Week 35

Somehow we are both caught in the hottest week of the year, and yet also barrelling full force towards fall. This feels nearly impossible to be true.

This week: DEAR SENTHURAN by Akwaeke Emezi, REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchett

#54) DEAR SENTHURAN by Akwaeke Emezi

How, precisely, does one review a memoir, particularly one tied so clearly and importantly to questions of identity and spirituality?

I loved the book, I found Emezi’s way of telling their story to be intriguing and involving, and it really helped me understand FRESHWATER moreso. Together, I think, the two create an image of a life and a way of being that is, in some ways, quite foreign to me, but intriguing nevertheless.

Furthermore, I found it immensely satisfying and powerful to see an author, a successful author, speak so plainly about not only their gender, but their mental illness, and their specific spiritual positioning. It feels like something that should be impossible, that nobody could possibly speak so openly about such things, and yet, Emezi has done it.

CW for descriptions of mental illness, including suicidality and suicide attempts.

#55) REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchett

Probably the best of the Discworld novels I’ve read thus far.

As always, the combination of parody and genuinely heartfelt story is done masterfully by Pratchett, and the return of characters that are near and dear like Death and Windle Poons makes for a deeper experience, in my opinion.

Also, the fact that it deals with the question of death, existentially, and what it means to enjoy life…well.

Listen, you don’t need me to tell you that Discworld is great, but this is such a perfect encapsulation of why people love it. Pick this up, if you haven’t, and laugh and cry along with the rest of us.