À la carte (May 13, 2024)
A lot of books, an interview with Lucy Jones, Chez Panisse, and Hacks
Books
It’s one of those weeks when I am getting off of the library hold list for everything all at once, and so I read a lot this week. My nightstand is crowded with newish releases, some pre-ordered (Matrescence by Lucy Jones, which I’m savoring by reading a few pages before bed each night), some gifted by my father in law (Long Island by Colm Tóibín, The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl, One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy), and some from the library (I fear Like Love by Maggie Nelson is gathering dust for the third week in a row - I’m having trouble getting into this heady volume of art criticism before bed, which is when I do most of the reading.)
Instead I read two very different novels from the library this week - one spare and serious and intellectual, the other a fast-paced and fun non-literary thriller. The former, The Hearing Test, is a debut novel by Eliza Barry Griffin that I began spotting in bookstores around town two months ago. Blurbed by some of my favorite writers (Leslie Jamison, Kate Zambreno) and compared to some of my other favorites (Rachel Cusk, W.G. Sebald, Clarice Lispector) by reviewers, I had high hopes for this short, discursive account of losing one’s hearing over the course of a year. Maybe my expectations were too high - I didn’t love it. I found the narrator’s voice a little too wry and removed, the allusions a little too torturously esoteric. But for other fans of the above, it is a moving and well-crafted debut work.
After The Hearing Test, I wanted more of a page-turner, and I turned to Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, which I had reserved for what was supposed to be my first solo trip this weekend, to a wedding in Austin. Though it turns out I was not quite ready to leave my baby (sorry Julia & Zach!!), I had been really looking forward to reading a book in one sitting on the plane, and this Texas-set cheeky whodunnit involving a hunky true crime podcast host seemed like it would scratch my itch. I wasn’t particularly compelled by any of the characters, but I read it in three days while working and home with a baby, so make of that what you will.
On the other side of the bed, Ben is onto yet another Auschwitz book, The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz To Warn The World. “It’s fascinating,” he said, when I asked him for his take. I can tell he means it, because he has been wanting to read on the couch after dinner instead of watch tv. In keeping with the World War II theme, he also whizzed through All The Light We Cannot See earlier in the week, which I remember reading in a day while at my parents’ house when it first came out. He is now badgering me to watch the adaptation on Netflix, and I think I will capitulate, despite my perpetual reluctance to start a movie.
A podcast interview
I loved this interview between Lucy Jones, author of the aforementioned Matrescence, with
and Miranda Rake over at (f/k/a Mother Culture). I will be writing much more about Matrescence the book and matrescence the experience, but for now, I am grateful for Sarah and Miranda for approaching this groundbreaking piece of research and writing with so much enthusiasm and curiosity and making me feel a little bit like I was at a launch party (as much as one can feel like one is at a launch party while doing her nightly skincare routine). It was a weird, highly emotional week, and hearing three other mothers discuss the profoundly transformative hormonal/physical/cognitive shitshow in which I am still in the midst was a strangely validating way to end a week that was occupied by a lot of tears and fears.
Food
We didn’t cook much this week, but Ben and I did enjoy a cheeky unexpected night out at the incomparable Chez Panisse. After making the mistake of trying to go out to dinner without a reservation in downtown Berkeley during Cal commencement weekend, we decided to try a Hail Mary on Thursday night and walk into Chez. One round of Campari Spritzes later, we were seated, salivating at the prospect of anchovies. I guess this is a recommendation for … walk-ins? We’ve eaten upstairs at Chez Panisse many times but this week felt especially divine. To be honest, I was not particularly excited about the menu when we sat down, I think as a result of so many farm-to-table places falling flat these days, especially outside of California. But nowhere showcases California cuisine better than this Berkeley classic. Maybe it was the spring vegetables shining through in all their glory, maybe it was the fact that we had a babysitter, maybe it was the fact that we daydreamed about bringing our daughter back for her own graduation dinner, but I won’t be forgetting the ginger beurre-blanc sauce on Ben’s halibut or the peppercorn garnish on my lamb anytime soon.
Television
We are watching the third season of Hacks and it is perfection. More Kayla please!!! I am still laughing about the way the third episode ended and remain interested to see what the dominant narrative arc of this season will be. Will the writer try to center the drama between Ava and her actress-girlfriend, or will they allow the season to be driven by Ava and Debra’s relationship, the true beating heart of the show?