NOT TORN

Generation A, Douglas Coupland, 2009

Got a bit tedious.

Trash Humpers, Harmony Korine, 2009

Sweet.

Hadwijch, Bruno Dumont, 2009

So luminous and perfectly brilliant in the details, so stupid and schematic over-all, I keep thinking the recent Dumont movies must have another level I’m not seeing. It seems they may not. but pretty damn good anyway.

Book of Clouds, Chloe Aridjis, 2009

Lovely, kind of like Sebald-lite.

The Trick Is to Keep Breathing, Janice Galloway, 1989

The NYTimes described this as a cross between Sylvia Plath and Tristram Shandy, which is kind of true. The strange thing is the result doesn’t seem strange or coy, but implacably straight-forward.

Both Ways is the Only Way I Want It, Maile Meloy, 2009

Classy short stories, impeccable middle-brow literature (full of quietly dazzling moments, mute epiphanies, etc.).

Wolf Creek, Greg McLean, 2005

An arty slasher film set in Australian outback. Beautifully put together – shot so well it almost transcends the genre.

Giving Up the Ghost: A Memoir, Hilary Mantel, 2005

Two memoirs in one, really. The first half deals with the strange, luminous world of childhood. The second is rather less luminous, but a precise and vivid of Mantel’s struggle with long undiagnosed endometriosis. Great stylist.

Antimatter, Frank Close, 2009

Interesting. Did a really good job of both explaining the concepts and putting them into historical context.

Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction, Cynthia Freeman, 2007

Short, maybe, but not short enough. Who is this for? It is hard to imagine an audience so general.