{"id":146792864,"date":"2024-08-09T12:30:53","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T12:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=146792864"},"modified":"2024-08-09T12:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T12:30:53","slug":"friday-links-mutual-aid-is-the-way-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=146792864","title":{"rendered":"Friday Links: Mutual Aid Is The Way Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

“No one knows better than I do how far heaven is, but I also know all the shortcuts. The secret is to die, when you want to, and not when He proposes.” – Juan Rulfo, ‘Pedro Par\u00e1mo’<\/h2>

Learning, like the need to stretch, is lifelong. So is the struggle against capitalism. The book I read this week is something of a difficult text, though not so difficult that casual readers can\u2019t enjoy it. The links this week are about difficult struggle, though not so difficult that struggle isn\u2019t worth it. We\u2019re always trying to get better, right? Or am I just Protestant? <\/p>

What I\u2019ve Been Reading This Week:<\/strong><\/p>

A book that my first-or-second-favorite author<\/a> said inspired the best book ever written<\/a>. A book that is about one-sixth of that other book\u2019s length. A book about a literal ghost town which is so so sick you guys<\/em>. I\u2019m talking, of course, about Pedro P\u00e1ramo<\/em> by Juan Rulfo. <\/p>

\"Pedro<\/figure>

It\u2019s not hard to see why Gabo read this twice in one night. It\u2019s not hard to see why he bragged about knowing all of the characters and their desires inside and out. I read it (once) in a day, or like a 28-hour span. It\u2019s spellbinding. It sings, it keeps you in place and wanting to know what happens next, as any good ghost story should. It\u2019s also confusing as hell. Characters\u2014are they alive or dead? Who is speaking right now? Wait, what happened to the main character?\u2014come and go, dialogue is punctuated differently than convention, and you really have to embrace being along for the ride. <\/p>

But if you dare come along this ride? Goddamn<\/em>, dude, this is a ghost story<\/em>. A literal ghost town. The unfinished business of the people. The poor field workers, who it seems have to continue to be out in the fields even in death. The women, my goodness this book makes me glad to not be a woman in mid-20th century rural Mexico. The rippling effects of one spoiled asshole who was the son of a spoiled asshole who had a kid who was a spoiled asshole. The corruptibility of Catholic priests. The way you cannot trust a human being to assure you of eternal salvation. <\/p>

It\u2019s all here! In like 120 pages! Read Pedro P\u00e1ramo<\/em>!<\/p>

LINKS!<\/strong><\/p>