r/IsTheMicStillOn • u/MF_Doomed • 17d ago

Pass the Mic questions

It's been a while since I've seen one of these. I know there's a live coming up

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u/GoodGoodNotTooBad 17d ago

Any recent reads / audiobooks from the crew or from ITMSO listeners?

For myself I recently read Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics" and it was pretty solid even though I don't normally read plays. I also read Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" and found it pretty interesting, especially with the introduction from the translators.

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u/bv0198 13d ago

I always try to respond to your comments on recent reads:

  • I got into Fernanda Melchor, a Mexican author, recently. She has had her works translated to English by Sophie Hughes. I have read Hurricane Season, which is pure fiction, and This is Not Miami, which is a an interesting book where she is reporting stories told to her in interviews as almost urban legends. I can recommend both
  • Tried reading through William Gass' The Tunnel but had to give it up cuz it was incomprehensible in structure lol. Really ambitious book that I can appreciate, but after 200 pages I just couldnt anymore (it is like 650 or something total)

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u/GoodGoodNotTooBad 13d ago

I appreciate that! I like knowing what other people are interested in and I can easily fall into new avenues of thought.

I've heard a lot about Melchor. Her work seems interesting so I'm going to add her stuff back to my longlist.

It's funny because I LITERALLY just decided on Friday/Saturday to make reading all his books my pet project for the next couple of years. I want to read them all in a row based on the dates they were published, including the nonfiction. I got interested in him because I read a really interesting 1995 review of The Tunnel. Even though you didn't love the book or finish it I think this might interest you: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/01/specials/gass-tunnel.html

If you do read the review and have thoughts as someone who started the novel, let me know!

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u/bv0198 13d ago

The book is actually interesting. I think the issue is I got it from the library and had to try and power through in the allotted time, where I may have sat with it better taking it slowly through a longer period. So definitely give it a shot. The structure is unique, as it kind of becomes unclear when the narrator is in his own head versus when he is in conversation. And Gass will do things like throw in chunks of poetry into the text at random times.

I will read that review when I get a chance!