what scares me

pretty things in a fearful season

Speculative books Recently Read & Enjoyed (the recent duds I won’t mention):

• God, Human, Animal, Machine, with the clunky sub-title Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning, by Meghan O’Gleblyn. I listened to this nonfiction book while driving to and from Ripton, Vermont to attend Bread Loaf (and if anybody out there in the ether wants more info on my experience at the OG writers’ conference, I’m happy to share it). O’Gleblyn’s personal journey—one of leaving the church, the void left in its wake—grounded the work, reminding me of my favorite parts of R.O. Kwon’s The Incendiaries. I loved learning about older and wilder Christian ideas of the afterlife, which showcased O’Gleblyn’s years of study, although some elements of the techno-spiritualism discussion felt dated already. (I confess I have little patience or interest in Elon Musk and his ilk—I don’t think they’re that deep.)

It’s a beautiful autumn in Toronto. Outside my window, the season occasions daily change. The Virginia Creeper’s vines are in places green, in others shading red, and the aspen’s leaves mottle yellow.

• Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa. If you are looking for a bone-chilling read for the Halloween season, this will provide. The prose is sharp and the stories themselves are unsettling in a way that will stalk your thoughts long after you’ve finished reading. Translated by Stephen Snyder. (Shoutout to my local bookstore Little Ghosts, which is where I first came upon this short story collection. Btw: If you ever feel like the same few titles are getting marketed to you over and over, or if you feel bored with what you’ve picked up lately, go out to the store. They are curated! You can browse! It’s sick!)

• Against Technoableism by Ashley Shaw. Another nonfiction audiobook I inhaled as I traveled for the weddings I had on my schedule this fall. Overall I recommend it, especially for sci-fi writers who 1) desire inspiration to create new tech that is realistic (as technology that avoids differences among people is not) and 2) want to avoid the problematic aspects in popular tropes of the genre (better to know the cultural baggage you’re toting). My asterisk is that I found the essays to be a bit more of a survey than I wanted, more of an introduction than this reader was looking for, so I wished the book to be longer and more directed; I would have loved the sections on hearing aids and artificial limbs to go on longer, and to linger on the assertion that people with disabilities can teach society how to adapt to a rapidly changing planet.

  

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• Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías. This short novel continues my infatuation with Latin American speculative fiction, especially the terrifying kind. Translated by Heather Cleary (I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: translators, you have my heart, and you should be paid better for opening up the world to us). It’s a quiet but arresting story about an ecological plague, one of the best writings about covid lockdowns (my other favorite, even if it was probably written prior to the pandemic, is Piranesi by Susanna Clarke). Vaporous and difficult subjects are better examined slantwise, through the literalized metaphors of speculative fiction…before I turn you off from reading it, this isn’t a book About Covid. It’s about inertia and climate change and body horror and break-ups as much as it is about a virus. What’s truly frightening is our inability to change, despite every fact demanding it. This sort of fear—and how to contend with it in art—is a familiar visitor to my late night anxiety spells; the known and the unknown and the unknowable pressing against my thoughts. (Jeff Vandermeer maps this territory like no other and I recommend his recent interview with Adam Morgan in Esquire.) Pink Slime was one of those novels that for reasons I can’t share without spoilers I found a bit unsatisfying directly after finishing it, but that grew on me over time, as it haunted my thoughts for days and then weeks.

• Tell me, what scares you?

Currently Reading (too many things at once, as per usual):

• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpman, translated by Roz Schwartz. I’m intrigued thus far, although concerned that this one might not go anywhere/I might not be in the right mood for it.

• The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera. This novel is very good and very different from a lot of contemporary fantasy. Enjoying, especially now that I’ve settled into its immersive world.

• A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar. If you’ve been following along here, you know I’m a vocal Samatar-stan BUT I’ve only read her short stories before this. I’ve just begun A Stranger in Olondria and the writing is impeccable, no surprise.

Amanda ✿✫・*。