Ciao, 2021

 is this how it's gonna be for the rest of our lives? time dissolving into thick dark fog, things that happened last week seeming years ago, & things that happened last year feeling like yesterday. i guess it's simply the consequence of growing older. 

there’s no debating the fact that the last 12 months have been confusing & such a crazy emotional roller coaster on one level or another. but there's so much to be thankful for of course, & the incredible degrees of courage, fortitude, selflessness, & compassion around me truly meant a lot.

as much as we’ll enjoy seeing 2021 recede into rearview mirror, we also know deep down that 2022 isn’t likely to be much better. with the climate crisis & all. idk. 

but the beginning of a new year remains an ideal time to take stock of what's working in our lives, make plans to change what's not, & forge ahead in the knowledge that we're so much stronger than most of us give ourselves credit for. ciao, 2021.

Beautiful World, Where are You

 

it centers around 4 protagonists, realistically flawed, set in the backdrop of Brexit/Trump era, seeking connections with each other & the messiness of living in 21st century & struggling to honestly convey their thoughts & emotions. it's about navigating careers, friendship, love, politics, capitalism, religion, children, climate change, & the idealism of celebrities. 

it doesn't have a strong plot & it's mostly conversations. life's not always about huge gestures & drama. but i'm so invested in the characters as there's the sense of connection to them & i don't always like how they behave but i care about them, & that’s what i want in a novel.

the author's prose is straightforward & engaging. she paints the emotional & intellectual lives of ordinary people with such care & sincerity. she portrays a complete emotional mess in a really brilliant way. 

i think i really haven't come across other writers who communicates trivial human tendencies so accurately & effortlessly, who blends fiction with social commentary and philosophy so seamlessly, who writes sex thru conversation more so than action, & who creates characters that i can see myself in, so much so that it feels personal. one of the best i've ever read.