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matsushimaI will (probably) post more analysis of content and style when I've finished this book but I wanted to say that twice now, two chapters in, I've encountered words I've never seen before and could not figure out from context.
I would like to recommend this to, e.g., my mother, who thinks of herself (incorrectly and unfairly) as a person who is "not smart." (She has a Masters of Arts in Education and she's a 2nd dan black belt and she reads all of the time and plays, like, five instruments and she's a poet and singer-songwriter so it's obviously not true that she is "not smart.") I think she will feel a little overwhelmed and off-put by the writerliness of it all and that's too bad because I know she wants to understand what's going on in the U.S. because she lives there and is a person who is concerned about the wellbeing of others. (My mom is also someone who is fundamentally so good at heart that she simply cannot comprehend why someone would do something to harm someone else. It's genuinely baffling for her - which I think contributes to her sense of being "not smart.")
Personally, I'm finding it a bit hard to follow. I'd like to think I'm "smart" enough (but honestly I'm just a A+ bullshitter) but I also have chronic fatigue and, lately, pretty bad brain fog and it's really a slog for me right now even tho this is a subject I know a bit about and am interested in learning more. So it's not like I got thrown into the subject deep end without a floatie or like I'm trying to read something I'm bored by but I keep losing track of what Talia Lavin's trying to say.
P.S. 99% my mom will never see this but if she does: hi, mom! You are smart! You're just not bitter and jaded like I am and Dad was!
- recherché adj. rare, exotic, or obscure.
métier n. a profession or occupation.
I would like to recommend this to, e.g., my mother, who thinks of herself (incorrectly and unfairly) as a person who is "not smart." (She has a Masters of Arts in Education and she's a 2nd dan black belt and she reads all of the time and plays, like, five instruments and she's a poet and singer-songwriter so it's obviously not true that she is "not smart.") I think she will feel a little overwhelmed and off-put by the writerliness of it all and that's too bad because I know she wants to understand what's going on in the U.S. because she lives there and is a person who is concerned about the wellbeing of others. (My mom is also someone who is fundamentally so good at heart that she simply cannot comprehend why someone would do something to harm someone else. It's genuinely baffling for her - which I think contributes to her sense of being "not smart.")
Personally, I'm finding it a bit hard to follow. I'd like to think I'm "smart" enough (but honestly I'm just a A+ bullshitter) but I also have chronic fatigue and, lately, pretty bad brain fog and it's really a slog for me right now even tho this is a subject I know a bit about and am interested in learning more. So it's not like I got thrown into the subject deep end without a floatie or like I'm trying to read something I'm bored by but I keep losing track of what Talia Lavin's trying to say.
P.S. 99% my mom will never see this but if she does: hi, mom! You are smart! You're just not bitter and jaded like I am and Dad was!
