You’ve been gone for decades, you hid deep in my lakes, why now, why infect my dreams now? What flood is this? — Rabih Alameddine
or, December and the end of 2023.
Belated Happy New Year! We hope 2024 will bring you only good things and, above all, we hope it brings the world closer to a free Palestine! With any luck, this month will bring a permanent ceasefire as South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide is heard in the ICJ. If you’re only just waking up to things, our last couple of newsletters linked you a few places to start learning from. Otherwise, from us, it’s going to be a pretty short one today.
First, a quick run down of what we posted!
Interviews with Merlina Garance & Clark T. Carlson.
We’ve been reading…
Of the (not straight) books I read, three stood out to me. Well, four, as you’ll see by the end, but three new reads. The first was Sambac Beneath Unlikely Skies by Heba Hayek, a series of vignettes, semi-autobiographical (I believe), told from the point of view of a young Gazan woman living in London, away from everything she knows. It’s a very short book, and the vignettes are mere pages long, but it packs an almighty punch. My second rec is Thief Mage, Beggar Mage by Cat Hellisen. It doesn’t even have 50 ratings on Goodreads which I consider a travesty. If you want a fantasy that feels like a breath of fresh air, that’ll have you begging for more, a fantasy that you’ll want to savour as much as possible, then this is for you!
Last but not least, hear me out: with The Bostonians, Henry James accidentally wrote himself a lesbian classic! Set in, you guessed it, Boston, it tells the story of two cousins competing with one another for a girl’s love. On the one hand, you have Olive, ardent feminist who adamantly refuses to marry and hates men, on the other, you have Basil, misogynistic prick. Of course, this being a book written in the 19th century, you can probably guess the outcome. But James is surprisingly sympathetic towards Olive and full of mocking for Basil. And also, in general, it’s a very enjoyable book (which I admit to not quite expecting).
(I also reread Clear by Carys Davies, but since I mentioned that in an earlier newsletter, I won’t dwell on it too much here, only to say again it’s not to be missed!)
I read two of Emma Donoghue’s nonfiction books in December as well. Both covered roughly the same topics (that is, lesbian despire in literature), so I’m only adding one here (Inseparable, as it’s her more recent one). It’s a fascinating look into how lesbians have featured in literature for a lot longer than we might expect, under various guises and within various frameworks. Of course, you might not find everyone agreeing with Donoghue’s analysis, but don’t we all need lesbian readings of classics in our lives? In fact, this book was the reason I picked up The Bostonians in the first place.
Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener sure was an unexpected last book of the year. It's tiny, but packs a lot. It's about literally learning about your very roots (in this case, white colonialist-discoverer), and learning and caring for your heritage. About discovering those whom history forgotten. About listening to those who are still around you. About not assuming anything, but also maybe trusting yourself more than strangers. About desire; oh it is so deeply about desire, and how it complicates your life, how it makes it rich. (When I say desire, I mean a bi/pan Peruvian mc in a longterm polyam relationship with a Peruvian man and a Spanish woman, but also I mean some infidelity.)
We’ve been watching…
In December I naturally continued watching Holiday movies (the calendar being what it is, but also I spent most of last month somehow sick...). Frankly only one of them was a rewatch (Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas, which I still highly recommend). All the res were newer ones, but mainly those where just side characters were gay. Still fun, but nothing to write home about. As far as 2023's Christmas romcoms go, I recommend Friends & Family Christmas.
We’ve been listening to…
Intifada on the Dance Floor by Bashar Murad / secret island by LIE NING / Spell on You by Cameron Hawthorn / Snow Angel by Reneé Rapp / Arrow to the Knee by Kiki Rockwell & Judith / Make Me Feel by Tatiana DeMaria / Eras of Us by FLETCHER / She’s On My Mind by Romy
Thoughts and things that caught our eyes
Work was busy and our feeds were filled with news from Gaza, so very little, it has to be said!