I’ve read most of his books twice since, yeah, total misanthrope and I’m sure we’d have nothing to talk about other than birds. But the man knows how to tell a story, and wow he does a number on dysfunctional families. It’s not great but Purity was quite fun at parts and for a deep cut, his second novel Strong Motion was very entertaining to me since it takes place in 90s Somerville where I used to live (not in the 90s).
Mar 2, 2024
Related Recs
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Equally excellent to “The Corrections.”
His non fiction is terrific too, eg, “My Bird Problem,” “How To Be Alone,” “Farther Away.”
Any writer who loves the Mekons as much as Jonathan does can’t be bad, right? 🎶
Mar 1, 2024
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Spring snow …. That whole cycle of books is really sublime. He’s also so interesting, if you really want to be in contact with his weird brain his memoir about body building is crazy. his novella star is a good intro just cause it’s short and perverse.
Feb 20, 2024
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I read it for a class and it connected with me to some degree. i think I liked it more because I had read it after reading “Ordinary Light” by Tracy K Smith, which sucked ass. The reason why it sucked ass is because every other line, Smith is either talking about God or going into the microfibers of details on a simple thing. She will write about how she got a boo-boo on her toe and how it re-shaped her life as a whole and then somehow relating back to God. Like, bitch please, when I got an injury when I was 8 I was wondering why i hadn’t broken my bone. Burroughs keeps the simple simple and uses pop-culture and media to describe things and it makes sense. When I see a friend make a piece of art, I wouldn’t say something of the lines, ”those lines strike and shine across the paper like birds in the horizon“ no bitch I would be saying, “hey its better than what Zun can draw and also if you want to make money, rule 34 is the place!” also Burroughs doesn’t shy away from showing the ugly sides of himself, he steals money and manipulates a 34 year old man to fuck his 13 year old self. Shits crazy and not close to my life, but it’s more relatable somehow.
Jun 13, 2024
Top Recs from @tortitude
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We know what’s for dinner this week
Feb 1, 2025
Spiky boi climbing trees and eating wood and chomping on snow, marry me
Feb 23, 2025
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My favorite way to spend vacation time in a different city.
Mar 20, 2024