What We've Been Reading

Ashleigh:
The past few days I've been reading Michael Thomas's novel Man Gone Down.It won the International Impac Dublin Literary Award this past summer, and I'd read a lot about its unabashed literary-ness, its fearless exploration of race in contemporary America, its tender depiction of a man who has long since given up hope of finding his place in the world. And while I can't yet say I love the book (I'm only about 100 pages in), it's fascinating to see the unnamed narrator spiral deeper into digressions and ruminations as the pressure builds to make a new start in life. It's always hard to watch someone fail in real time, and even harder to watch them fail because they are mired in exhuming the past, but Man Gone Down demonstrates that there can be a kind of beauty in it, too.

Jess:
Moby DickThis shit is incredible. The Pequod is ribbed with whale bones. I'd put in a vote for the most badass book in American literature. Plus it's funny.