It’s been a while since I shared some cool books, not because I haven’t read any but because I’ve been myopically focused on getting my own book finished. Plus, life makes a habit of getting away from me. But now the spring equinox has passed and my mind is clearer, I wanted to share some books I’ve read recently that have been absolutely marvellous.
Starting strong with this one. Silicone God is fucking wild honestly. It’s a weird, kinda gross, disturbing, incredibly well imagined queer sci-fi fever dream with mushroom gods, sexual hierarchies, time travel, shapeshifters, and tentacle sex. The way Brooks uses the elements of sci-fi to explore the depths and nuances of queer desire is genuinely breathtaking and profoundly thought provoking. That may all sound a bit daunting but Silicone God is also so funny, experimental, and deeply horny. Honestly, it’s perfect. You should read it.
Silicone God // Victoria Brooks // Moist Books // 9781913430160
You’d be hard pressed to find a more ME book than Run Out Groove by Joseph Coward. Run Out Groove is a messy punk coming-of-age novel about getting out, making it, and fucking everything up along the way. We follow Jude as he runs as fast as he can away home, from his past, and tries to make something of himself. Coward writes about the punk music scene really well, and the complexities of friendships during our formative years even better. Jude is such a great character, I loved him so much even though he makes it hard to like him at times and I was frequently screaming at him for being such an idiot.
Run Out Groove // Joseph Coward // the 87press // 9781739954796
Harlequin Butterfly blew my mind honestly. A short and punchy, otherworldly literary caper that manages to be part adventure, part detective story, part fairy tale, and a million other things all at the same time, but it’s central theme is about what we leave behind, what mark we make on the world and how that mark can be interpreted by the people who come after. It is experimental in form, which you know I love, but by no means a tricky read. It is also quite simply hilarious. Pushkin Press never fail me.
Harlequin Butterfly // Toh Enjoe // Pushkin Press // 9781782279778
I have not stopped recommending The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi to people at work since I finished it. I loved it so much I immediately bought every book by Morimi I could get my hands on. I say it’s like the multiverse of sadness. Tatami Galaxy explores the idea of parallel universes in a way I’ve never come across before, that is that each universe is far less different that we expect. I won’t give too much away but we follow an unnamed narrator (‘watashi’ meaning Me in the translation) as he wonders about a better life if he’d made different choices. The chapters all explore a different universe that don’t actually seem all that different. Tatami Galaxy is a slow burn character study that’s also philosophical and farcical and so so funny, and it has one of the coolest payoffs in a book I’ve read for a really long time. Morimi has swiftly become one of my favourite writers.
The Tatami Galaxy // Tomihiko Morimi // Harper Via // 9780063158450
And that’s it for this issue of book talk. I’ll hopefully not leave it so long next time. There’s a couple books coming out over the next few months I definitely want to share with you so that’ll help.
As always, let me know if you get any of these and wanna talk about them. I always have time to chat about books I love.
Until next time,
— nucosi