtly autobiographical, while Rachel only hints at autobiography, but clearly has kept her protagonist a fictional version of herself.  Which lead me to start to believe that all the “new form of a novel” was more marketing hype than actual reality.

    Don’t get me wrong. I loved KUDOS, and the other books in the trilogy, OUTLINE and TRANSIT. As I settled in on reading this book, I found the familiar style that Cusk has; this very easy, yet highly intelligent way of writing. She doesn’t speak down to the reader, but it feels that I am being included in the conversations. This time around the author/protagonist is at a writers conference, talking to other writers and people. Again, the persons who occupy this world have no issue, and are very adept at opening up and sharing events, observations and experiences with her. At one point, another writer does point out how odd it is that all the characters in the author/protagonist’s novels have no problem confessing all their sins without much prompting – a sly mete joke Cusk put in her own novel.

    It’s true, people do not speak the way Cusk’s characters do. But, Tennessee Williams’ characters speak in a way that can only exist in the worlds that Williams creates, and as such, I believe that Cusk is casting that same spell. It’s not reality, but it is a world I would like to live in. To speak to a person on a plane about the family dog of theirs that just died, or the tour guide who loves to walk the city, or the other women writers that still have to deal with ex-husbands that intend to do them harm, both physically and emotionally. It’s an unburdening that has no expectations to it. The reader isn’t asked to act, or pass judgment, but just hear and witness that these lives exist. It’s an environment that becomes very comfortable, and enjoyable.

    And in the end, without a climax or even rising action, the book concludes, leaving the feeling of conclusion. That to me is the trick, and an impressive one at that. I have been given a journey, but I am not sure where I have gone, or what, if anything was accomplished. But I know I went some place, I learned, and that must be what is accomplished. And as I ponder on that, maybe it isn’t a gimmick to call these books a new form of novel. There is a different way to tell a story after all.

  • Personal Review: Ted Lasso Season 3 and The Whole Thing

    (SPOILERS! You shouldn’t have to ask…)

    I finished it. Over the weekend, I finally got around to watching the final episode of the 3rd season of Ted Lasso. I had a complicated relationship with the 3rd season. I was watching in three-episode chunks over a two-week period, and then I would get off the wagon for a week or two, only then return. In fact, I waited two and a half weeks before I was able to see the last episode. And that, in a nutshell, gives you an idea of my dedication to this final season; It was on and off.

    Sadly, the third season of Ted Lasso was uneven, made all the worse by my deep desire for the final twelve episodes to be amazing. That was my fault, and my mistake. I didn’t let the show just be what it is, but went in with expectations that were pretty hard to live up to. That affected my experience, and when an episode wasn’t “perfect”, it made me hesitate to come back to the show. Perhaps I need to watch the third season again – just marathon through it, and not think too hard. Maybe.

    As of now, I have to say that the third season of Ted Lasso was the “Return of the Jedi” of the group. It wasn’t as good as “Star Wars” (Season One) or “Empire” (Season Two) but if you compare it to other shows, it was a pretty good season.

    There were things that I did like; the episode in Amsterdam was great, Colin’s story was a nice addition, Trent being added full time to the cast was another nice touch, and I will say that each of the endings that the characters were given felt satisfying and true to who they were, and who they became. The show was about being positive, and it ended that way.

    But, there were also some glaring issues – Keeley was totally wasted which was a real shame as she was such an important part of the show. She was left floundering with a storyline that never meshed with the rest of the show. Also, Nate’s redemption arch seemed rushed. We all knew he was coming back into the fold, but it just felt a little off. And then there was that Zava thing, which felt half baked, and was only there to get the team to a competitive place for the season end. For a show that was about slow burn realizations, trusting the process, and putting in the work, it didn’t feel like the team earned their place in the League – it was just handed to them.

    With the series now over, and it is over, I have to say that they, the whole Ted Lasso team, did a very good job. It was a show in the mold of a work place comedy which never lost sight of a very simple message – be kind. It arrived at a perfect time – in the middle of Covid and they final year of Trump’s administration. Because of those factors, I think we collectively wanted to believe that being around good people was worth it. It was the type of show that was needed at a specific moment, and it delivered. This is a show that I know I will re-watch, whenever I need to laugh, or just remember that people can change for the better.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Field Day, The Ritz Brothers, and Father’s Day

    (I’m still on the line…)

    My daughter had her Field Day at school yesterday, and I was glad to see that the level of excitement that this event inspired in me when I was her age, was represented in my kid’s enthusiasm as well. The other thing that our Field Days had in common was that the ultimate event of the afternoon was the intra-class Tug-of-War. I dare say that this is the last non-PC competition left in today’s modern and self esteem conscious Field Day. Don’t get me wrong – Field Day when I was growing up was a dog-eat-dog, Lord of the Flies, nerd humiliating event that could leave deep emotional scars if you embarrassed yourself on the yard. Today, it’s more geared to fun and inclusion for everyone, with classes competing against each other, rather than individual students. But man! That Tug-of-War is still a brutal event, with the loser class being dragged across the grass, then taunted by the cheers of the winners. Yeah, and my kid’s class won the Tug-of-War, so there’s that.

    Anyone remember The Ritz Brothers? I was watching an old, like 2nd Season episode of MST3k, and Crow made a joke referencing them, and like a lightening bolt, I remembered who they are. The fast answer is that they were a comedy team of brothers who worked from the 1920’s up to the 1970’s. They were more of a nightclub act, but they did make some movies and film shorts, along with a few TV appearances. It would be easy to compare them to The Marx Brothers, but that’s not really fair once you see their form of comedy. Sadly, I think they are slowly fading away from the American Comedy lexicon which is unfortunate. Anyway, check them out.

    And a Happy Father’s Day out there to all the dads, and to my friends who are dads, and especially to my Dad. May we all enjoy our day celebrating our Father-stature, but we all know that you never get a day off when being a dad. But, I’m cool with it.

  • Updating My Site

    It was long overdue, but I have started the process of updating my website. It has been nagging at me for a while now – that my page is rather basic, and not the best showing of who I am. The more I blog, and submit stories, the more that I know that people will be coming by to see what I am all about. My numbers are up, by the way. I have equaled the total views of 2022, in the first six months of 2023. So, there is more traffic on my site. Sure, maybe half of it is bots for China and Pakistan, but still…

    Updating my website, and talking about myself are not my strong suits. Doing all of this makes me very self-conscious, and after a few minutes of working on it, I end up feeling frustrated and embarrassed. Frustrated because the look of my website never feels “professional” enough, and embarrassed because I can’t shake this thought in the back of my head that “why the fuck would anyone care what I have to say?” Now, I know that the more effort I put into the site, the better it will look, and who the fuck cares what anyone thinks?

    Oh! I did sign up for AdSense, so ads will now be on the site. I hate to brag, but after a day, I have earned nearly a whole penny! The other reason for doing this is that I haven’t found a good side hustle yet. I might start dog walking soon, unless the traffic keeps growing on this site, then all bets are off.

    In the end, I’m probably going to keep monkeying around with this site off and on for the next month. I’m open to suggestions of what to do, or who’s sites I should check out for inspiration, so drop me a comment or message. And you might as well “like” and “subscribe” while you are at it.

  • Short Story Review: “Civil Disturbance” by Said Sayrafiezadeh

    (The short story “Civil Disturbance” by Said Sayrafiezadeh appeared in the June 19th, 2023 issue of The New Yorker.)

    Photograph by Holly Andres for The New Yorker

    This week’s short story from The New Yorker is “Civil Disturbance” by Said Sayrafiezadeh, an author I never have read before until today. It’s a competent short story that does a very good job of creating an unnamed fictional city that the characters exist in, which by extent, gives the protagonist ample breath of motion to go on his journey.

    This is a first-person story, and the narrator also is unnamed, like the city. He and his girlfriend Molly, are out canvassing for their favorite candidate three days before the mayoral election. Molly works for the candidate’s campaign, as she has a clipboard of voter information, while the narrator give off a feeling of more “along for the ride” with his girlfriend. They bicker with each other, also implying that their relationship is near ending. The narrator works at a gym, a membership salesman, and his job skills come in handy speaking to potential voters when they answer the door. It happens that they come across a former high school classmate of the narrator’s. The classmate’s name is Bryce, who was a straight-A student that the narrator bullied in high school. Bryce works at the Wal-Mart next to the narrator’s gym, and happens to support a third-party candidate. The next day Bryce shows up to the gym looking to join, which the narrator is ready to upsell him, but then starts to have a change of conscious, only to have the power go out – blamed on the incumbent mayor. That night the narrator and Molly go out, and he throws bricks in the windows of the house that didn’t answer the door, which includes Bryce’s home.

    There was a lot to like in this story. It flowed well, and had some nice touches of humor in it. The story was efficient on the whole, and worked with a minimum number of characters, who were clearly defined with understandable intentions. I also enjoyed how Molly would say something, and then the narrator would use that saying later in the story, showing he was listening, and applying what she said, though not in the correct way. And I was fascinated by this fictional city – it felt lived in, rundown, and struggling.

    Yet, something kept nagging at me about this story which kept me from committing to it. One was that it did, sort of, have a “Dead Chick in the Basket*” moment at the end, where it is shared with us why this former high school jock became a gym membership salesman. I don’t think this information was needed about the character because we know that he is emotionally stinted, stuck reliving his past high school glories, and how that has affected his present situation. Knowing it was his coach who pushed him in that direction actually provides no new emotional insight on the character. The second issue took me a moment, but when I reread the story it hit me; this dumb jock talks like a writer. I offer this example; “Today’s particular conflict had been set in motion by the banal-”. Yeah… sorry, but no. The narrator doesn’t say “dude,” or “bro” or use any sports metaphors in describing any situations he’s in. The character is “jock” in name only – not in thought or action.

    And that was it. Too bad as well, because I did enjoy what this story was saying about elections, politics, and how people interact with each other. Also, like I said before, Sayrafiezadeh did create a very lived in fictional city, that I was intrigued by, and wanted to know more about. I have a feeling that I will search out his other works, because there is something here, even if this story wasn’t completely even.

    *  “Dead Chick in the Basket” refers to a clichéd writing device where the final paragraph of a short story contains new information about a character which is meant to make the reader view the actions, statements, or feelings of that character in a different light. The first known use of this device was in J.D. Salinger’s short story “Just Before the War with the Eskimos.”