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Really inventive book that left me with Ferrante levels of excitement to come home from work and read. It‘s about the widow of an enigmatic artist, who spends years after her wife’s death trying to piece together her mysterious background and write her biography. It’s set in an alternative version of the US where the South had “disunified” from the rest of the country. Those elements of the book were fascinating, though occasionally a bit gimmicky. The format is very creative and experimental, and not to the detriment of the plot.
Mar 14, 2024
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i'm listening to the audiobook and i'm about 64% of the way done with it. the premise is a woman grieving her wife with a mysterious past. the surviving woman sets out to track down her origins and various phases of her life as part of a biography, that she's hesitant to write. highly recommended! NO SPOILERS PLEASE in the comments
Aug 27, 2024
I listened to this one. The actual genius that Catherine Lacey is. This was the second novel of hers that I‘ve read, the first being Pew. Both books make me think a ton about how I perceive myself, but Biography of X in particular makes me want to explode or something idk. Self mythology. Theme of the year. Who am I? idk. The end.
Oct 12, 2024
Feb 14, 2024
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you need an account but soo many treasures. old scanned newspapers - search for people, buildings, events of the past, etc. found out that my grandma apparently crashed into a parked cop car in NJ in the 50s lol. so many ridiculous vintage advertisements on each page too
Feb 4, 2024
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hear me out…i drink, but i don’t want to have alcohol every day. yet most evenings after work i crave a cold bitter refreshing relaxing transition back into regular life. aka a beer. i realized that what i’m craving isn’t even the buzz, just that ritual and the flavor i associate with it. soda is too sweet and hop water isn’t harsh enough. this brand is by far the closest i’ve found to the actual beer taste, though it’s not perfect. but totally suffices as an alternative 2 or 3 times a week.
Mar 28, 2024
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Stunning memoir. Absolutely immersive. Precise and heartbreaking writing by and about a woman who suffered her whole life and ultimately caused others to as well. Felt like a thrill and a privilege to live in the honest minutia of a real daily life in 1920s-50s Copenhagen, a world that was entirely unfamiliar to me previously. Bleak yet somehow sharply funny and delightful too!
Apr 10, 2024