My top five books this year are an interesting mix. With one being published over 40 years ago, one being published 9 years ago, one being published five years ago, and two being brand new. There’s an unexpected memoir showing up, a gorgeous piece of literary fiction, and not so surprisingly three books from the science fiction/fantasy genre.
#5 Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979) – I finally went back and read Octavia Butler’s first novel< Kindred and found a writer who was already fully formed, to create such an original and seminal work the first time out of the gate. Published in 1979 by a black woman; the first science fiction novel published by a black woman, and one that tackles the challenging and disturbing topic of slavery, and more, the complex, fraught relationship between master and slave, this novel is a revelation.
Dana is 26, living in modern day when she is suddenly, inexplicably wrenched through time to the Antebellum South — drawn there to save Rufus’ as he nearly drowns. Moments later, when faced by the barrel of Lucas’ father’s gun, she vanishes, returning to her home and her perplexed husband who watched her vanish and reappear. So begins this time-hopping, piece of historical fiction that examines a topic most people have trouble exploring in 2021, much less 1979. Butler doesn’t flinch or look away, but forces the reader to confront the barbaric practice that is a part of our history, but more, she digs into the varied inner psyches of those involved, both white and black. It’s singular, it’s passionate, and it’s intense. Truly a must for ever reading-list.
#4 Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star by Tracey Thorn (2013) – I’ve always enjoyed the 80’s pop group Everything but the Girl. My interest in them ebbed and flowed depending on their output, but in many ways I think it followed their trajectory with the public — which makes sense the way lead singer, Tracey Thorn explains it in her first memoir, Bedsit Disco Queen. They started fairly strong, and quickly found a steadily climbing trajectory, before dipping sharply into mediocrity after a handful of albums. Their career could have gone a few ways, most easily dissolution, or inexplicably, a sudden sharp spike in quality and popularity, then, rather surprisingly, semi-retirement. It was during this semi-retirement in the 2000’s that Tracey Thorn turned her songwriting voice into a prose writing voice, to great success.
Thorn is an accomplished writer and a compelling story-teller. She spends a lot of time on the origins of her pop stardom, notably as a teen punk follower who formed a quiet little subversive all-girl band, Marine Girls. When she met her musical and domestic partner, Ben Watt, the two formed Everything But the Girl where she merged her punk attitudes with his more sophisticated musical interests into music that sounded pretty pop with jazz influences, but featured lyrics that were from a decidedly intelligent, post-punk mindset. Thorn’s arc as a musician/pop singer also followed her band’s trajectory, and she insightfully considers that their mid-career dip in popularity aligned with the quality of the music they were creating, or at least the interest she had vested in the music they were creating. After a life-threatening illness that took Ben out of commission for nearly a year, the two found a rebirth of sorts, and they produced their career high album, Amplified Heart, which produced the massive international single, Missing. I had forgotten as well, how Thorn’s collaboration with the trip-hop band, Massive Attack and the song Protection, impacted Thorn and EbtG;s career.
Most of all, I was impressed by the way Thorn is able to weave story that reels the reader in, and keeps you engaged throughout. Besides the fact of her sublimely listenable voice when she performs, her voice when she writes is similarly enchanting. With that wry sense of humor and healthy amount of self-deprecation that comes with her punk background, Thorn has created one of the best rock & roll memoirs I’ve experienced.