Books

Emma

Busybody Emma Woodhouse asserts she wants to remain unmarried, spends some time artlessly meddling in her friends’ love lives, then ends up with the right guy herself.

It’s difficult to reconcile Emma’s social obliviousness with her intelligence. You might want to say, well maybe she’s just a bit spectrumy. But one of her core characteristics is that she lacks the discipline and interest to get really good at any of the arts she pursues, which doesn’t seem to fit that theory.

I think the best explanation is just that she’s very young, very spoiled, and still growing up. She’s more complicated and flawed, and in more interesting ways, than most heroines that Austen offers. She’s lovable, even though you spend a lot of the novel saying “oh my god Emma staaahhhppp.”

It’s worth reading if you read Jane Austen.

Weird confession: I felt a twinge of a crush on Jane Austen reading this. It would be fun to know someone who understands people in the way she does.

Anansi Boys

Following his father’s death, mild mannered Charlie endures a fantastical family reunion, gets tangled up in some light witchcraft and some heavy embezzlement accusations, loses his fiancé and marries his investigating officer. 

The dominant mythological character in the book is Anansi, kind of a west African Loki, but even more exuberantly tricky and mischievous. Anansi’s spirit imbues the whole book, from the subject matter to the structure. 

The multithreaded plot follows an ensemble of characters whose stories diverge and intersect in fun, chaotic ways until they finally converge and culminate on a small Caribbean island in the basement of an ill-gotten mansion. 

The storytelling is great, the characters are uncommonly lovable and charismatic, and as always the prose is faultless. 

It’s an incredibly fun, goofy book crafted to disguise a mythology lesson, a personal growth strategy, and a testament to the power of family and love. 

Highly recommended.

omg, Anansi Boys is such a wild ride! 🎉 charlie's journey is both hilarious and heartwarming. neil gaiman did it again! 📚❤️