{"id":149010547,"date":"2024-09-20T12:30:27","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T12:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=149010547"},"modified":"2024-09-20T12:30:27","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T12:30:27","slug":"friday-links-take-care-of-your-people-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lazyandentitled.org\/?p=149010547","title":{"rendered":"Friday Links: Take Care Of Your People Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

“You could carry these stories. You could carry this tribe.” – Nick Medina, ‘Sisters Of The Lost Nation’<\/h2>

Content Warnings caused a lot of controversy in the 2000s-2010s. Hell, probably still do. Here\u2019s something I understand: books should not be afraid to tackle difficult subject matter, and readers should not be babies about engaging with difficult subject matter. Here\u2019s something I also understand: all people have different experiences, different things hit differently for different people, and maybe you want to know what kind of heavy material you\u2019re getting into before you read a book, so you can prepare. Here\u2019s something I don\u2019t understand: people who bray about the former but don\u2019t listen to the latter. <\/p>

Anyway, not sure I\u2019ve read a novel with its own CW at the beginning (very, very<\/em> possible that I have and forgot), so why not reprint what the author wrote before we get started? <\/p>

\u201c[Novel] includes content that addresses issues of addiction, drug abuse, murder and death (off-page), physical assault and battery, sex trafficking (off-page), sexual abuse of a minor (off-page), self-harm, and racism. Please read with your well-being and best interest in mind.\u201d <\/p>

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

A book you probably already know because of the cover image of this blog. Why do I insist on being coy with this first paragraph week after week? Idk, doing bits makes life worth living. A book that is propulsive<\/em>, a book that actively encourages you not to put it down with its time shifts, tight chapters, and lyrical yet blistering writing. A book that reads like a little like one of the good seasons of True Detective<\/em> (longtime readers know that\u2019s high praise from me<\/a>), but without the soul-crushing nihilism of Nic Pizza. So, like a better True Detective<\/em> Night Country<\/em>? Sure! I\u2019m talking, of course, about Sisters of the Lost Nation<\/em> by Nick Medina. <\/p>

\"Sisters<\/figure>

When a story is hurtling towards a horrific tragedy involving a main character, you can either go the Get Out <\/em>route or the Swamplandia!<\/em> route. This book\u2019s thriller plot\u2014we prologue with a Takoda myth1<\/a> told around a campfire, then time jump to a dead girl, then time jump 36 days prior\u2014involves our main character, Anna, looking for her younger sister. Anna is a senior in high school, Grace is three years younger. Both work at a casino\/resort under a hyped-up-on-speed-and-booze-and-probably-the-incorrect-reading-of-Goodfellas<\/em>-some-men-in-their-20s-get boss named Fox. Fox is almost<\/em> Drake. <\/p>

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