Molecular Red: Theory for the Anthropocene
by McKenzie Wark (Verso)
“We all know this civilization can’t last. Let’s make another,” writes Wark in her Molecular Red, and she sets out to create a new kind of critical theory, one that goes back to the early Soviet Union and two of its more outside thinkers (Alexander Bogdanov and Andrey Platonov) and uses them as a base to examine 21st century climate science and sci-fi utopias.
She promises a lot in the introduction, but mostly she delivers. It’s a thought-provoking book, one deep on insights, and although it’s a little bogged down by some technical terms, Wark’s prose is sharp and clear (and occasionally witty), and I think even a layperson can find some of use here.
Is it a start? Yeah, I think so. As a I write this, the ocean is on fire and there’s a heat dome over the west coast. A fresh start, and one that looks for new ways, while acknowledging we can’t return to the past, is what we need. Recommended.
Once More with Feeling
by Méira Cook (Anansi)
Set in and around Winnipeg, Once More With Feeling is a series of stories that follow a circle of characters in and around the city over the course of a year. There’s a nice sense of humour at work, and a lot of heart. It’s one for the Canadiana bookshelf; read it in tandem with Little Fish and you’ve got a full fledged look at Canada’s windiest city.
In a nutshell, it follows the Binder family after the sudden death of the patriarch Max: his withdrawn kids and sullen, angry wife each get their own chapters, as do people on the edges of their lives: teenage friends, elderly women, the cleaning lady, a newspaper editor. With this wide-lens approach, Cook creates a world of people in her Winnipeg, giving readers multiple angles to approach the principals.
As a novel told in stories, there isn’t exactly much in terms of an overwhelming plot - I guess you could take the mystery of Binder’s death as one - but throughout the themes of loss, anger and betrayal are dealt with via Cook’s light touch: what could be a downer of a novel is a surprisingly enjoyable read, with comic touches throughout.
Summer Fun
by Jeanne Thornton (Soho)
A powerful work of fiction, Summer Fun is look at B——, leader of a Southern California band called The Get Happies, and while they bear more than a passing resemblance to a Famous Band, it’s less a fictional retelling than a meaningful commentary on fandom, self-expression, trans identity and the power of music. I liked it a lot - could barely put it down. It’s a moving, ultimately bittersweet tale, and Thornton’s prose is dreamy, creating a world that sucks the reader in and makes them feel B—— as they go through the course of making hit singles and a lost classic record - and discovering themselves. Recommended.
Self Care
by Leigh Stein (Penguin)
A breezy read about the ups and downs of a self care startup and internet culture, Self Care is enjoyable enough and well written, but doesn’t quite live up to its potential - it reads like a polemic at times and of the characters, only Maren seems like a real person, the others like cutouts meant to depict a specific type of person.
It’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not especially memorable either. In its skewering of Internet culture it has moments of levity, but it’s not an especially sharp satire; it just holds its punches a little too much. And I’m not sure it quite gets the Internet; novels like No One Is Talking About This seem to have a firmer grip, although they reach to a different demographic.
All in all, a mixed bag. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I don’t feel like I wasted my time with it either. Maybe it just wasn’t for me.
The Collection
edited by Tom Léger, Riley MacLeod (Topside)
Some are good, a few are unremarkable and a couple of them are excellent. I especially liked the stories by Casey Plett (a homecoming set in Winnipeg), Susan Jane Bigelow (a story about a trans demon Hunter), and R Drew’s The Cafe (where a trans person gets fed up with their shitty job).
The best stories here create their own world, draw you in and make you care about the protagonist from the get go. A couple of them are slow burners, rising to a fever pitch, but a couple of them kind of fall flat - at least compared with the best fiction here.
A lot has changed since this book was published nearly 10 years ago, and some of these people now use different names, others have won awards and one is getting her novel republished by FSG. But I think this book remains kind of important in how it kickstarted a trans lit movement, and how more than a few of these writers have risen to prominence. It’s out of print, like the rest of Topside’s stuff, but if you can find a copy it’s worth tracking down.