Well, it’s another day of another heat wave. Color me bleak. And sweaty. One of the many reasons I moved to the magical Pacific Northwest was to escape the miserable, humid summers of the Midwest.

When the going gets over 90 degrees farenheit, I turn to fiction and films, and, as previously mentioned, TV shows set in Alaska. And let’s not forget watermelon.

A recommedation for you in the film department is American Fiction now streaming. It’s a sometimes scathing, often hilarious dramedy about a fed-up, cynical novelist’s swipe at modern pubishing that backfires on him–spectacularly. Delicious inner conflict ensues. The central issue is how Black issues and lives are portrayed–and exploited–in media–and how Black creatives strive for authenticity.

But it also has a deep emotional core about a troubled, successful family coping with a complex of problems and old hurts.  They were my favorite scenes. Jeffery Wright as the main character Monk is perfectly cast and his many changing expressions and reactions are a delight. The film is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett.  Here‘s a summary at Gray Wolf Press.

If you’re currently feeling bitter about the pubishing industry this one is guaranteed to cheer you.

As for fiction, while cowering indoors with the AC on, I’ve started reading Margo’s Got  Money Problems: A Novel  by Rufi Thorpe.  I don’t usually talk about novels before I finish reading them, but I’ve read the opening chapters and a few articles about her. She’s fasc-in-ating. Thorpe is also the author of four previous novels including the PEN/Faulkner finalist The Knockout Queen. Alas, it’s got yet another unfortunate pink cover design though the central image is fun–when will this silly trend end? But I’m truly excited to read it. And check out her other novels, especially since it’s likely more heat waves will breathe hellfire around here.

It’s written in both the first and third person and starts with the author talking directly to the reader in second person. And viewpoint is woven into the storyline as when the protagnist takes a college English course about impossible or unlikely viewpoints. At one point she writes: It’s true that writing in third person helps me. It’s so much easier to have sympathy for the Margo that existed back then rather than try to explain  how and why I did all the things I did. I’m going to be studying her techniques–and likely will swoon over her acrobatics.

Here’s the opening paragraph: You are about to begin reading a new book and to be honest,  you’re a little tense. The beginning of a novel is like a first date. You’re hoping from the first lines that an urgent magic will take hold, and you will sink into the story like a hot bath, giving yourself over entirely. But this hope is tempered by the expectation that in reality you are about to learn a bunch of people’s names and go along politely like you’re attending the baby shower of a woman you hardly know. And that’s fine, goodness knows you’ve fallen  in love with books that didn’t grab you in the first paragraph. But that doesn’t stop you from wishing they would, from wishing they would come right up to you in the dark of your mind and kiss you on the throat. 

How could I not open a tale that has such a fresh and subversive approach? This crowded media landscape requires risk taking and Thorpe swings for the cheap seats. You might enjoy this piece about her career trajectory and approach.   Even her Acknowledgments are a hoot. Here’s the final paragaph: Obviously the final thank you goes to you, the reader, who I will never meet, and with whom I am in love, whoever you are.  This state–this private whisper chamber tucked away in the heart of the world we call novels–is everything to me. Thank you for letting me into the dark of your mind and allowing me to relentlessly and anguished-ly, excitedly lie to you. I would die if you didn’t let me. I would surely die.

As someone prone to hyperbole I had to admire those final words. I’ve also just ordered The Knockout Queen after reading the opening chapter online. Discovering an author you didn’t know about is a special, kinship-like thrill isn’t it?

Keep reading, keep writing, have heart

Analyze how authors make their stories come alive.

And for god’s sake please VOTE for leaders who are working to reverse climate change.