June in Review — Lit Chat, Vol. 10
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Hey friends,
I’m back! Did you miss me? I did eventually miss being home, even though I had a fantastic whirlwind of a summer vacation. I confess I haven’t finished a single book since the last week of June, probably because that was the last week my life retained any shred of normalcy. Since then, I’ve moved apartments, traveled to three different countries, and am now writing to you from the Amtrak on my way home from an out-of-town conference. If you think that sounds exhausting…you’d be correct.
But just because I haven’t finished anything doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading! In fact, I’ve been slowly making my way through Annie Ernaux’s Les Années for the better part of the last three weeks. It’s slow going because I’m reading it in the original French, which has been reminding me of how it felt to be reading above my reading level as an ambitious little kid. Too impatient to stop and look up every word I don’t know, I’m comprehending maybe 70% of what I’m reading, but I’m getting enough from cognates and context clues to keep me going. It’s humbling to realize just how much I take for granted my extensive vocabulary and relative mastery of the English language, but it’s also a little thrilling to remember that this is exactly how I achieved it in the first place: ploddingly but determinedly, one sentence at a time.
Anyway, I read four books in June that I’m more than happy to tell you about, with hopes of finally returning to my normal English-reading pace in August. We just got a new couch delivered and are working on a cozy reading nook in our living room, so that’s where I plan to spend most of the next four weeks until I need to travel again.
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The Foundation:
The Guest — Emma Cline
This was the last book I finished in June, and I found that stressing over the protagonist’s poor decisions was a compelling antidote to my own pre-move stress. When Alex falls out of her much older “boyfriend’s” good graces while staying at his Long Island beach house, instead of returning to the city where she owes a menacing ex a bunch of money she doesn’t have, she decides to bide her time for a week until she can try to win back his favor. I liked the episodic nature of each day’s challenge to manipulate rich strangers into enabling her survival, but her abrupt departure from each encounter always felt unresolved in a way that I found unsatisfying. I feel like this book would make a great limited series, though.
Play It As It Lays — Joan Didion
Would you believe I’d never read anything by Joan Didion before this? I was mildly obsessed with this book for the better part of a week because it’s the kind of book that makes you want to go right back to the beginning after you’ve finished it. The prose is spare and sharp as a knife as it cuts through the shuffling scenes of former actress/model-turned-housewife Maria’s disintegrating mental health. Set in Hollywood in the 60s, it’s definitely meant to be emblematic of the dissatisfaction of a particular generation, but it also feels timeless in its portrayal of loss, confusion, and grief. It’s not a happy read by any means, but man, it’s a brilliant work of literature and I’m now accepting recommendations for my next Joan.
Eileen — Ottessa Moshfegh
This is, I think, my favorite of Moshfegh’s books that I’ve read so far! I was skeptical because as engrossed as I was in My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Lapvona just plain grossed me out. Eileen gives big Shirley Jackson vibes, as it’s about a socially maladapted young woman who dreams of escaping her day job in a juvenile prison until the arrival of a glamorous new coworker, an older woman named Rebecca. Moshfegh’s trademark morally gray female characters are certainly a main focus here, but so is an actual plot for once, with a twist that made my jaw drop. The story is told from the perspective of a much older Eileen, and I think this distance helps the reader give young Eileen a bit more grace when she’s making reprehensible decisions. I’m really looking forward to the forthcoming movie adaptation, which has Thomasin McKenzie as Eileen and Anne Hathaway as Rebecca.
THE TIPPY TOP:
Happy Place — Emily Henry
I have somehow not consumed Emily Henry’s entire oeuvre yet, but so far, her books are my happy place. This one subverts the typical rom-com structure in a way that was reminiscent of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (a favorite!), because the love story we’ve come to expect—the meeting and becoming friends before falling for each other, the deliciously agonizing will they/won’t they—is already in the past.
When we first meet Harriet and Wyn, they’ve secretly called off their engagement for half-baked reasons we don’t fully understand and which neither of them seems fully happy about. Unwittingly reunited for an annual vacation with their tight-knit group of college best friends, they commit to pretending to stay together for the week for fear of ruining the trip and rocking the foundation of their other friendships.
As much as I rooted for Harriet and Wyn to figure their shit out and get back together already, what I loved most about this book wasn’t their witty banter or romantic tension, but the portrayal of all the other friendships present. Happy Place perfectly captures the late twenties/early thirties growing pains of realizing that you aren’t the same person you were when you first met your oldest friends, and more importantly, that it’s okay for those relationships to change and grow with you.
For Harriet and Wyn, the fear of losing what they had and knew they loved, both in each other and in the group as a whole, was blinding them to the possibility of all the ways each of their relationships could grow stronger by adapting to the changes and challenges of growing up—even if that meant those relationships ultimately looked a little different. As someone who is lucky enough to have lots of long-lasting friendships follow me into adulthood and evolve along the way, this really resonated with me. Like Harriet and Wyn, my happy place is very much with the people who have known and loved me the longest, and these days, I’m grateful for whatever form that takes.
Thanks for reading Lit Chat Lite™! Whether your summer reading is going swimmingly or starting to take on a little water, I definitely want to hear about it. Comments/inbox/DMs etc are always open if you ever want to chat!
Until next time, happy reading.
❤ Catherine
Catherine Thoms 