may 2018 finds comes right on time and it’s pretty long in spite of all the work.
1.le gout du chlore by bastian vives is the minimalist visual story of a guy with scoliosis. his chiropractor recommends swimming. he meets a great swimmer girl and then appears to lose her. i may have been biased because i like all the swimming stuff.
2. polina is another story by the same bastian vives. it follows the rather complex evolution of a talented dancer.
3. la paranthese by elodie dorand is heartbreaking and autobiographical. the story of an epilepsy. both the text and the drawings are done by the author. i liked the use of various styles of drawings that helped the storytelling very much. very interesting and insightful.
4. ainsi se tut zarathoustra by nicolas wild. a bd that follows the life of cyrus yasdani, his zoroastrians efforts and iran’s recent history.
5. baise-moi by virginie despentes. the story follows the murderous road trip of two girls who happen to be a prostitute and a porn star. one of them is raped in the beginning of the story and that triggers a wave of violence. it was less interesting as a story and more interesting as a point of view. despentes was raped herself and the story opens a lot of related topics. how are men punished for rape? why are women always portrayed as passive and decorative? she plays a little with gender roles and gives us two girls who fuck and kill a lot. just like men in so many other stories.
in 2000, a film she co-directed based on her book was released.
6. teen spirit is the 4th despentes book and yes, i’m planning to read them all. this time around, the main character is a 30 year-old man who finds that he has a 13 year-old daughter. it was the easiest to read so far.
since you can see that i’m obsessing a little bit, here’s an english interview i found.
7. this month i also read two books by agnes desarthe. in mangez-moi, i liked how she showed us both the outside and the inner world of myriam. she’s apparently busy with her new restaurant but actually consumed by the loss of her son. very interesting.
8. the second book was called une partie de chasse. it has a tiny subplot that stole my heart. it involves a little rabbit who is given a second lease on life after being nearly killed with bullets. the secret between the would-be hunter, the rabbit and the reader is wonderful.
9. i read two juno diaz books in recent years. he recently wrote about his rape-related childhood trauma in the new yorker and i found myself making connections between his stories and his life. it’s an interesting read especially since his article was followed by accusations of sexual abuse.
10. another interesting and unfortunately heartbreaking article is moses farrow‘s post on his own blog. it gives further context to the farrow-allen family, a seemingly endless he said/ she said story. days later, his pulitzer winning brother, ronan was interviewed and the details of the two stories are contradictory. i think we’ll never know the truth in this case.
11. a friend posted the 1993-released jump they say on facebook. i hadn’t listened to it in such a long while! i’ve been looping it ever since, alongside another favourite. although released only 2 years later and written by bowie with brian eno, i’m derranged has a very different vibe and is a great classic in my opinion. great stuff.
12. i am not a wes anderson fan. i tried to watch his films and gave up at some point. but isle of dogs is impeccable. i loved everything about it! the well-rounded characters, the detailed visuals, the japanese flavour, the happy ending, even the way language is used. a good story i look forward to watch again and again in the future.
13. every once in a while i go to the botanical garden. i go for the stray cats who live there and stay for the beautiful flowers that change with the seasons.
14. dear white people is a cute series for the woke generation. it’s understandably sugar-coated. being black, being mixed and being white in america is and has been intricate.
it’s interesting and informative, but far from reality. still, a good way of introducing audiences to the struggle, i think.
15. ali wong has a new baby coming and a new netflix special, hard knock wife. if you liked baby cobra, you’ll like this one too.
16. i have a little crush on kurtis/miss fame. he has a series on his channel called painted by fame.
you guessed it, he uses drag tricks to make over other people. i’m hypnotized!
17. i mentioned keith ape here before. i like diamonds, his 2016 track with jedi p.
but today i post it g ma/don’t forget, his breakthrough track from back in 2015. and another obscure track i like.
18. i also mentioned rubel before. listen to his latest album to relax. it’s good.
let’s have a nice summer, everyone!
photo credits: little aesthete and copyright holders
video credits: copyright holder
