Review: No One Is Talking About This

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I attended Patricia Lockwood's lecture at the British Museum for the LRB last year, which is both referred to as an event in the book and the contents of the talk make up a good section of the first half. It was interesting experience, both for how Lockwood understands and completely gets under the skin of the internet in a way that few other writers do (as stated in the book, "all writing about the portal [Lockwood's word for the internet throughout the book] so far had a strong whiff of old white intellectuals being weird about the blues, with possible boner involvement.") and also how many people in the audience didn't seem to get it at all.

I feel that there will be a similar response to her somewhat autio-fictiony, fragmentary novel, with those who've had the experience of being "extremely online" finding it speaks to them almost directly in the way few other books do and those without wondering what language this is written in.

Without spoiling things, Lockwood certainly walks a tightrope in the second half of the novel but it all came together for me - other's may not feel the same. I think it's earned from the irony overload of the first half, but I suspect the emotion will be lessened for those not of a certain generation who haven't been fully subsumed to the power of the portal.

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Review: Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare: A Guide to the Armed Phase of the African Revolution

Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare: A Guide to the Armed Phase of the African Revolution by Kwame Nkrumah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really fantastic writing; so clear and precise. The opening chapter on neo-colonialism is definite 5* and depressingly much still stands true today. The second "handbook" half is still interesting and very accessible, but clearly not written for me - a white European in the UK circa 2020.

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Review: Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown

Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Going the full 5 for pure entertainment value. The audiobook edition, narrated by Glenconner herself, is essential - she speaks in the true upper-class Queen's ("off" is "orf" etc) and there's definite emotion in her voice when she recounts some of the more difficult periods in her life. I'm not sure I've read such an honest autobiography before from someone born into the upper echelons of the British aristocracy.

I grew up very close to Holkham Hall (and worked there in the restaurant for several summers as a teenager) where Glenconner's family are from so knew many of the places and people she was discussing very well.

It's interesting to see first hand how broken so many of the upper classes are, a lot seemingly stemming from their childhood largely being raised by nannies and going to horrible boarding schools rather than in a loving and stable home. Infidelity is rife and clearly accepted too - Glenconner's awful sounding husband at one point starts moaning to her about how annoying his mistress is(!). The level of privilege and complete unawareness of how ordinary people live is quite outstanding too, truly on a different planet.

Even as a staunch republican, I couldn't help but be thoroughly entertained by this book - Russian hitmen, illegal cock-fighting, and bestiality; what more do you need?

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Review: Save it for Later

Save It for Later: Promises, Parenthood, and the Urgency of Protest by Nate Powell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was more interesting than I was anticipating. At first I feared it would be a typical white liberal take on Trump's presidency but it quickly delves into much more fruitful territory such as white complicity, intergenerational differences, the uses of protest and the co-opting of pop cultural tropes by the far right. As expected from the author of March, there's several allusions and parallels to John Lewis' civil rights protests, along with deep personal soul searching.

Powell seems like a great dad too.

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Review: Shanzhai: Deconstruction in Chinese

Shanzhai: Deconstruction in Chinese by Byung-Chul Han
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The kind of book that subtly reshapes your conception of the world. I'd never considered that the Western idea of 'original' and 'fake' are cultural constructs and that the Far East has a very different impression of these concepts - with none of the negative connotations we hold towards forgeries and copies in the West. The view that art is a collaborative and evolving thing other time with owners and connoisseurs being encouraged to leave their mark, rather than an finality signed off with the artist's signature is a completely different sense of what art is (and can be) to me. Has also given me a different view of the knock-off products made by Chinese manufacturers, which Byung-Chul Han are produced almost in conversation with the original products (although I think he overlooks the enormous R&D costs inherent in Electronics which allow these cheaper reproductions).

Pulling in Philosophy, Art History (the aside regarding the Dutch forger Han van Meegeren and his fake Vermeer's was particularly fascinating) and Linguistics, this very short book has more insight and interest than other works I've read multiple times larger. Very much recommended.

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