“There have always been those who use despair and desperation as weapons.” – N.K. Jemisin, ‘The Stone Sky’
What kind of life do you have to lead, to leave the world a better place for your children? What kind of life do you have to lead, to model behavior that you’d like to see your child emulate when they’re an adult? I never want to give the impression that I am Very Virtuous or Very Judgmental, I’m just saying these are questions I think about all the time, and the book I read this week made me think about them more.
A few bonus epigraphs, all from the same book:
“But for a society built on exploitation, there is no greater threat than having no one left to oppress.”
“There’s not enough magic to be had just from plants and genegineered fauna; someone must suffer, if the rest are to enjoy luxury.”
“But there are none so frightened, or so strange in their fear, as conquerors.”
“Conquerors live in dread of the day when they are shown to be, not superior, but simply lucky.”
What I’ve Been Reading This Week:
A book that sticks in its own present while also going centuries back in time. Previously unexplored dimensions of the mess humanity is in get extrapolated. Yet it manages to not feel like all of the sudden there’s all this new information that makes you reconsider everything you’ve read before. This really is a masterfully crafted trilogy. I’m talking, of course, about The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin.
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin: a line from Lindsey Alder’s Defector column about attending a two-day Yoko Ono festival has stuck with me all week, where Lindsey wishes for a politics that is “generative not extractive.” The third book of The Broken Earth Trilogy continues the story of Essun and Nassun, but it also takes us into the past. We see the technological marvels of the pre-apocalypse world. That’s the thing about the world ending: it often goes on for people, long after it ends. This book is full of civilizational ruins and reminders that everything, even our greatest structures, goes in the landfill eventually. And here is where the sins of extractive policies bear fruit: when your society is built on exploitation and predation, it will crumble. There are Matrix-style pod people in this book, there is cannibalism for survival, there is a rehearsal of how whole types of people can be reclassified as Not People. It’s scary shit to read as the US ramps up its literal concentration camps, plays fast and loose with life-saving programs, and tries to erase transgender people from existence.
That’s about as spoiler-free as I can get and tell you about this book. The Shakespearian confrontation that the series has been building toward is great. The ending is unsentimental and yet does not despair. Look, take it from someone who usually isn’t the audience for sci-fi/fantasy: read these books. They’re all about 400 pages, heftier than I’m used to, but not insurmountable. There’s a lot to think on, but also? I can’t tell you what a good time these books are without spoiling everything. The world is fascinating, the characters are interesting, the pages keep turning.
LINKS!
Something to listen to while you browse? New Jazz Underground put out a Kendrick Lamar Suite, which—I mean, I’m not gonna be listening to much else for a while. This and the MF DOOM Suite on an endless loop until my kid rips the headphones off my ears.
“The Shell” by Georgie Morvis in Smokelong Quarterly
“These Things We Not Saying” by Banchiwosen Woldeyesus in Smokelong Quarterly
“There are major moves in the market” by C.M. Green in beestung
“Fat4Fat” by Aerik Francis in beestung
Loved ‘s essay on her blog about revolutionary aesthetics and building an inclusive movement. Anytime Margaret tells stories about her crustpunk street kid days, it’s catnip to me. Also excited to listen to Margaret and one of Chicago’s best, Kelly M. Hayes, talk about this same subject on the Movement Memos podcast.
What’re you still doing here? Don’t know you that Micah and Brendan have a show? They did something special and released an episode every day this week. If you’re not following them on Instagram? It better be because you deleted your Instagram because you want to hurt that poser Mark Zuckerberg’s wallet. Even then, follow them on YouTube.
If you work in the service industry, may you clean up in tips this weekend. Think about what your weapons are, in these miserable times. Do you pile more misery upon the world? Or do you do something different?
Sorry you got an email,
Chris