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Gore vidal dragging henry miller

If you know me you know I am Gore Vidal’s number one fan but for somebody who was known for being so coldly and precisely self-aware, he was often simultaneously totally lacking in self awareness. He created elaborate copium narratives about himself just as much as if not more than the people he accused of doing so and seemed to exist in a perpetual and unyielding state of self-deception and repression, with a very interesting definition of what it means to be truthful. That’s a major part of what makes him so fascinating to me. I love his hateration towards Henry Miller because half of it is real and accurate and half of it reads like narcissistic projection—critiquing Miller for his arrogance and elaborate self-mythologizing when his own biography ended up being entitled Empire of the Self—and all of it is hilarious and cutting in his typical fashion. “Yet Henry never seems to do anything for anyone, other than to provide moments of sexual glory which we must take on faith. He does, however, talk a lot and the people he knows are addicted to his conversation. ‘Don’t stop talking now…please,’ begs a woman whose life is being changed, as Henry in a manic mood tells her all sorts of liberating things like ‘Nothing would be bad or ugly or evil— if we really let ourselves go. But it’s hard to make people understand that.‘ To which the only answer is that of another straight man in the text who says, ‘You said it, Henry. Jesus, having you around is like getting a shot in the arm.‘ For a man who boasts of writing nothing but the truth, I find it more than odd that not once in the course of a long narrative does anyone say, ‘Henry, you’re full of shit.’ It is possible, of course, that no one ever did, but I doubt it.”

@taterhole

Feb 12, 2025

2

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A visit from the goon squad - jennifer egan

stories over time of a cast of characters loosely linked through the music industry In a post-modern style like not too dissimilar to vonnegut each chapter can be seen almost as a stand alone vignette edit: after re-reading your ask, I’ll admit not the weirdest book, but it’s also definitely not run of the mill narrative fiction. If you want weird, read Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. One of the most banned books of all time for a reason, grotesque, obscene, challenging, but imo definitely worth the read and I’ll be rereading it sometime. Helps to read along with a study guide to make sure you’re following what’s going on.

@_aidan

Mar 6, 2025

1

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exquisite corpse

great book if you're a freak like me. little horror fiction novel about gay serial killers and their intertwining love lives in 90's new orleans. people call this novel one of the grossest most shocking books of all time, so naturally i had to read it. i devoured the book in the span of three days and loved every second of it (despite how scary it is haha). super interesting commentary about living with aids and fascinating portrayals of the psyche of a serial killer. wouldn't read this one if you are at all squeamish, it's very descriptive in its gore and unflinchingly real. this book reminded me of if an ottessa moshfegh novel had a fucked up gorey baby with a gregg araki movie.

@axem3n_

Jan 17, 2025

Top Recs from @taterhole

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Starting over

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.” — Anaïs Nin This is uncharacteristically raw and personal, even for me, and pretty heavy! I know many of you have seen me posting through it and I feel safe to talk about it openly now that I’ve safely landed at the start of my new life. It’s honestly even a little bit embarrassing but I think it’s important to share. I’ve never publicly mentioned it on here, but I have a husband; as of Friday, we’d have been together for 11 years, and we’ve been married for 3 years as of 2/22. I realize now that I wanted to explore what I looked like outside of my relationship with him because I had lost that. This is why PI.FYI has been so meaningful to me as a space to express myself and connect with people—to rediscover my voice. I had been living a lie this entire time, to others but worst of all to myself. He’s been verbally and emotionally abusive, physically but without touching me, to the point that every day I spent with him I was in danger. I’ve been shrinking myself and walking on eggshells to avoid making him insecure and provoking his casual put-downs and fits of rage, while hanging on for dear life to the threads of good I could see. I’ve wanted so badly to leave, more than anything, but I felt like there was no way out and that this was just something I would need to endure indefinitely—but someone who is so very dear to me helped me see that I have wings to fly, not by acting as my savior but by reminding me of my own power. The emotional safety they built and the gentle care they showed me made me feel like I could open up to them. With their encouragement I was brave enough to tell the truth to my friends, my family, my boss, and they have received me with warm, loving and open arms and rallied to support and protect me. The financial and  logistical aspects were the most intimidating to me and it’s going to be tough for a while but I’m going to be better than okay! Now I’m opening up to you. This isn’t the only abuse I’ve suffered in my life, and my old therapist told me she believed it was my mission to share my strength and light with others to inspire them and show them that change is possible. I hope that by sharing this, I can reach even just one person who is going through something similar and show that they are not alone, and they are not weak. People with certain backgrounds may be more vulnerable to abuse, but it can happen to anyone. It thrives in darkness, shame, and isolation—and breaking that silence is the first step toward freedom. Leaving is the scariest thing I have ever done but I have so many angels around me, and I am endlessly grateful. Thank you for being here with me 💌

@taterhole

Mar 16, 2025

62

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Never changing

My dad teases me about how when I was a little kid, my favorite thing to do when I was on the landline phone with somebody—be it a relative or one of my best friends—was to breathlessly describe the things that were in my bedroom so that they could have a mental picture of everything I loved and chose to surround myself with, and where I sat at that moment in time. Perfectly Imperfect reminds me of that so thanks for always listening and for sharing with me too 💌

@taterhole

Feb 23, 2025

34

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Finally Quitting the job that you hate

Schedule sent my resignation email for the morning, effective immediately ✅💅

@taterhole

Feb 27, 2025

48