Reflections on February 2025 Reads

Fiction 

Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack 

For the first quarter of this book I was really struggling to make sense of it. To put together all the rules of the world. To figure out the parallels to our own.  

It did not go well. 

But there was something compelling about the voice and the subject matter that didn’t let me put the book down. And once I stopped trying to find parallels in the culture presented and its idiosyncratic practices to those in our own world, I started to enjoy the book. 

I came across the book after reading the essay The Querent in Alexander Chee’s How to Write an Autobiographical Novel. Chee mentions that the author, Rachel Pollack, is an expert in tarot, and while I know very little about tarot, it’s clear that the surreal and fantastical imagery throughout the book draws from this expertise.   

There are probably depths in the layers of symbolism that I missed. There were frequent asides, excerpts from holy books referencing stories, some literal, some allegorical, some satirical, from a second revolution in the United States. A revolution that upended the march toward unending corporate busy work to some entirely different types of busy works steeped in magic and superstitions.  

There were some clear parallels to our reality, particularly the visceral critiques of the expectations of women to be this and that but never those. And it’s not until the main character, Jennifer Mazdan, finally lets go of those expectations and her own expectations of others, that she’s finally freed to enjoy life from her own motivations, and not those of pressures from her mother, neighbors, her holy books, etc.  

Which honestly felt like the lesson I needed to enjoy the book. To let go of my expectations of what a novel should be and of the expectations of what a novel and its author might have wanted from me. And to just read. 

It was weird. But I liked it. 

Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde 

This was maybe another book that required me to drop expectations and enjoy the ride, but in a slightly different way. I did this as an audiobook, and had very little context (aside from a passing recommendation from a very trusted source) so it took me a minute to realize that the booked lived somewhere between the realm of novel and short story collection.  

There are common threads for each of the stories, specifically that they all take place in or in proximity to Lagos. All the characters are succumbing to the pull of Lagos, be it for work, for love, or for loss.  

Osunde’s prose is lush with both captivating physical descriptions and subtle insights that made me shiver when I processed them. One of my favorite examples of this was a line from the reoccuring character Tatafo’s perspective:  

“...hard walled as it is, there are cracks in power...and if there’s anything vagabonds know how to do, it’s to live in the cracks; to grow tall and thick as unfellable trees.”  

I went into book knowing little about Nigeria and its histories and cultures, so there is probably more depth to the stories and characters presented that I missed. But Osude’s writing on the page alone is so rich that I got a ton from it even without that background.  

One thing I did look up was the background of the recurring character Èkó. From what I could tell Èkó was a spirit, maybe a god, who pulled the strings of everyone and everything in Lagos like a puppet master. Though they were themselves beholden to the spiritual energies of the sea and the land surrounding Lagos. Èkó, I learned, is the Yuroba name for Lagos Island (this is where I go from Wikipedia to Google Maps rabbit holes...). And if I read right, Lagos Island was the original post-colonial capital of Nigeria. The seat of administrative power. The place from which to pull all the strings. So after learning this, Èkó’s character began to make more sense.  

I’ve only scratched the surface here, haven’t even begun to discuss the in-depth characters, compelling and flawed, mysterious and lovely, that Osunde introduces and develops so intricately through the book. And the cast of voice actors did an amazing job conveying all of them. So I highly recommend both the book and the audiobook! 

Essays and Insights 

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay 

I knew Ross Gay’s work was going to be on the syllabus for the creative non-fiction course I’m taking, so I decided to listen to one of his collections. I’m so happy I did. The concept for this collection (and its follow-up) was that he set a goal for himself to write about something delightful every day and then took those writings and transformed them into these insightful essays. His beautiful prose reflects his background in poetry and there are several essays that blur the line. What was most impressive was his ability to take a pleasant occurrence and turn it into an essay that actually spoke to difficult things, be they racism, poverty, violence, etc. There was a lot to enjoy, a lot to learn. It was delightful. 

Femnist Theory: From Margins to Center by bell hooks 

There are some audiobooks that I bookmark so much through the course of reading them, that I decide I need to buy a physical copy and transcribe my notes from it more methodically. This was definitely one of those books. I haven’t read many of the texts/scholars that hooks is in conversation with, but I felt this captured much of what always felt missing from mainstream talking points about feminism and interrelated social justice movements. One of my favorite sections was her discussion about the contrasts between feminism rooted in whiteness versus feminism focused on uprooting racist and capitalist systems that reinforce patriarchy. This was particularly illuminating for me because it hit on issues I could feel, but never knew how to articulate. I have a lot more to read on this and adjacent topics, but needless to say this book has become a foundational text for me that will likely influence my writings, fictions and otherwise, in some way shape or form from here on out.  

Magical/Realism by Vanessa Angellica Villareal 

This book was part memoir, part cultural/literary critique. I really appreciated Villareal’s astute observations about the publishing industry, its contradictions and legacies of racism. But also appreciated how these intertwined with her personal narratives. I think my favorite part of the book was her reading of the wall in Game of Thrones as an allegory for the Mexican/US border. She didn’t say this was at all Martin’s intent, but she was able to make interesting points by analyzing Jon Snow’s character. Snow, she felt, was the epitome of those who have lives on either side of the border. Who struggle with stubborn notions of loyalty to prescribed ways, versus the changing realities that he sees before him. I won’t dive into it further here, but it was a compelling reading and left me thinking. 

Politics and Organizing 

Tyranny of the Two Party System by Lisa Jane Disch 

This book was recommended by a local organization raising awareness about the need for more parties to help build a more functional, more representative democracy. It was written in 2002, and (sadly) the issues raised in the book at still relevant, perhaps even more so now than they were then. The author, Lisa Disch, is a poli-sci professor and the work is probably geared more toward people who have some foundational academic background in the field. I don’t, but I still learned a ton, even though the significance of some sections were likely lost on me. At its core the book is less focused on the broad strokes organizing that is required to overcome our current duopoly and is instead focused on a specific barrier to it: the illegality of fusion. The book delves into a US of the past were third parties were quite common. One of the functions for making third parties viable was the ability for candidates to be endorsed by and listed on the ballot by multiple parties. When this was made illegal in all states (except New York), the ability for third parties to break into significance dissipated. Overall, an interesting and important read for understanding the history of our political duopoly in the US. 

Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Marie Brown 

This is another one of those books that I did in audio and will likely have to get a physical copy to go throw and take notes on because there were so many important learnings I want to think more deeply about. So, I don’t have too much to say about it now, other than that it felt like a really important and practical guide to organizing and doing so in ways that bring in quieted voices and leave out toxic practices that commonly make organizing less effective and sustainable. Will think more on this one and might have more to say after a reread, but I definitely recommend it! 

What’s March Looking Like? 

So far in March I’m continuing to slowly make my way through Envisioning Real Utopias which talks about the ways in which we might evolve beyond our current economic and political systems. (This seemed like a good chaser after having reread The Darker Nations and feeling hopelessness about the ability to build better systems.) I’ve also been exploring the work of Toni Cade Bambara after her name came up in several books over the last few months, so have read a few essays and am in the middle of The Salt Eaters. I also started Sofia Samatar’s The Practice, The Horizon and the Chain and am enjoying it so far. I’m also hoping to delve into some epic fantasy this year (a genre I usually shy away from) so I might try to pull one into my rotation this month and see how it goes. Hope to share more next month!