The weather is warming up and the sun is setting much later so I’ve been able to go on a couple of outdoor runs. Certainly getting back into a routine after a lack of warm winter days/treadmill sessions to ease me through the colder months.
Here’s a view of Tussey Mountain. If you look closely you’ll see the last remaining snow (“…and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation.”)
Same recipe as last week but with a shorter bulk and longer secondary fermentation. For the past few weeks I have dialed back the hydration a bit to get “prettier” loaves but I am missing the crumb texture from ~85% hydration.
Baldwin writes with a certain raw emotion that wonderfully captures the chaotic and often illogical thoughts produced after a major event. This novel covers a lot of ground on power, passion, and the search for a true self against a life of expectations.
This novel shares many similarities with Suyin’s “Winter Love” which I read earlier this year and loved. Both feature queer relationships occurring between two people one of with is rich, married/soon to be, and one is in a straight relationship. Both even share some structural similarities as reflective novels that look back on a defining relationship that was bound to end and remain secret.
The difference comes from Baldwin’s near-sighted response to his plans and ex-pat life falling apart after falling in love with a man who ended up jailed and executed for petty theft linked to desperation after the end of the relationship. As stated above, there is a certain craze and electricity going through this novel. This comes at the expense of some degree of polish in style and refinement of thought.
Suyin’s writing feels like it’s taking place far in the future from the events described. Mostly reading like a reflection occurring after much thought and acceptance. There is also a certain restraint and subtlety which extends a relatively quick plot into something that sparkles with mystery and feeling. One of the best short books I’ve read and such a shame that it hasn’t found a place on a similar shelf!
50% whole wheat, ~80% hydration, too much time in bulk
