What I'm Reading Now

Carmen Maria Machado, In the Dream House

My kid badgered me into reading this one, and I am glad he did. I'd read Machado's short stories, and taught a couple of them, but this is the first novel of hers I've read. As with most of Machado's work, the form is not that of typical fiction -- she writes in lists, or mock-Kickstarters, or -- as here -- a mix of fiction, essay, and memoir. It works wonderfully.

The subject matter is rough. The Dream House in question is the one she thought she would share -- the life she thought she would share -- with the woman she passionately loved; except this woman was also emotionally abusive. That is what the book is about, emotional abuse, what it looks like, how it works, why it's so hard for the victim to recognize. This is an excellent book, though very painful to read at time. If you've never read Machado, this one would be a great place to start.

A.S. Byatt, The Children's Book

This is a re-read, and I liked it even better this time around. Set in Edwardian England, more or less (beginning just before Queen Victoria dies, and ending just after WWI), it's the story of an interconnected group of friends and families, most of them involved in the William Morris arts & craft movement. The main family, the Wellwoods, is based on Edith Nesbit's life and her own complicated family. I really like books like this, big fat books that go into intricate detail about eras, communities, and people living in them. There's not much of a plot -- just these people living in this time and what happens to them. Byatt, of course, writes wonderfully. 10/10, glad I read it twice.

Anne Tyler, French Braid

This one is an Anne Tyler book, which is to say (1) set in Baltimore (2) about a big, extended, slightly weird family (3) readable, but not that exciting. Her best book remains Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, and if you've never read Tyler before, I'd start with that one. This one is okay, but not much different from every other book she's written in the past decade or so.

Caroline Fraser, Prairie Fires

This is a reread too. Fraser wrote what will almost certainly be the definitive study of the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the history and culture and political philosophy surrounding that life. It won a Pulitzer in 2018, among several other awards.

If you grew up reading and rereading the Little House series, as I did, you'll love this one. Even if you didn't grow up with the books, this is a fascinating and deeply satisfying look at both Wilder and the world of the 19th and early 20th century in the American midwest. It's also a great look at how fiction gets written, how it is shaped and warped by the author's own politics and convictions.