@jacky one of the few Graeber books I haven't read; hope you enjoy
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Scott F reviewed Down with the Poor! by Teresa Fagan
Dull take on a worthy subject
2 stars
A problem with some of these social-justice-y novels is that while they might have an important point to make about oppression and alienation, that doesn't mean they succeed in situating that point within an interesting story. This novella's main plot event — the narrator, who is herself a racialized immigrant to France who works as a translator for applicants for asylum, assaulting a refugee — is already made clear at the beginning. So all that's left to be revealed is what led her to do such a thing. But when we get to that part, there isn't anything very surprising or notable there, either.
This book gave me a somewhat greater appreciation for elements of the refugee experience, and the writing was good on a textural level, but plot-wise, it felt like a stagnant pool, lacking the dynamism of storytelling that would have made it more than the sum of …
A problem with some of these social-justice-y novels is that while they might have an important point to make about oppression and alienation, that doesn't mean they succeed in situating that point within an interesting story. This novella's main plot event — the narrator, who is herself a racialized immigrant to France who works as a translator for applicants for asylum, assaulting a refugee — is already made clear at the beginning. So all that's left to be revealed is what led her to do such a thing. But when we get to that part, there isn't anything very surprising or notable there, either.
This book gave me a somewhat greater appreciation for elements of the refugee experience, and the writing was good on a textural level, but plot-wise, it felt like a stagnant pool, lacking the dynamism of storytelling that would have made it more than the sum of its parts.
Scott F quoted After Black Lives Matter by Cedric Johnson
BLM discourse truncates the policing problem as one of endemic antiblackness, and cuts of potential constituencies, treating other communities who have suffered police abuse and citizens who are deeply committed to achieving social justice as merely allies, junior partners rather than political equals and comrades. Moreover, characterizing the problem in terms of antiblackness further undermines the possibility of developing the kind of counterpower that is needed, since it promotes brokerage dynamics via the state-corporate/nonprofit complex set in motion by neoliberalism, converting what should be public concerns into new market opportunities, and revitalizing the black professional-managerial class with new blood and fresh faces. ...The demand to defund police and instead invest in working-class neighborhoods and livelihoods represents the promise of Black Lives Matter as a political force, but that tendency has been crowded out by a mainline and popular contention that sees "race" and racism as the principal motive of police actions, in ways that neglect the very workings of capitalist political economy and its specific consequences for the working poor across urban and rural geographies.
— After Black Lives Matter by Cedric Johnson (Page 162 - 163)
Scott F quoted After Black Lives Matter by Cedric Johnson
[Jane] Jacobs claims that a "well-used city street is apt to be a safe street. A deserted city is apt to be unsafe." True enough, but let's try this again with the city as a totality in mind: A city where all residents are guaranteed a modicum of food, clothing and shelter, and where inequality is not vast and considered some natural ordering, is apt to be safe. The deeply unequal and spatially segregated city is apt to be unsafe.
— After Black Lives Matter by Cedric Johnson (Page 117)
Scott F reviewed Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek
Bite-sized dark dreams
3 stars
A charcuterie board of weird fictions ranging from 1 to 8 pages long. All have some element of the absurd, of dream logic, and there's generally a menacing vibe. At their best, the stories are poignant and funny gems, with on-point observations about the foibles of human relationships. Others, especially the shorter vignettes, can occasionally tend to be a little forgettable. Overall an enjoyable collection that hits more than it misses.
Some favorites: "The Dance," about people tragically misunderstanding each other; "Field Notes," about a struggling, smartphone-addicted person's hike (I can relate); the faux-detective story "Thursdays at Waterhouse"; and the haunting last story, "Love Language."
Scott F replied to Phil in SF's status
@kingrat@sfba.club are you liking this book?
@fetch the critiques: I would have liked it to talk more about how people actually used the mini- and microcomputers of the day, what they did with them, and not just the business side. It was also anticlimactic to realize that despite all these heroic efforts to build the computer they're working on in the book, the company failed soon after anyway. But it's a fun time capsule, dated in some ways (like how he didactically explains the concept of software compatibility) and shockingly familiar in others, like the company bemoaning that as much as it wanted to hire women engineers, they were in short supply (in 1978). I really sympathized with the characters, the pressure they were under.
Scott F reviewed Kraken by China Miéville
When a nine-meter-long dead squid is stolen, tank and all, from a London museum, curator …
Brilliantly weird magic cult apocalypse whodunit
4 stars
I was totally absorbed in this brilliant, very weird, sometimes quite silly, but mostly gripping and sometimes downright chilling, yarn about a giant squid heist and multiple predicted apocalypses vying for imminent fulfillment. The hero Billy Harrow is a perfect stand-in for the reader, both in his initial bewilderment at the complicated supernatural world he's been thrown into, and later in his realization, gaining confidence, that he knows more than he thinks. The characters are richly drawn, from the incorporeal labor organizer Wati who speaks by temporarily inhabiting statues to the heartbroken Marge, like Billy a regular person, who's drawn into the aetherial cult world seeking answers for her partner's disappearance.
It's overwhelming sometimes, particularly in part 5 (of 7) where the novel dragged a little with a subplot that felt extraneous, but the denouement brought me back, full of unexpected twists and turns. A fitting novel for our apocalyptic …
I was totally absorbed in this brilliant, very weird, sometimes quite silly, but mostly gripping and sometimes downright chilling, yarn about a giant squid heist and multiple predicted apocalypses vying for imminent fulfillment. The hero Billy Harrow is a perfect stand-in for the reader, both in his initial bewilderment at the complicated supernatural world he's been thrown into, and later in his realization, gaining confidence, that he knows more than he thinks. The characters are richly drawn, from the incorporeal labor organizer Wati who speaks by temporarily inhabiting statues to the heartbroken Marge, like Billy a regular person, who's drawn into the aetherial cult world seeking answers for her partner's disappearance.
It's overwhelming sometimes, particularly in part 5 (of 7) where the novel dragged a little with a subplot that felt extraneous, but the denouement brought me back, full of unexpected twists and turns. A fitting novel for our apocalyptic times. "End of the world?" "Ends."
@fetch I liked this! had some small critiques I can share if you want, but overall it was a great story well told
Scott F quoted Kraken by China Miéville
When a nine-meter-long dead squid is stolen, tank and all, from a London museum, curator …
There was no pleasure, no I-told-you-so among the hedge-seers who had for so long predicted that the end was on its way. Now that everyone who cared to think about it agreed with them—though they might abjure the insight—those who found themselves suddenly and unexpectedly the advance guard of mainstream opinion were at a bit of a loss. What was the point of dedicating your life to giving warnings if everyone who might have listened—because the majority were still unbothered and would possibly remain so till the sun went out—merely nodded and agreed?
— Kraken by China Miéville (Page 121)
Scott F replied to Phil in SF's status
@kingrat@sfba.club I liked it when I read it, but I was a teenager ignorant of many things.
Scott F quoted Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek
The couple felt enthralled by the landlord, perhaps due to the way she held eye contact. She seemed invested in them, unlike the other Americans they'd met. There was mold in the bathroom, a dead smell in the air.
The landlord spoke loudly, and the couple started to match her excitement. They found themselves looking forgivingly at a din of cobwebs and a cramped hallway. There was a broken air purifier and the couple compassionately smiled at it, too.
— Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek (Page 38)
from "Invitation"
@sanae is there a feminist take on mythology you'd recommend more highly?
Scott F replied to reading crustacean's status
@unsuspicious@wyrms.de will be curious what you think. i've been holding off on any more KSR after finding Ministry for the Future to be very much not my cup of tea, but i know this one is well-regarded, and it has an interesting premise.